Reading, Reviewing, Guest Authors, Giveaways and more.
……..of The Volunteer by Barbara Taylor Sissel
1 Kathy Bose Leave a Blog Post Comment
4 Linda Kish Leave a Blog Post Comment
An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.
Heeeeee’s back!! If you follow my blog, then you know how I feel about Vincent Zandri’s books. I have read every one that he has written to date and is my number 1 author for mystery and suspense novels. Today he is stopping by to talk about his latest novel. So please help me give a warm welcome to author and friend, Vincent Zandri !!
Vincent Zandri
Vincent Zandri is the No. 1 International Bestselling Amazon Kindle author of THE INNOCENT, GODCHILD, THE REMAINS, MOONLIGHT FALLS, CONCRETE PEARL, SCREAM CATCHER and the forthcoming MOONLIGHT RISES. He is also the author of the bestselling digital shorts, PATHOLOGICAL and MOONLIGHT MAFIA. Harlan Coben has described his novels as “…gritty, fast-paced, lyrical and haunting,” while the New York Post called THE INNOCENT, “Sensational…Masterful…Brilliant!” In March, April and May of 2011, he sold more than 100,000 Kindle E-Books editions of his novels, and is rapidly closing in on the 200K mark all totaled. An MFA in Writing graduate of Vermont College, Zandri’s work is translated into many languages including the Dutch, Russian and Japanese. An adventurer, foreign correspondent, and freelance photo-journalist for RT, Globalspec, IBTimes and more, he divides his time between New York and Florence, Italy.
You can visit Vin at his website, Facebook, Twitter and blog.
Click on above titles to read my reviews.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Based upon Vincent Zandri’s most anthologized Pushcart Prize-nominated short story of the same title, Permanence, is the “Hitchcockian” story of Mary Kismet, a travel agent and grieving mother of a toddler who suffered an apparent accidental drowning. Now, all alone in the world, she attempts to ease the pain of her suffering by immersing herself, body and soul, into a love affair with her psychiatrist, a man haunted by his own demons. A tragic novel of obsession, dark compulsions, and madness, Permanence transports the ill-fated lovers from New York to Venice, Italy, and back again.
Check out the feature at The Big Thrill
Read my review here.
Book details:
Genre:Adult Suspense, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Bear Media
Publication Date: May 4 2012
Purchase: Amazon
THANKS TO AUTHOR, VINCENT ZANDRI, I HAVE
TWO (2) OF HIS PREVIOUS NOVELS TO GIVEAWAY.
TWO WINNERS, ONE FOR EACH BOOK.
CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.
Synopsis (from author):
Based upon Vincent Zandri’s most anthologized Pushcart Prize-nominated short story of the same title, Permanence, is the story of Mary Kismet, a travel agent and former mother to a toddler who suffered an accidental drowning. Now, all alone in the world, she attempts to ease the pain of her suffering by immersing herself, body and soul, into a love affair with her psychiatrist, a man who is being haunted by his own demons. A tragic novella of obsession, dark compulsions, and madness, Permanence transports the ill-fated lovers from New York to Venice, Italy, and back again.
My Thoughts and Opinion: This talented and gifted author has done it again!!! If you follow my blog, you know that I am a huge fan of Vincent Zandri, having read all of his books. In my opinion, he is a genius at his craft, writing novels that will catch you off guard. His writing is extraordinary, so much so, that with each book read, it seems that you are reading books by different authors. His writing style is unprecedented, whereas each stand alone novel, has a different and unique blueprint and delivery. Permanence was a thunderbolt !! I can’t stress enough how this masterful author, has the ability, creativity and accomplishment with words to bring the reader on a wild ride with each book he writes. Knowing and being familiar with his work, he still has me shaking my head at the end of each book that I read, due to the talent he possesses. Each book unmatched and unparalleled to his other novels. Brilliant!!!
With Permanence, from the first sentence, his words grabbed me like a vise and I knew there was going to be no escape. With this book, unlike his others, was written in a first person narrative of a very troubled female, Mary. Another surprise, just 2 very profound characters. The prose dark and haunting. Eerie! The author, with his ability and extraordinary use of words, allowed me to create the actual speech pattern of Mary. I imagined it to be as if someone was talking in a drug induced psychotic state. Powerful!! I could also vividly envision the characters and settings with his detailed and descriptive writing style. Ingenious!! I actually felt the emotional state of the main character. Terrifying!!!
