Guest Author Steve O’Brien

CMash March 30, 2012 1 Comment

Rebecca, from The Cadence Group, is stopping by with an old friend. It’s been a year since he was last here but is visiting today to talk about his latest novel. Welcome back, Steve O’Brien!!

ABOUT STEVE O’BRIEN

Steve O’Brien is an author and attorney. Redemption Day is his third novel. His prior works, Elijah’s Coin and Bullet Work, have been recipients of multiple literary awards. Since its release, Elijah’s Coin has been added to the reading curriculum in multiple secondary schools throughout the US and has been incorporated in a university ethics course. Steve is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and The George Washington University Law School. He lives in Washington, DC.

GUEST POST

Find the MacGuffin

As I read works by other writers I like to play a game.

I call it find the MacGuffin.

If you aren’t familiar with the term MacGuffin, please don’t drive through a McDonald’s and try to order one. They won’t know what you are talking about.

Imagine you are at a play or other performance. At the opening someone walks out and places a paper bag on the stage. There is clearly something in the bag, but unknown to the audience. The play goes on and occasionally one of the actors will point to or mention the paper bag, but never identify what is in it.

That is the MacGuffin.

The audience tries to follow the play, but their minds keep coming back to the paper bag. What’s in it? How does it relate to the story?

Near the end of the performance the audience wants to run up on stage and rip it open. If something doesn’t happen with the MacGuffin by the third act, a patron from the front row probably will.

A MacGuffin is a film and literary plot technique. It is a thing to be desired or to be feared. Ultimately it is the object of search or interest in a story. Properly used it crops up as a mechanical device in a story and drives the plot.

In a heist movie, the MacGuffin is the diamond necklace. In a spy story, the MacGuffin is the locked briefcase or the damning document.

Some think that emotions can be MacGuffins, but I believe that a MacGuffin must be an object or something tangible. Alfred Hitchcock had a room in his studio where they kept MacGuffins. True to him, I don’t believe you can put an emotion in a studio room.

Some MacGuffins are obvious–the Maltese Falcon, the Holy Grail from Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, the Ring in Lord of the Rings.

There can also be a series of MacGuffins such as Dan Brown used in The DaVinci Code: Vitruvian Man, a Finbonacci sequence, the safe deposit box, the Rose Line, a cryptex, and ultimately the book’s own Holy Grail. The DaVinci Code is a veritable parade of MacGuffins.

In Redemption Day I used a fractional reserve note as an opening MacGuffin. This was followed by the Posse Comitatus Blue Book, and videotapes of the Supreme Court Justice, Silvio Caprelli.

More important than the actual MacGuffin is how the writer reveals to the reader — and when.

If over explained, the tension bleeds away. If not enough spot light on it, the hook won’t be set deeply enough. In the example with the paper bag at the performance, the curiosity can set the reader into a near frenzy.

MacGuffins must be balanced on the razor’s edge and propel the story.

Contrary to some reviews, not all books are read in one sitting. A MacGuffin makes the reader come back and say “What the heck was that?” and “What will happen next?” It slams the reader back into the story. It demands attention.

MacGuffins can create their own backstory in addition to driving the plot. The MacGuffin is a means to slowly reveal information to the reader, like a fisherman letting out line from his reel. And like the fisherman, the writer must yank on the rod at the exact moment to land the MacGuffin in the reader’s psyche.

So as you are reading, try to find the MacGuffin and study how the author teases out the information about it.

So goes the MacGuffin, so goes the story.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Synopsis:

Steve O’Brien bases his new novel on the historical events and documented teachings of the Posse Comitatus – an anti-government militia group in the 1980’s that tried to convince farmers that banks could not lawfully foreclose on their properties. Their beliefs led to the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on a date of significance to the group—April 19.

In Redemption Day, the Posse Comitatus has returned, reinvigorated and inspired by the economic downturn and anger over government intrusion. The Posse seeks to not only wreak havoc on the country, but to actually change the political landscape. In their effort to “take back the country,” they kidnap a Supreme Court Justice. With money extorted from a government contractor desperate to win back a domestic terrorism contract, redemption day unfolds.

