DEAD OF WYNTER by Spencer Seidel

Published by Publishing Works, Inc.,
ISBN-13: 978-1-935557-69-2
At the request of Meryl L. Moss Media, an ARC TPB was sent, at no cost to me, for my honest opinion.
  Synopsis (from marketing): There is the Maine of summer — warm, picturesque, filled with vacationing families — and then there is the Maine of winter, where the cold creeps into your bones and refuses to leave. Alice Wynter Dunn thought she’d never have to go back to her hometown of Redding, Maine, where secrets are buried under a thick layer of ice and the chill emanates from people’s hearts.
  A phone call in the middle of the night. Alice’s infamous father, Edward “Papa” Wynter, is dead from a gunshot wound. Leaving her distant husband in their New Jersey McMansion, Alice races back to Redding. What at first seems like a simple case of burying her past along with her cruel, alcoholic father turns into a double mystery. Papa Wynter wasn’t a victim of suicide as originally thought — it was murder, and Alice’s abused twin brother, Chris, is missing.
  Memories begin to crack the surface as apparitions from the past appear. The winter when Chris ran wild with his bad-seed cousin, cruising from petty crimes to irreversible tragedy, is revealed. Could this be the catalyst that drove Chris to become a hard-core alcoholic like their father? And did their cousin Ray, a junior sociopath in the making, really die in a snowmobile accident?
  Supervising Lieutenant Detective Don Lambert has his suspicions. Chris and Papa were last seen arguing in their favorite townie bar the night of the murder — and they were fighting about Ray; the same Ray who tortures Alice’s memories. Things grow more complicated when the murder weapon is found and her mother, Jackie Ruth, is brought in for questioning. What is she hiding? What dark secret from Alice’s past is about to be exposed?
  My Thoughts and Opinion: The author of this debut thriller is one to put on your radar. The story takes place between the present time when Alice Wynter Dunn returns to her hometown, which she has tried to erase and rewrite her history, and 1984, the year that changed the Wynter family’s lives. A year full of deep, dark secrets that has plagued them for years in varied ways. Alice, by escaping the area, her father and twin brother, by escaping with alcohol. But secrets that come back to haunt and kill them. The author was able to, with his writing style, portray the absolute evil in some of the characters in the book, but also let the reader feel the frightening emotions that other characters were feeling. A disturbing, chilling, yet intriguing read which was hard to put down, with a shocking conclusion.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
*Grab your current read
*Open to a random page
*Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
*BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
*Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

  The first spatters of warm rain were tapping the roof and trunk as he popped it open.
  The body of a woman was stuffed inside.  An older woman, white or Hispanic, with straight white hair, her dark, bloated flesh straining against the now taut clothes and loops of duct tape that bound her.

Yes!!!  The secret is out.  Some of the best visitors are those that stop by here, but then, I am quite biased.  Why else would I be getting requests from authors that they would like to stop by, visit and tell us about their newest book.  Today, we have just such a guest.  So, please help me in welcoming YA author, Ms. Stephanie Void !!

She loves hearing from readers; you can contact her at her website: stephanievoid.com.

1) TIME FRAME- I can get a book available to readers in a fraction of the time a publishing house would. Publishing houses can take up to 2 years to get a book on the shelves. All I have to do is put it together in the proper formats, and I’m done.
2) DISILLUSIONMENT- After reading some pretty terrible books and finding out that some of them were almost immediately snapped up for publication, I’ve largely lost my faith in the publishing industry as a quality filter. If I can’t trust publishing houses and agents to screen out the sub-par fiction, then what are they for?
3) CONTROL- I can design my own cover (I’m a graphic designer) if I want, and can keep the book the way I want it. It’s 100% MY vision, not that of an overstressed editor.
4) OWNERSHIP- The books are mine. If I want to give you a free e-book, I can.
5) MONEY- Amazon gives me 70% of the cover price. My royalties from a publishing house would be a mere fraction of that. I can charge you less and still make more money. We both win.
6) STICKING IT TO THE MAN- Being indie makes the rebel in me smile.
7) CHANGING INDUSTRY- People don’t just buy books at their local bookstores anymore. Now there are e-books and e-readers, even I-Pod applications that let you read books on the go. And sales are going up. This is the future.

