Back in the late 1980s when I was in writer infancy, I massaged a plot for a mystery novel. I did the submission two-step, sending out query letters and sample chapters only to discover literary agents weren’t sure what to make of what I was writing. I combined genres which was a no-no back then. “Write mystery or science fiction, but don’t combine the two.” I had read once to write what you like to read. I liked to read mysteries, but I always like to read Stephen King and Dean Koontz. Not to be discouraged, I kept trying to find that elusive agent who would take a chance.
I did find a publisher in Canada but upon reading their contract realized they expected me to pay a share of the cost. I then tried finding an agent who wasn’t in New York, thinking an agent in a western state would be more interested in a series with some Native American characters. I found an agent in New Mexico only to lose her in three months when she decided to close up shop to take care of an ailing husband.
After rewriting my first book four times in an attempt to appease agents who couldn’t agree on what I needed to work on (“the plot is great, but the characters are cardboard” vs “the characters are great but your plot needs work”), I decided to look into self-publishing. I read a book, “Publish Your Own Novel” by Connie Shelton and started taking notes and crunching numbers. I continued to send out query letters but also researched publishing. I attended a one day seminar at Columbia College in Chicago on publishing. I joined Publishers Marketing Association and Small Publishers Association of North America. PMA conducts four days of publishing seminars every year prior to the Book Expo. I attended various seminars on cover design, selecting a printer, creating a marketing plan, submitting to wholesalers, getting reviews, etc. My husband and I toured a printing company in Michigan.
After setting up a marketing plan and budget, I acquired a business license in 1998 for Full Moon Publishing LLC. Two main points I had learned in the seminars were to identify my target audience and set my goals. I knew I wanted to focus on libraries. Many readers rely on their local libraries to obtain books to read. Libraries prefer hard covers, although they do carry paperbacks. I also knew I didn’t have the time or inclination to travel a lot so targeting mainly libraries was perfect. This was another reason I decided against a traditional publisher. Traditional publishers like you to go on book tours, travel to signings. I had a day job and didn’t have the time nor desire to travel outside my comfort zone.
When I looked at my budget I knew I could afford a 3,000 hardcover print run. I selected an order fulfillment house to handle orders and billing since I wouldn’t have the time to handle this on my own. I had to leave time for my day job and to write.
For point number two, my goals were to get reviewed by reputable reviewers and sell sub-rights. Most of my books have been reviewed by Booklist, Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. I have sold large print rights and audio book rights. The only other right I am still striving for is screenplay rights.
In 2006 I realized the costs to my fulfillment house were taking a huge chunk out of my profits so I started researching POD (print on demand). This seemed to fit my budget and marketing plans best. I would no longer have to pay order fulfillment charges, insurance, returns fulfillment, administrative fees, etc. I just had to rent a small humidity and temperature-controlled facility to house my books. And since I use Lightning Source as my POD printer, they are owned by Ingram which is one of the major wholesalers to book stores and libraries. With POD if someone wants one copy, they print one copy. The quality of a Lightning Source POD is equal to any traditional run trade paperback and another advantage is that LSI handles the orders and shipping. The hard covers are four-color laminate with the option of a jacket cover. I wanted to price my books wallet-friendly for the average consumer. Since the cost to produce with POD never changes whether I print one or one hundred books, pricing proved to be a challenge. In order to achieve my objective, I would only be able to give wholesalers a 50% discount instead of the customary 55% discount and I would make the hard covers non-returnable.
Technology keeps changing. With the advent of eReaders, I now realized I had to take another step to reach more readers. Smashwords.com has what they call a “meat grinder.” After massaging the text file of my books according to their simple guidelines, I was able to upload each book onto the Smashwords web site and they convert them into a number of different eReader formats, whether for Amazon’s Kindle or the Sony Reader, the Nook, pdf, and many others.
Smashwords also started a program last year for our military. Through Operation eBook Drop members of the military can download free eBooks from participating authors. Details about the program can be found at http://blog.smashwords.com/2009/09/ smashwords-supports-operation-ebbok.html.
eBooks have another advantage of reaching readers across the pond. Purchasing books oftentimes includes steep shipping fees, especially for those living in Europe, New Zealand or Australia. But with eBooks, it’s a simple download to a computer or eReader.
For those who still like the feel of a “live” book, through LSI my books are also available in the UK, EU and Canada. Lightning Source has print facilities in Europe. And if you live in Australia you just have to walk into participating book stores, select a book and wait while it is printed and bound with the use of the latest technology -- Espresso Book Machine.
I will still continue to produce hard covers and trade paperbacks since not everyone owns an eReader nor wants to own an eReader. But having my books produced in various formats allows me to keep up with changing technology and reach more readers.
Sandra Tooley is the author of the Sam Casey series, the Chase Dagger series (written as Lee Driver), and the Remy and Roadkill series (for readers age 11 to 111). Web site: www.sdtooley.com. Her eBooks can be found at www.smashwords.com/profile/view/tooley and www.smashwords.com/profile/view/leedriver
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Guest Post Manoj Rao
Hi! Iʼm Manoj Rao, creator of WMDs the comic, available on the Apple App Store for the iPhone, iPod Touch& iPad. When I approached Giovanni about reviewing our first two issues, WMDs #1.0 & #1.5, I’d also pitched the idea of writing a guest blog for him, he graciously agreed and so here I am. I thought I would use this as an opportunity to share with you, the journey, perils, pitfalls & rewards of self-publishing in the digital age.
I originally pitched the idea as a movie script to agents from William Morris. They said it had potential, but they also warned me I’d have an uphill battle because I have no track record. They were right; no one would even speak to me at first. Then I realized that even the established talent at Marvel & DC goes the self publishing route when they want to launch one of their own ideas. Ok, I was going to publish myself.