THANKS TO REBECCA, FROM THE CADENCE GROUP,
I HAVE ONE (1) COPY OF THIS THRILLER 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.

Book Giveaway, Giveaway

GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “REDEMPTION DAY” by Steve O’Brien ENDED

CMash March 30, 2012 15 Comments

MARCH 30th to APRIL 13th

REDEMPTION DAY
by STEVE O’BRIEN

SYNOPSIS (from the author):

The protagonist is Nick James, a terrorism analyst who loses his job as a result of the cutback in spending on domestic terror programs. He is one of the government’s experts on the Posse Comitatus, but he is soon framed for the killing of a West Virginia sheriff and put on the run. The Government wants him arrested; the Posse Comitatus wants him dead.

Nick has to clear his name and unravel the Posse plot before April 19 arrives.

THANKS TO REBECCA, AND THE GREAT

PEOPLE AT THE CADENCE GROUP

I HAVE ONE ( 1 ) COPY OF THIS
THRILLER TO GIVE AWAY.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO WIN.

*USE THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM BELOW
IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE GIVEAWAY*
BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

IN THE RAFFLECOPTER FORM
SO THAT I CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN
*LEAVE COMMENT: DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU

WERE ON APRIL 19TH, THE BOMBING OF THE
OKLAHOMA MURRAH FEDERAL BUILDING?*

*U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY*

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**HONOR SYSTEM**
ONE WINNING BOOK PER HOUSEHOLD
PLEASE NOTIFY ME IF YOU HAVE
WON THIS BOOK FROM ANOTHER
SITE, SO THAT SOMEONE ELSE MAY
HAVE THE CHANCE TO WIN
AND READ THIS BOOK.
THANK YOU.

*GIVEAWAY ENDS APRIL 13th AT 6PM EST*

WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RAFFLECOPTER AND NOTIFIED
VIA EMAIL AND WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO RESPOND
OR ANOTHER NAME WILL BE CHOSEN

DISCLAIMER / RULES

Giveaway copies are supplied and shipped to winners via publisher,
the giveaway on behalf of the
above. I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in
exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are
ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.

I am not responsible for lost or damaged books that are shipped
from agents. I reserve the right to disqualify/delete any entries
if rules of giveaway are not followed

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Continue reading “GIVEAWAY ENTRY PAGE “REDEMPTION DAY” by Steve O’Brien ENDED“ →

Aloha Friday, Friday Memes, Meme

Aloha Friday

CMash March 30, 2012 8 Comments

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:
What’s one material item that you wish you could have and/or that someone would give you as a present?

MY ANSWER:
An IPad.

Guest Author, Partners In Crime Tours, Showcase

Guest Author Mark Gilleo

CMash March 29, 2012 Leave a Comment

Mr. Lou Aronica from The Story Plant has given me the distinct honor to introduce you to today’s guest, who this week, kicks off his virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours.

I am so excited, thrilled, amazed and enthusiastic about today’s guest. Since I started blogging, I have reviewed many books at the request of The Story Plant and because of it, I have added quite a few “must read authors” to my list. And today, another author has been added. I mentioned the word “amazed”. Truly amazed that this was a debut novel!!! So please help me give a very warm welcome to Mr. Mark Gilleo.

ABOUT MARK GILLEO

Mark Gilleo holds a graduate degree in international business from the University of South Carolina and an undergraduate degree in business from George Mason University. He enjoys traveling, has lived and worked in Asia, and speaks fluent Japanese. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, he currently resides in the D.C. area. His two most recent novels were recognized as finalist and semifinalist, respectively, in the William Faulkner-Wisdom Creative writing competition. The Story Plant will publish his next novel, SWEAT in 2012.

You can visit Mark Gilleo at Love Thy Neighbor page and the www.thestoryplant.com.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Clark Hayden is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become o! ne of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.

Fast, acerbic, wise and endlessly exciting, LOVE THY NEIGHBOR marks the unforgettable debut of a startling new voice in suspense fiction.