Running from Secrets is a young adult (or YA) fantasy e-book. If you like dark fantasy about possessed queens, wind chimes with a secret code, naked paintings, mysterious professors, gutsy girls, and even a Dark Lord…. you’re going to LOVE Running from Secrets.

Bethany has never felt as alone as she feels in Linwood—until she dreams up Chime, a woman on the run because of a magic crime she didn’t commit. The dreams get more and more urgent, so Bethany tries to banish them by writing them down, only to discover she’s stumbled into the role of unwitting controller of Chime’s world.

Chime is real here, and so is the possessed queen, minion army, mysterious professor, Vault Five, wind chimes with a secret code, child’s rhyme that can kill, the naked painting, and other things Chime’s story leads her to.

She has to fix the story without erasing Chime and her world, because if she erases Chime, she will die as well.



  Running from Secrets is a young adult (or YA) fantasy e-book. If you like dark fantasy about possessed queens, wind chimes with a secret code, naked paintings, mysterious professors, gutsy girls, and even a Dark Lord…. you’re going to LOVE Running from Secrets.
  Bethany has never felt as alone as she feels in Linwood—until she dreams up Chime, a woman on the run because of a magic crime she didn’t commit. The dreams get more and more urgent, so Bethany tries to banish them by writing them down, only to discover she’s stumbled into the role of unwitting controller of Chime’s world.
  Chime is real here, and so is the possessed queen, minion army, mysterious professor, Vault Five, wind chimes with a secret code, child’s rhyme that can kill, the naked painting, and other things Chime’s story leads her to.
  She has to fix the story without erasing Chime and her world, because if she erases Chime, she will die as well.

 

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU BECOME A FACEBOOK
  FOLLOWER OF STEPHANIE VOID.

*EBOOK EDITION*
*INTERNATIONAL*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 30th AT 6PM EST*
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG
AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL AND WILL
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,
agent and/or author. This blog hosts 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

This week’s question:
This week’s musing asks…

The local Catholic school board is closing its school libraries, and parents and teachers –and even the students– are in an uproar. Budget cuts demanded that the board choose something to get rid of… they choose libraries. As such, many librarians have lost their jobs. And, the board is moving the books to the classrooms, instead. They feel that it is a good solution.
What do you think? Should the schools be without an actual “library” room? Is this a good solution?
My answer:
  This is a hard question for me on so many levels.  One my boys have been out of school for quite a few years, I understand the economy is hitting everyone hard, the new world of technology and what I consider, and this is my opinion only, common sense.  My first reaction was my experience to “the library and it’s use” when I was in school and what my sons would tell me when they were in school.  It was used as a “free period” to socialize.  Any reference material was always done after school at the Public Library.  And with my boys, once we had a PC, reference was done in the comfort of home.  Access to books, again, was always through the Public Library.
  I don’t know if removing libraries is a good move, but in this economy, I do feel budget cuts are necessary.  And it’s not only libraries.  My mother and sister resided in an assisted living facility subsidized by the Catholic Diocese, and due to the economy and costs had to close the doors.  Some people had been living there for more than 10 years, it was their home and now had to find somewhere else to live. I had to find a new facility for my mother and sister, and unfortunately not one facility I looked at compared to where they were living.
  Because of having to deal with something of that magnitude, a library to me, does not seem as important when there are other means of getting books and reference material.

According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”
                              The Hachette Book Group                 Doubleday

                                                  

            From Authors

                         (galley)                        (galley)

Yes!!!  The secret is out.  Some of the best visitors are those that stop by here, but then, I am quite biased.  Why else would I be getting requests from authors that they would like to stop by, visit and tell us about their newest book.  Today, we have just such a guest.  So, please help me in welcoming YA author, Ms. Stephanie Void !!

She loves hearing from readers; you can contact her at her website: stephanievoid.com.

1) TIME FRAME- I can get a book available to readers in a fraction of the time a publishing house would. Publishing houses can take up to 2 years to get a book on the shelves. All I have to do is put it together in the proper formats, and I’m done.
2) DISILLUSIONMENT- After reading some pretty terrible books and finding out that some of them were almost immediately snapped up for publication, I’ve largely lost my faith in the publishing industry as a quality filter. If I can’t trust publishing houses and agents to screen out the sub-par fiction, then what are they for?
3) CONTROL- I can design my own cover (I’m a graphic designer) if I want, and can keep the book the way I want it. It’s 100% MY vision, not that of an overstressed editor.
4) OWNERSHIP- The books are mine. If I want to give you a free e-book, I can.
5) MONEY- Amazon gives me 70% of the cover price. My royalties from a publishing house would be a mere fraction of that. I can charge you less and still make more money. We both win.
6) STICKING IT TO THE MAN- Being indie makes the rebel in me smile.
7) CHANGING INDUSTRY- People don’t just buy books at their local bookstores anymore. Now there are e-books and e-readers, even I-Pod applications that let you read books on the go. And sales are going up. This is the future.

