Robyn and Jodi, the ladies at WOW, have done it again!   They are introducing us to another inspirational writer today.  So without further ado, please welcome Ms. Pesi Dinnerstein!

ABOUT PESI DINNERSTEIN

Do you like thrillers?  Do you like series?  Well, Erin from Media Muscle is stopping by  to introduce us to today’s guest as he tells us about the first book in his newest triolgy.  Welcome Mr. Allan Topol!!

ABOUT ALLAN TOPOL

Allan Topol is the national bestselling author of six novels of international intrigue, including Spy Dance, recently translated into Chinese. He is a graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology, who majored in chemistry, abandoned science, and obtained a law degree from Yale University. A partner in a major Washington law firm, and an avid wine collector, he has traveled extensively, researching dramatic locations for his novels. You can join him on Facebook. Please let him know if you would like to receive his free newsletter. Allan is available for speaking opportunities on subjects of international affairs, dealt with in his novels.

You can visit his website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

National bestselling author Allan Topol returns with a thrilling new trilogy of international intrigue. THE CHINA GAMBIT(Vantage Point; $14.95; January 2012) introduces Craig Page, a daring and resourceful former CIA agent, now fighting terrorism in Europe after being unceremoniously fired from the agency. After his daughter Francesca — a New York City reporter investigating the biggest story of her young career — dies in an “automobile accident,” Craig is instinctively convinced that she was murdered and sets out to find answers…and vengeance.

Joined by Francesca’s editor, the gutsy and equally resourceful Elizabeth Crowder, Craig soon begins to peel back the conspiracy layer by layer, eventually learning that Francesca was just collateral in a much larger ultimate target: The United States.

With a worldwide conflict that revolves around oil, money, weapons, and greed, THE CHINA GAMBIT raises the stakes by presenting frighteningly real consequences. The action races around the globe, jumping from Canada to Tehran, Beijing to Washington, and finally to Aspen, with Craig and Elizabeth narrowly escaping the deadliest of obstacles in their attempts to prevent impending catastrophe at the hands of Chinese General Zhou. Yet the rogue general is not the only twisted mastermind, and Craig soon learns that this conspiracy is a “three-headed monster”— one Chinese, one Iranian, and one American, led by a traitorous CIA director with whom Craig has a tumultuous past.

Timely, fast-paced, and relentless, THE CHINA GAMBIT is the pulse-pounding breakout thriller that Allan Topol has seemed destined to write.

THANKS TO ERIN FROM MEDIA MUSCLE
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

I remember a few, many, ok, eons ago, when I was in college and studying to be a nurse, I had to put in so many “required” practical hours working on different units of the hospitals.  And I remember thinking how  kind the patients were when asked by the instructor if they minded if they had a “student nurse” for the day to take care of them.  Do you know that to this day, I still remember some of those patients, but I digress.    It was because of those patients, that had the confidence in me,  so that I gained the experience I needed to obtain my license.

So even though it is in different fields, I feel that I am paying it forward.  When a debut author contacts me, asks if I would review their book, share sites, etc., etc., I remember those days of old.  Even though I can’t read every book, I can offer them a platform to share their work with others.  And today, we have such a guest stopping by.  So please help me welcome Ms. Denise Baer!!

ABOUT DENISE BAER 

Denise Baer wrote her novel, Net Switch, while working as a LAN Administrator and has published a poetry e-book, Sipping a Mix of Verse. She grew up on the South Side of Chicago, and recently lived in Germany, writing and traveling throughout Europe. She currently lives in Chicago learning German to prepare for another journey to Europe.

A native of the South Side of Chicago, Denise Baer is a published poet and author. She currently splits her time between the United States and Europe.
You can visit Denise at her website here.

GUEST POST

I was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. After I graduated from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, I worked full-time while bartending and going to college part-time. As the years past, I thought I’d never finish college, but I finally graduated from DePaul University in Chicago, IL with a Bachelor of Arts in English.

During my last trimester in college I came up with an idea for a novel. I sat down and wrote it within a matter of a few weeks…but it wasn’t an entire book, more like the core of it. It was a romance novel, and after trying to refine it, I decided to put it in a drawer and let it sleep. I continued to write, learn the craft, and read plenty of books.