Read an excerpt:

AUTHOR’S NOTE
(This part is true.)In late 1999 a woman from Vienna, Virginia, a suburb ten miles from the White House as the crow flies, called the CIA. The woman, a fifty-something mother of three, phoned to report what she referred to as potential terrorists living across the street from her middle-class home. She went on to explain what she had been seeing in her otherwise quiet neighborhood: Strange men of seemingly Middle-Eastern descent using their cell phones in the yard. Meetings in the middle of the night with bumper-to-bumper curbside parking, expensive cars rubbing ends with vans and common Japanese imports. A constant flow of young men, some who seemed to stay for long periods of time without introducing themselves to anyone in the neighborhood. The construction of a six-foot wooden fence to hide the backyard from the street only made the property more suspicious.Upon hearing a layperson’s description of suspicious behavior, the CIA promptly dismissed the woman and her phone call. (Ironically, the woman lived less than a quarter of a mile from a CIA installation, though it was not CIA headquarters as was later reported.)

In the days and weeks following 9/11, the intelligence community in the U.S. began to learn the identities of the nineteen hijackers who had flown the planes into the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon. In the process of their investigation they discovered that two of the hijackers, one on each of the planes that hit the World Trade Towers, had listed a particular house in Vienna, Virginia as a place of residence.

The FBI and various other agencies swooped in on the unassuming neighborhood and began knocking on doors. When they reached the house of a certain mother of three, she stopped them dead in their tracks. She was purported to have said, “I called the CIA two years ago to report that terrorists were living across the street and no one did anything.”

The CIA claimed to have no record of a phone call.

The news networks set up cameras and began broadcasting from the residential street. ABC, NBC, FOX. The FBI followed up with further inquiries. The woman’s story was later bounced around the various post 9/11 committees and intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill. (Incidentally, after 9/11, the CIA closed its multi-story facility in the neighborhood where the terrorist reportedly lived. In 2006 the empty building was finally torn down and, as of early 2011, was being replaced with another office building).

There has been much speculation about what the government should have or could have known prior to 9/11. The answer is not simple. There have been anecdotal stories of people in Florida and elsewhere who claimed to have reported similar “terrorist” type activities by suspicious people prior to 9/11. None of these stories have been proven.

What we do know is that with the exception of the flight school instructor in Minnesota who questioned the motive of a student who was interested in flying an aircraft without learning how to land, and an unheeded warning from actor James Woods who was on a plane from Boston with several of the purported terrorists while they were doing a trial run, the woman from Vienna, Virginia was the country’s best chance to prevent 9/11. To date, there has been no verification of any other pre-9/11 warnings from the general public so far in advance of that fateful day in September.

For me, there is no doubt as to the validity of the claims of the woman in Vienna.

She lived in the house where I grew up. She is my mother.

Mark Gilleo. October, 2011. Washington DC.

* * *

Ariana turned on the nightlight and closed the door to her daughter’s room. She walked down the carpeted hall towards the light stretching out from the plastic chandelier over the dining room table. Her husband’s chair was empty and she quietly called out his name. No response. As Ariana turned the corner to the kitchen and reached for the knob on the cabinet over the counter, eight hundred pages of advertising crashed into her rib cage, sucking the wind from her lungs. As his wife doubled over, Nazim raised the thick Yellow Book with both hands and hit her on her back, driving her body to the floor.

“Don’t you ever disobey me in front of others again.”

Ariana coughed. There was no blood. This time. She tried to speak but her lips only quivered. Her thick-framed glasses rested on the floor, out of reach. Her brain fought to make sense of what happened, what had set her husband off. It could have been anything. But every curse had its blessing, and for Ariana the blessing was the fact that Nazim didn’t hit her in front of Liana. A blessing that the child didn’t see her mother being punched. The reason was simple. Nazim was afraid of his daughter. Afraid of what she could say now that she could speak.

The curse was that Ariana never knew when she had crossed the line. She never knew when the next blow was coming. She merely had to wait until they were alone to learn her fate for past indiscretions.

Ariana gasped slowly for air. She didn’t cry. The pain she felt in her side wasn’t bad enough to give her husband the satisfaction.

“When I say it is time to leave, it is time to leave. There is no room for negotiation in this marriage.”