Without a doubt, and in my opinion, Permanence has proved that Vincent Zandri is now the #1 Best Selling mystery/suspense author with his capacity and command of story telling. And will continue to be with his remarkable execution and diversity of writing. His creativity and originality is penetrating. Permanence, I feel is his best work yet, at least for now, as we wait for this artist to paint his next masterpiece!!!
JUNE 1st to JUNE 15th, 2012
MOONLIGHT FALLS and
SCREAM CATCHER
by VINCENT ZANDRI
**HONOR SYSTEM**
*GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 15th AT 6PM EST*
DISCLAIMER / RULES
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
Hosted by An Island Life
From An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, visit An Island Life answer the question and then post your own question on your blog and leave your link below. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!
MY QUESTION:
Do you have a favorite card game that
you enjoy playing with friends?MY ANSWER:
We like to play HiLoJack with friends,
wives against the husbands.
And, of course, we always win lol.
*sigh* So many great books and so little time. That’s how I felt when Anna, from Blue Dot Literary (Astor & Blue), contacted me to read and review Dead End Deal. Mystery and medical, my kind of book!
It’s been 2+ years since my blog went public and to this date, I still am amazed and feel honored when an author, publisher and/or publicist contacts me to read, review and have the author visit my blog. Because of this, I have been introduced to so many phenomenal writers and have read some fantastic books. Today is no exception. Not only do I have the pleasure to welcome and present to you a “new to me” author but this will be the first time, and hopefully not the last, to work with Anna from Blue Dot Literary, who contacted me about today’s guest. So, please help me welcome, Anna and author, Dr. Allen Wyler!
ALLEN WYLER
Allen Wyler is a renowned neurosurgeon who earned an international reputation for pioneering surgical techniques to record brain activity. He has served on the faculties of both theUniversityofWashingtonand theUniversityofTennessee, and in 1992 was recruited by the prestigiousSwedishMedicalCenterto develop a neuroscience institute.
In 2002, he left active practice to become Medical Director for a startup med-tech company (that went public in 2006) and he now chairs the Institutional Review Board of a major medical center in thePacific Northwest.
Leveraging a love for thrillers since the early 70’s, Wyler devoted himself to fiction writing in earnest, eventually serving as Vice President of the International Thriller Writers organization for several years. After publishing his first two medical thrillers Deadly Errors (2005) and Dead Head (2007), he officially retired from medicine to devote himself to writing full time.
He and his wife, Lily, divide their time betweenSeattleand theSan Juan Islands.
Connect with Allen Wyler at his website here.
GUEST POST
WHAT WAS THE RESEARCH BEHIND DEAD END DEAL?
This is a blitz-pace thriller about a Seattle neurosurgeon who, while in Korea, is framed for a murder. Now hunted by police he must evade a professional hit man while trying to find a way back to the United States. I figure it’s Three Days of The Condor meets Michael Crichton.
I got the idea for the story when I was a guest lecturer at a medical school in Seoul, South Korea. I was staying at the Walker Hill Sheraton hotel across the Han river from the hospital. So all the scenes (hotel, downtown Seoul, and the Korean hospital) were from notes and snapshots I took while there. (I always travel with a small point and shoot camera in my pocket). The brief description of the surgical procedure comes from my own experience.
My neurosurgeon protagonist, Jon Ritter, escapes via a route I personally took when figuring out how he might return to the United States without a passport. Again, the scenes were written with the help of snapshots. So, the short answer to the question is that all the research for the story came from personal experience. By the way, I find digital photography a great help when writing. I view a relevant snapshot on the screen as I write. This helps me accurately describe what I’m seeing.
WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES OF WRITING A MEDICAL THRILLER?
People who read medical thrillers are usually interested in medical details, just as readers of legal thrillers find law interesting. What is difficult is adding sufficient medical detail to satisfy a reader without making descriptions or facts boring. This is one reason I try to move my stories along at a fast clip. Thrillers are intended to thrill, not lecture. Fast pace, good plot, interesting characters are the elements that should be in a medical thriller.