In 2008, I began writing poetry, and decided to publish a poetry e-book last year, Sipping a Mix of Verse, which is a collection of poetry arranged by traditional forms and free verse.

You can visit “Sipping a Mix of Verse Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/RuLIB5zizoU

In 2008, I entered the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), and completed a novel in a month. I was ecstatic, but I had no plans to publish it. That same year, I met the love of my life, who convinced me to publish it. In 2010, I left my IT job, moved to Germany to concentrate on editing and revising my novel. Of course, I took the opportunity to travel through Europe and find inspiration for my writings.

My debut novel, Net Switch, a dark, psychological suspense, is available on Createspace (subsidiary of Amazon) and Amazon in paperback, and Kindle and Nook.

You can visit “Net Switch Book Trailer” on Youtube: http://youtu.be/2TYUzwkgaz8

For now I am currently living in Illinois, focusing on the success of my book, and looking forward to living in Germany for a few years with the love of my life.

Website: http://www.authordenisebaer.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeniseBaer8

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis (from the author):

“In the dead of winter, Sydney Hayes finds herself in an internet chat room in hopes of expelling her loneliness. Enchanted by a stranger, she soon finds herself caught up in an affair that spills over into her everyday life. Within a short period of time, the stranger captures her mind, her body and eventually her heart, but excitement turns to terror and Sydney must abandon the life she built in Chicago and assume a new identity.

A fragile woman in a new city, Sydney tries to put it all behind her as she makes a fresh start in Seattle, but her troubles follow her and she is running out of time. Feeling as though she has no other choice, Sydney is determined to destroy him before he destroys her—unaware that her journal holds the key.

Will she discover the secret before it’s too late?”

THANKS TO THE GENEROSITY OF DENISE BAER,
I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY OF HER BOOK
TO GIVE AWAY– OPEN TO ALL–INTERNATIONAL

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE

It has been 2 years now that I have had my blog and been part of the cyber world of book blogging and reviewing.   Two years!!  And I am enjoying it and am as enthusiastic today as I was that first day.   And it still amazes me that authors contact me and ask if I would review their book and/or visit my blog.  Today is one of those days.  So please help me welcome my guest, Ms. Harlow Coban!

ABOUT HARLOW COBAN

She spends her free time writing, dancing, traveling and defending mailboxes from her 16-year-old twins’ driving.

She loves to connect with her readers and can be found on Twitter , Facebook , and her website 

HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL BASED ON A TRUE STORY

BY

HARLOW COBAN, AUTHOR OF LIFE IN DEATH

 

My story isn’t a warm and fuzzy one.

My father was murdered when I was 12 years of age.

A few years ago, at my uncle’s urging, I looked into what happened to him. The police had suspects, but no one was ever arrested and the case remains unsolved.

I learned a lot about police procedure when I looked into my father’s murder. It was then that I decided to write a novel.

While my murder mystery novella, Life in Death, is not entirely based on what happened to my father, it draws from real life experiences I had with him.

Writing the novel was a cathartic experience for me. What I liked most, and found particularly cleansing, about the experience was my power to spin the story as I saw fit.

We all love, hate, laugh, cry, and everything in between, so we’re never at a loss for stories to tell.

Here’s how you get started writing a novel based on a true story:

•  Determine what kind of story you want to write. Talk to family and friends. Look at newspaper articles. I don’t want to be morose, but look at obituaries, too. Take notes. There are stories there.
•  Determine the story’s theme: Good/evil, love/hate, birth/death, peace/war, etc. Again, take notes. This may be where the title of your book comes from or maybe not. The title of my book came to me in a dream.
•  Construct a compelling plot. I suggest creating a plot outline to start with. I used the “what if” technique to determine what would happen in my chapters. Basically, you ask yourself “what if” this or that happened to your character and expand from there.
•  Create dynamic scenes. My advice is something has to happen in “every” chapter or scene.
•  Create multi-dimensional characters. Many writers, including yours truly, base their characters on real people and then add nuances to create more complexity and depth. This is one way to go.
•  Read, read, read. The more you read, the better writer you’ll become.
•  Lastly, start writing. “Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

Truth can be stranger than fiction, but maybe not as entertaining. The key to writing a novel based on a true story is in how you spin the story to make it enjoyable for readers. Cheers!