Ariana panted as her mind flashed back to the Christmas party. She immediately realized her faux pas. “I didn’t want to be rude to Maria. She spent days making dessert. She is old. Do we not respect our elders anymore?”

Nazim pushed his wife onto the floor with his knee, a reaction Ariana fully expected. “You are my wife. This is about you and me. Our neighbor has nothing to do with it.” Nazim looked down at Ariana sprawled on the linoleum and spit on her with more mock than saliva.

“Maria is my friend.”

“Well, her son is coming home and she doesn’t need you.”

Nazim dropped the yellow book on the counter with a thud and went to the basement. Ariana gathered herself, pushing her body onto all fours and then pulling herself up by the front of the oven. She looked at the Yellow Book and her blood boiled. It was like getting hit by a cinderblock with soft edges. When it hit flush, it left very little bruising. As her husband intended. For a man of slight build, Nazim could generate power when a beating was needed.

Ariana took inventory of herself, one hand propping herself up on the counter. She had been beaten worse. Far worse. By other men before she met her husband. Her eyes moved beyond the Yellow Pages and settled on the knife set on the counter, the shiny German steel resting in its wooden block holder. She grabbed the fillet knife, caressed the blade with her eyes, and then pushed the thought from her mind.

Her husband called her from the basement and she snapped out of her momentary daze. “Coming,” she answered, putting the knife back in its designated slot in the wood. She knew what was coming next. It was always the same. A physical assault followed by a sexual one. She reached up her skirt and removed her panties. There was no sense in having another pair ripped, even if robbing Nazim of the joy would cost her a punch or two.

Christmas, the season of giving, she thought as she made her way down the stairs into the chilly basement.

Amazon link B&N link

Read my review here.

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,

in exchange for my honest review.

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

Book Review, Partners In Crime Tours

Review Love Thy Neighbor by Mark Gilleo

CMash March 29, 2012 8 Comments

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR by Mark Gilleo

Published by The Story Plant

ISBN-10: 1611880343

ISBN-13: 978-1611880342

At the request of The Story Plant, an ARC digital edition was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Clark Hayden is a graduate student trying to help his mother navigate through the loss of his father while she continues to live in their house near Washington DC. With his mother’s diminishing mental capacity becoming the norm, Clark expects a certain amount of craziness as he heads home for the holidays. What he couldn’t possibly anticipate, though, is that he would find himself catapulted into the middle of a terrorist operation. As the holiday festivities reach a crescendo, a terrorist cell – which happens to be across the street – is activated. Suddenly Clark is discovering things he never knew about deadly chemicals, secret government operations, suspiciously missing neighbors, and the intentions of a gorgeous IRS auditor. Clark’s quiet suburban neighborhood is about to become one of the most deadly places on the planet, and it’s up to Clark to prevent the loss of hundreds of thousands of innocent lives in the nation’s capital.

My Thoughts and Opinion: Where do I begin? OK..let’s start off by me proving myself wrong again with first impressions. I’m thinking this book is going to be another international espionage spy novel (not high up on my favorite read lists), 438 pages (great….this will take me weeks to read…. will probably seem like a lot more because of what I just mentioned) and it’s a debut novel!!! OK….Let’s get this read.

The novel starts off with an Author’s Note that states It’s True. And I am hooked!! This debut author has me, but now comes the story, will he hold my attention for 438 pages? As I continue to read, his writing style is so graphic in detail that I actually had the ability to create a clear and vivid imagery in my mind, almost like I am watching a movie, which continues throughout the book. He has the same ability of bringing the cast of characters to life and the settings of the scenes as if I was present and a bystander. Throughout the book there were multiple twists and turns and chapters with mini cliff hangers that made this reader having to “read just one more chapter” but then realizing I was ten chapters later. The suspense was non stop, a definite page turner. There were also a couple of scenes (do not want to include spoilers) that I found myself laughing out loud. A brilliant and compelling read!!!