Running from Secrets is a young adult (or YA) fantasy e-book. If you like dark fantasy about possessed queens, wind chimes with a secret code, naked paintings, mysterious professors, gutsy girls, and even a Dark Lord…. you’re going to LOVE Running from Secrets.

Bethany has never felt as alone as she feels in Linwood—until she dreams up Chime, a woman on the run because of a magic crime she didn’t commit. The dreams get more and more urgent, so Bethany tries to banish them by writing them down, only to discover she’s stumbled into the role of unwitting controller of Chime’s world.

Chime is real here, and so is the possessed queen, minion army, mysterious professor, Vault Five, wind chimes with a secret code, child’s rhyme that can kill, the naked painting, and other things Chime’s story leads her to.

She has to fix the story without erasing Chime and her world, because if she erases Chime, she will die as well.



  Running from Secrets is a young adult (or YA) fantasy e-book. If you like dark fantasy about possessed queens, wind chimes with a secret code, naked paintings, mysterious professors, gutsy girls, and even a Dark Lord…. you’re going to LOVE Running from Secrets.
  Bethany has never felt as alone as she feels in Linwood—until she dreams up Chime, a woman on the run because of a magic crime she didn’t commit. The dreams get more and more urgent, so Bethany tries to banish them by writing them down, only to discover she’s stumbled into the role of unwitting controller of Chime’s world.
  Chime is real here, and so is the possessed queen, minion army, mysterious professor, Vault Five, wind chimes with a secret code, child’s rhyme that can kill, the naked painting, and other things Chime’s story leads her to.
  She has to fix the story without erasing Chime and her world, because if she erases Chime, she will die as well.

 

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU PUBLICLY FOLLOW THIS
  BLOG (IF NOT, GOOGLE FRIEND CONNECT ON RIGHT SIDE).

*LEAVE SEPARATE COMMENT IF YOU BECOME A FACEBOOK
  FOLLOWER OF STEPHANIE VOID.

*EBOOK EDITION*
*INTERNATIONAL*
*NO P.O. BOXES*

*GIVEAWAY ENDS MAY 30th AT 6PM EST*
WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN BY RANDOM.ORG
AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL AND WILL
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,
agent and/or author. This blog hosts 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

This week’s question:
This week’s musing asks…

The local Catholic school board is closing its school libraries, and parents and teachers –and even the students– are in an uproar. Budget cuts demanded that the board choose something to get rid of… they choose libraries. As such, many librarians have lost their jobs. And, the board is moving the books to the classrooms, instead. They feel that it is a good solution.
What do you think? Should the schools be without an actual “library” room? Is this a good solution?
My answer:
  This is a hard question for me on so many levels.  One my boys have been out of school for quite a few years, I understand the economy is hitting everyone hard, the new world of technology and what I consider, and this is my opinion only, common sense.  My first reaction was my experience to “the library and it’s use” when I was in school and what my sons would tell me when they were in school.  It was used as a “free period” to socialize.  Any reference material was always done after school at the Public Library.  And with my boys, once we had a PC, reference was done in the comfort of home.  Access to books, again, was always through the Public Library.
  I don’t know if removing libraries is a good move, but in this economy, I do feel budget cuts are necessary.  And it’s not only libraries.  My mother and sister resided in an assisted living facility subsidized by the Catholic Diocese, and due to the economy and costs had to close the doors.  Some people had been living there for more than 10 years, it was their home and now had to find somewhere else to live. I had to find a new facility for my mother and sister, and unfortunately not one facility I looked at compared to where they were living.
  Because of having to deal with something of that magnitude, a library to me, does not seem as important when there are other means of getting books and reference material.

According to Marcia, “Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.”
                              The Hachette Book Group                 Doubleday

                                                  

            From Authors

                         (galley)                        (galley)