ABOUT THE BOOK

THANKS TO AUTHOR, HARLOW COBAN,
I HAVE ONE (1) SIGNED COPY
OF THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.
ONE ENTRY GIVEAWAY WITH A TWIST!!!

Today I am thrilled for a few reasons.  Thanks to Mr. Lou Aronica of  The Story Plant, who publishes many authors that I have grown fond of and enjoy reading, has given me the privilege and honor to host today’s guest as he begins his virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours, and who now has been added to that list of  esteemed writers that I look forward to escaping into the pages of their latest novels.  After reading the book  that he will be discussing today, I am looking forward to his future novels.  So please help me welcome Mr. Peter Leonard.

ABOUT PETER LEONARD

 Peter Leonard’s debut novel, QUIVER, was published to international acclaim in 2008 (“A spectacular debut…you will be holding your breath until the final page.”– The New York Sun). It was followed by TRUST ME in 2009 (“TRUST ME is fast, sly and full of twists.” – Carl Hiaasen, New York Times bestselling author). The Story Plant will publish Leonard’s newest novel, ALL HE SAW WAS THE GIRL, in the spring of 2012.

You can visit Peter Leonard at his website here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

 The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges – he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

Brimming with action and dark humor, Voices of the Dead, firmly positions Peter Leonard as a writer ever suspense fan needs to read.

Read an excerpt:

MY REVIEW                  

VOICES OF THE DEAD by Peter Leonard

   My Thoughts and Opinion:  I feel I need to start this review with a caveat because even I was surprised by my thoughts and opinion of this book.   If I was to solely choose this book based on the synopsis for my personal library, without the request for review, I would most likely have not picked this one up as I tend not to enjoy espionage thrillers.   However, with this book, I would have missed out on a great read.

I am quite excited about today’s guest.   Matter of fact, it is an honor for me that he is visiting, talking about his latest novel and has given me the opportunity to interview him because he is one BUSY guy!!.  Besides  writing novels and working, he is also a reviewer for Partners In Crime Tours.  So without further ado, please help me welcome, Mr. Joel Andre.

ABOUT JOEL ANDRE

Joel M. Andre was born January 13, 1981. At a young age he was fascinated with the written word. It was at fourteen that Poe blew his mind, and Andre began to dabble with darker poetry.

Between the years of 1999 and 2007 Joel was featured in various poetry anthologies and publications. In 2008 he released his first collection,Pray the Rain Never Ends.

Knowing there was something deeper and darker inside of his soul, Joel decided to take a stab at commercialism. Releasing the dark tongue in cheek, A Death at the North Pole, created a dark world among the death of Kris Kringle. Ultimately providing a tale of redemption.

October of 2008 saw Joel release his second book, Kill 4 Me. A tale in which a woman is haunted by a vengeful spirit through text messages and instant messaging.

Taking some time off and doing a lot of soul searching, Joel took things in a new direction and dabbled in the Fantasy Genre with, The Pentacle of Light. The tale dealing with five major races battling for control of Earth, and the acceptance of their God.

Finally, after missing his detective Lauren Bruni, he released the book The Return in October 2009, this time moving the action from the North Pole and placing it in the small Arizona community he was raised in.
Andre’s latest book is The Black Chronicles: Cry of the Fallen about a dead man who seeks revenge on the woman that tormented him in peaceful Northern Arizona.

Currently, he resides in Chandler, AZ.
You can visit his website at www.joelmandre.info

INTERVIEW

*Where and what do you draw from for the premise of your books?
I let my imagination run wild with my books. Usually, a concept will come to me and I will build on it. In some cases, a title will come to me and I will build off the title.

*What kind of research do you actually do for your books?
I spent quite a bit of time researching locations, psychology and police procedures to ensure that my books have some validity to them.

*Do you draw from real life experiences?
I can answer this question with a no. Since I write horror with violent deaths, it would be a very bad thing if I was pulling the content from real life.

*Are your characters all purely fictional or do you use people that you know and build from there?
All my characters are purely fictional. I would hate to have something bad to happen to someone I know in a book as it puts it out there to the world.

*Who are your favorite authors?
Stephen King, Anne Rice and Poe. I will read a mixture of other authors as well, but those three really have never let me down over the years.