I found myself thinking several things when I finished this novel. Yes, I was wrong. I could not put this book down, all 438 pages of it. What I thought was going to take me weeks to read, took me a couple of days because it was so engrossing and kept pulling me to pick it back up. A masterful written work of fiction, but could it become a reality? I also thought that this novel would make for a great movie. And most importantly, this is an author to put on your radar. His writing is that of a seasoned author. I say Bravo Mr. Gilleo!!!

DISCLAIMER

I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,

in exchange for my honest review.

No items that I receive

are ever sold…they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.

(2012 Challenges: Romantic/Suspense, EBook, ARC, Mystery/Suspense, Off The Shelf, Serial Killers, FreeReads, Where Are You, A-Z, Merely Mystery, 52 in 52, Outdo Yourself, 100+)

Giveaway, Winners

And the winners are……..

CMash March 28, 2012 1 Comment

…………of FOREVER’S ROMANTIC SUSPENSE GIVEAWAY

DEADLY DANCE by Dee Davis and RUN FROM FEAR by Jami Alden

33 Valerie Taylor Mabrey “Like” the Blog Post

36 Maureen Carol Leave a Blog Post Comment

3 Darla Kidder “Like” the Blog Post

An email has been sent to the winners and they have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address or another winner will be chosen. Thank you to all that entered.

Guest Author

Guest Author MJ Rose

CMash March 28, 2012 Leave a Comment

All I can say is WOW!!! It’s not every day that an international best selling author stops by. But today, we are in for a special treat. I have the distinct honor to welcome MJ Rose to the CMash blog. Please help me give her a warm welcome, as she visits and talks about her latest novel. Ms. MJ Rose !!!

ABOUT MJ ROSE

M.J. Rose is the international best selling author of eleven novels and two non-fiction books on marketing. Her next novel THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES (Atria/S&S) will be published in March 2012. Her fiction and non-fiction has appeared in many magazines and reviews including Oprah Magazine. She has been featured in the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, USA Today and on the Today Show, and NPR radio. Rose graduated from Syracuse University, spent the ’80s in advertising, has a commercial in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and since 2005 has run the first marketing company for authors – Authorbuzz.com. The television series PAST LIFE, was based on Rose’s novels in the Renincarnationist series. She is one of the founding board members of International Thriller Writers and runs the blog- Buzz, Balls & Hype. She is also the co-founder of Peroozal.com and BookTrib.com.

Rose lives in CT with her husband the musician and composer, Doug Scofield, and their very spoiled and often photographed dog, Winka.

For more information on M.J. Rose and her novels, please visit her WEBSITE. You can also find her on Facebook.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra–and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances–and of her mother’s suicide–she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it’s financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing–leaving a dead body in his wake–Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother’s disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L’Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation – or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac’s quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

GUEST POST

I’ve been fascinated with lost fragrances since long before I started writing The Book of Lost Fragrances… since I found a bottle of perfume on my great grandmother’s dresser that had belonged to her mother in Russia. Here is one of those lost fragrances that stirs the senses and the imagination… (reasearched and described with the help of the perfume writer Dimitrios Dimitriadis)

CHÉRIGAN – FLEURS DE TABAC
At the height of the Art Deco age, Parfums Chérigan launched Fleurs de Tabacin 1929.
Fleurs de Tabachas a brisk citrus opening over a dry, smokey vetiver heart which is imbued with tiny star-shaped jasmine blooms and sheets of pungent cured tobacco leaf. Finally, a rich amber/vanilla base and sensual muskiness reveals itself and trails off well into the drydown. A wonderful example of the European predilection towards tobacco-inspired scents in the 20’s and 30’s, and one that is sadly now lost to time.

DISCLAIMER

No items that I receive

are ever sold…they are kept by me,

or given to family and/or friends.

Meme, W.W.W. Wednesdays

W.W.W. Wednesday

CMash March 28, 2012 1 Comment

April 21st, 2012

I am so excited.!!! I just signed up for the Dewey 24 hour Read-A-Thon. This will be my first year participating and it looks like fun. I wasn’t blogging at the time when “Dewey” started it and now it continues in her memory. Click on date above if you want to join in, become a cheerleader, or host a challenge, help with prizes, etc. Have you signed up?