ABOUT THE BOOK
World-renowned neurosurgeon Jon Ritter is on the verge of a medical breakthrough that will change the world. His groundbreaking surgical treatment, using transplanted non-human stem cells, is set to eradicate the scourge of Alzheimer’s disease and give hope to millions. But when the procedure is slated for testing, it all comes to an abrupt and terrifying halt. Ritter’s colleague is gunned down and Ritter himself is threatened by a radical anti-abortion group that not only claims responsibility, but promises more of the same.
Faced with a dangerous reality but determined to succeed, Ritter and his allies conduct clandestine clinical trials inSeoul,Korea. But there, Ritter and his allies are thrown into a horrifying nightmare scenario: The trial patients are murdered and Ritter is the number one suspect. Now, aided by his beautiful lab assistant, Yeonhee, Ritter flees the country, as he becomes the target of an international manhunt involving Interpol, the FBI, zealous fanatics and a coldly efficient assassin named Fiest.
Dead End Deal is a fast paced, heart-pounding, and sophisticated thriller. Penned by master neurosurgeon, Allen Wyler—who draws significantly from experience, actual events and hot-button issues when writing—Dead End Deal is unmatched as a technical procedural. Its medical and scientific details can impress even the most seasoned medical practitioners. And yet, the technical expertise is seamlessly woven into a riveting plot with enough action and surprises to engross even the most well-read thriller enthusiast. A smart, unique, page-turner, Dead End Deal delivers.
Praise for Dead End Deal:
“A wild Journey…cutting edge science, greed, corruption and political intrigue, you won’t be able to put it down.”’
–D.P. Lyle, award-winning author of, Hot Lights, Cold Steel.
Dead End Deal is a medical thriller of the highest order, reviving the genre with a splendid mixture of innovation and cutting edge timeliness. Neurosurgeon Allen Wyler knows of what he speaks, and writes, and the result is a thriller that equals and updates the best of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton. His latest is terrifyingly on mark, riveting in all ways and a masterpiece of science and suspense.”
–Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong at the Break
“The suspense builds and builds in this riveting page-turner. It’s a skillful merging of the medical thriller and political thriller…Tom Clancy meets Tess Gerritsen!”
–Kevin O’Brien, NYTimes Bestselling Author of The Last Victim and KillingSpree
Purchase and/or have access to Dead End Deal, click here.
THANKS TO ANNA FROM BLUE DOT LITERARY, I HAVE
TWO (2) EBOOK EDITIONS TO GIVE AWAY.
CLICK HERE TO BRING YOU TO
THE GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE.
DISCLAIMER
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble and/or any other retail/wholesale
outlets either online and/or elsewhere.
I am providing this link solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.
I do not receive any monetary compensation from any parties
MAY 31st to JUNE 14th, 2012
DEAD END DEAL
by ALLEN WYLER
*GIVEAWAY ENDS JUNE 14th AT 6PM EST*
DISCLAIMER / RULES
YOUR JAVA SCRIPT MAY NEED TO BE UPDATED
IF YOU AR EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTY
USING THE RAFFLECOPTER ENTRY FORM
Today’s question:
A while ago, I interviewed my readers for a change, and my final question was, “What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask?” I got some great responses and will be picking out some of the questions from time to time to ask the rest of you. Like now.
Cathy De Los Santos asks:
If you could write a book, what would it be about, and why? (Though, of course, some of you already HAVE.)
My answer:
Great question from Cathy!! However, for me, the idea of writing a book is quite a stretch for a couple of reasons. First, there are some days that I can’t even come up with a great idea to write a blog post lol. Another reason is that when I read a mystery/suspense, I usually don’t figure out the ending, never mind, being able to outline a detailed plot from start to finish.
But if I was approached, with a huge advance lol, it would be a memoir. I have had several people, that know me well and know my history, say that I should write about my life and what I have been through, experienced and witnessed. They have also told me that some of the incidents and adventures sound as if it was fictional but it was my reality.
I think I will stick to reading and let the talents and gift that authors possess do the writing for my entertainment and pleasure.
What about you? What genre would you write? Have you considered and/or tried your hand at writing?