*What are you reading now?
J.A. Jance – Fatal Error

*Do you write every day?  How many hours?
Since I work for www.needanarticle.com, I spend almost all day, every day writing. I do try to devote a few hours a day to my own personal stuff though. That way, I am able to continue putting out new content. I think my experience writing online content for others has helped to boost the quality of my writing and I have had the chance to learn about new topics that I can use in my books.

*Have you ever had  the dreaded writer’s block?  If so, what helped you to bypass it?
I think every writer has experienced this. I just write useless filler until I get past it and then revisit what I was working on. Sometimes, the filler draws out new ideas for future books.
Thank you Joel for visiting.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis (borrowed from B&N):
Detective Lauren Bruni has dealt with death for her entire life. She has watched it ruin lives, and brought people closer together. Her job taught her to separate fact from fiction. But on a cold December day, all Lauren had believed in would be shattered and tossed aside. Thrust in a world unlike any she has seen before, she investigates a prominent figure’s grisly murder, and searches for answers along a strange new set of people. With a killer watching her every move in the background ready to strike again at a moments notice. What is the secret of the death at the North Pole, and what is the larger horror at hand? Life lessons are learned and a realization that sometimes the most real things in this world, are the ones we believe in the least.

Nicole from Tribute Books is starting 2012 by introducing us to an amazing and inspirational author.  So without further ado, please help welcome, Mr. Paul H. Magid as our guest today.

ABOUT PAUL H.  MAGID

Paul H. Magid started writing his debut novel, Lifting the Wheel of Karma, twenty-five years ago while still in high school. It took him so long to complete because he tried repeatedly to abandon it, but the work refused to be forsaken. Eventually he realized that sharing this story with the world was, in fact, his Dharma.

Along the way he has worked as a Wall Street financial analyst, a waiter (not a very good one), a Hollywood Agent Trainee, a real estate developer, a summer day camp director, an award winning screenwriter, and independent filmmaker—including his autobiographical film, A Life Unfinished, which screened in The Hamptons International Film Festival.

GUEST POST

Topic: researching and/or concept for premise of book.

Research takes much more legwork than premise, but it’s also hands down the easier of the two. In the case of my novel, LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA, I knew I needed multiple forms of research, because I chose not only an unfamiliar locale of a horse ranch in Montana, but also predominantly in another country with over 5,000 years of history and culture.

For me, for research to be “authentic”, it must have hands on, first person experience to come alive. Just as a person who learns a foreign language only from books will always speak only an “academic” version of the language, lacking in its true texture, idioms, colloquialisms, and lively nature, I believe research is best experienced as well as studied.

For India, I read dozens and dozens and dozens of books –everything from history, to religious texts, to mythologies, to social constructs, but I knew this would only at best form an accurate foundation. No matter how many books I read, nothing compared to actually living for months in India with little more than a backpack and a Lonely Planet guidebook.

Feeling the heavy heat and intoxicating spices that filled the air only came alive by being there, and I think it’s urgently important for an author to know first hand how to convey a new environment to properly enable a reader to embark vicariously on a journey.

The same truths applied to Montana. I was lucky enough to find an amazing and authentic mentor who knew what my needs were and selflessly taught me what I needed to know.

Setting the premise of a book in infinitely harder, because once that has been established by the author, every fiber of the story must work tirelessly to achieve that goal. I think that’s one of the reasons my novel took me twenty-five years to write. It wasn’t just the amount of research required, but I knew that I had chosen a premise of such depth, that it would not be easy to properly convey.

For me, every moment of the twenty-five years it took to write LIFTING THE WHEEL OF KARMA was worth it, because readers and reviewers around the world have universally lauded how much the story touched them emotionally and how much they enjoyed reading it, sometimes more than once.
You can find Mr. Magid at the following sites:
website, Facebook, Lifting the Wheel of Karma FB, Tribute Books Blog Tours FB, Lifting the Wheel of Karma blog tour site

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Profound Spiritual Journey of Extraordinary Healing and Redemption

Joseph Connell is a gifted high school athlete from Montana, loved deeply by his family, yet tormented by nightmarish visions he can neither explain nor escape.

He believes the answer to what threatens to crush him can be found in the knowledge possessed by a mystical old wise man, who lives deep within the remote Himalayas of India.

If Joseph is ever to find the peace he so desperately seeks, he must get this wise old man to reveal what he truly knows, but that will not be easy…for this sage knows far more than he admits.

A modern tale that harkens back to the myths of antiquity. It takes you on a remarkable journey, while exploring the themes of healing, redemption, forgiveness, sacrifice, and ultimately…peace within.

Amazon buy link
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0984016066?tag=tributebooks-20

Barnes&Noble.com buy link
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=dcSBhG3Rj8w&offerid=229293.9780984016068&type=2&subid=0

eBook
Price: $9.99

Kindle buy link
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005TJ3I4C?tag=tributebooks-20

THANKS TO AUTHOR PAUL H. MAGID,
I HAVE THREE (3) COPIES OF
THIS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.

What a way to start 2012!!!   These past 2 years, The Hachette Book Group have given me  many opportunities to introduce exceptional authors and host fantastic giveaways.  But today, Brianne from The Hachette Book Group, is starting the new year off with a bang.  Two authors, two books, two giveaways!!!  So lets get started!!  Please welcome these wonderful ladies to the CMash blog, Ms. Sherrill Bodine and Rochelle Alers!!!!

ABOUT SHERRILL BODINE

I’m sure growing up in my grandmother’s house, taking care of my developmentally disabled mother, forged who I am, but I don’t believe any one thing defines me. My philosophy of life is that we are all in this together—and we need to embrace one another with as much grace, humor and compassion as we can muster. I see life as big, bigger, biggest, and I want to take everyone along with me on the journey. I not only attend black-tie affairs and work on charity board projects, but I am also just as likely to be taking a grandchild to lunch and a movie. I’m happily married to John, with whom I eloped when I was an 18-year-old freshman in college. It was quite the scandal. We have four beautiful children and 11 grandchildren.

I won my first writing award in the seventh grade in a statewide essay contest about a television broadcast of Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates. Instead of Silver Skates, they sent real skates, which I enjoyed immensely. I’m only sorry I don’t still have them so they could hang in my office.

While moving 22 times across the country and rearing our children, I sold stories to Fate Magazine, Home Life Magazine and True Confessions. In 1988, I sold my first novel and a week later received a two-book contract from Fawcett. Sixteen novels later, I’ve seen The Other Amanda win the Wisconsin Romance Writers of America Write Touch Readers’ Award and Talk of the Town chosen by Cosmopolitan magazine as its “Red Hot Read” for February 2009.

You can visit Ms. Bodine here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

SHE’S STEALING HIS HEART . . . Vintage boutique owner Venus Smith is stunned to realize her newest acquisition comes with a larcenous legend. Stolen years ago, the antique mermaid brooch belongs to the Clayworth family. The right thing to do would be to return it, but that means facing Connor Clayworth O’Flynn, the sexy department store heir Venus has had an unrequited crush on since childhood-and the man who helped ruin her father. ONE KISS AT A TIME Connor knows that Venus has never forgiven him for what happened between their families.

ABOUT ROCHELLE ALERS

Rochelle Alers has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today’s most prolific and popular African American authors of romance and women’s fiction.

With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, Ms. Alers is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

She is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to Europe, and countries in North, South and Central America. Her future travel plans include visits to Hong Kong and New Zealand. Ms. Alers is also in accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint. She is currently taking instruction in the art of hand quilting.

Oliver, a toy Yorkshire terrier has become the newest addition to her family. When she’s not barking at passing school buses, the tiny dog can be found sleeping on her lap while she spends hours in front of the computer.

A full-time writer, Ms. Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.

You can visit Ms. Alers here.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sometimes love is the simplest choice of all. Still reeling from her husband’s untimely death, Deborah Robinson needs a fresh start. So she decides to pack up her family, box up her bookstore, and return to her grandmother’s ancestral home on Cavanaugh Island. The charming town of Sanctuary Cove holds happy memories for Deborah. And, after she spies a gorgeous stranger in the local bakery, it promises the possibility for a bright, new future.

THANKS TO BRIANNE AND THE FOLKS AT
THE HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
BOTH THESE BOOKS TO GIVE AWAY.

CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.