I wanted to call my business DarkMojo Productions. A lawyer did the name search for me and got me approved for “Dark MoFO productions”. Not only did he charge me a fortune, he also got the name wrong. Then he started talking about protecting my IP. I started to freak about how much all of this was going to cost, but I had to protect myself from someone’ stealing my ideaʼ. I registered at the writersʼ guild, applied for my trademarks, and copyrighted my material, all stuff I’d learned from internet research. At Comicon, I attended a “Law for indie-publishers” seminar which confirmed that we had done the right stuff. Didn’t need expensive lawyers to get basic IP protection. Lesson # 1- Protect yourself as best as you can, then get your idea out there and pray. You can do it yourself and avoid the money grabbers ... which brings me to the next topic.
A friend introduced me to an artist from Marvel, and we met over coffee at Starbucks to go over the idea. The artist liked it. We agreed verbally to terms. I went home and drafted a ʻwork for hireʼ contract and sent it his way. The contract covered page rates, # of pages, and a deadline, which would be June 2009, in time for Comicon. He signed it and we were on our way, or so I thought. Can you guess what happened next? Six months passed and he stiffed us at Comicon and never returned our $1000 deposit. We fired him.
My mentors told me to move along and stay focused on WMDs. Great advice, I had faith that Karma or heart failure would catch up to the artist sooner or later. Lesson #2, Don’t get star struck when dealing with artists, they’re people like anyone else. Above all, pay for performance and NO deposits. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down, it’s your project, not theirs, hence “work for hire”- plenty of fish in the sea.
When we’d hit rock bottom, my friend Todd connected me to an agent and in less than a week, we had our artist signed. He accepted the newly draconian, ultra cautious work-for-hire contract and delivered the artwork for WMDs #1.0 and #1.5 in less than 3 weeks. I love working with them, they’re so professional.
Speaking of professional, my partners in crime Bogdan Orlic and Dave Conde are awesome as well as creative, motivating & fun, all you could ask for in a team. They make things easy... all of this leads to Lesson # 3: Surround yourself with the right people; they make life so much easier. Don’t surround yourself with “fr-enemies”. A supportive spouse is also very important :) Now we had a finished product, we just had to get it published. There were a few publishers / printers for indie-comics, but I didn’t have the cash or the desire to do a large print run. Also, I viewed print as being a medium constrained heavily by geography & quantity. With the way technology was evolving, I wanted to invest in something you had to create once, then could infinitely leverage. Don’t get me wrong- printed comic books will always be around, but I think most people would be happy with an e-issue they can take with them wherever they go. I wanted to make a Comic book App for the iPhone. Build it and they will come.
Lesson # 4: Building tech is hard, and they may not come right away, marketing is key. You also need to create economies of scale. Buy the damn app people!!!! Just kidding... sort of. We built it and published WMDs # 1.0 and 1.5 with it... and people are downloading them even as we speak. Hopefully more after this article. Now we’re working on the next few issues, and helping others get their work published in our App reader as well. Why should others have to re-invent the wheel when they can just leverage ours?
All of this to say, that if you have a dream, chase it like crazy and don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes, believe in yourself and work with people that have your back. Also, you reach a point where one person can’t do it all, you have to know when it’s time to relinquish control in order to grow your business. Would you rather own 10% of something that’s wildly successful, or 100% of something that never takes off? If you have a concept you want to get made and you don’t know where to start, give us a call, that’s what we do... is help you get it out there. Once you do, the sky is the limit, so make it happen.
Manoj Rao Founder, Executive Producer DarkMojo Productions Email: ManojRao.darkmojo@gmail.com Web: www.darkmojoproductions.com
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I originally pitched the idea as a movie script to agents from William Morris. They said it had potential, but they also warned me I’d have an uphill battle because I have no track record. They were right; no one would even speak to me at first. Then I realized that even the established talent at Marvel & DC goes the self publishing route when they want to launch one of their own ideas. Ok, I was going to publish myself.
I wanted to call my business DarkMojo Productions. A lawyer did the name search for me and got me approved for “Dark MoFO productions”. Not only did he charge me a fortune, he also got the name wrong. Then he started talking about protecting my IP. I started to freak about how much all of this was going to cost, but I had to protect myself from someone’ stealing my ideaʼ. I registered at the writersʼ guild, applied for my trademarks, and copyrighted my material, all stuff I’d learned from internet research. At Comicon, I attended a “Law for indie-publishers” seminar which confirmed that we had done the right stuff. Didn’t need expensive lawyers to get basic IP protection. Lesson # 1- Protect yourself as best as you can, then get your idea out there and pray. You can do it yourself and avoid the money grabbers ... which brings me to the next topic.
A friend introduced me to an artist from Marvel, and we met over coffee at Starbucks to go over the idea. The artist liked it. We agreed verbally to terms. I went home and drafted a ʻwork for hireʼ contract and sent it his way. The contract covered page rates, # of pages, and a deadline, which would be June 2009, in time for Comicon. He signed it and we were on our way, or so I thought. Can you guess what happened next? Six months passed and he stiffed us at Comicon and never returned our $1000 deposit. We fired him.
My mentors told me to move along and stay focused on WMDs. Great advice, I had faith that Karma or heart failure would catch up to the artist sooner or later. Lesson #2, Don’t get star struck when dealing with artists, they’re people like anyone else. Above all, pay for performance and NO deposits. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down, it’s your project, not theirs, hence “work for hire”- plenty of fish in the sea.
When we’d hit rock bottom, my friend Todd connected me to an agent and in less than a week, we had our artist signed. He accepted the newly draconian, ultra cautious work-for-hire contract and delivered the artwork for WMDs #1.0 and #1.5 in less than 3 weeks. I love working with them, they’re so professional.
Speaking of professional, my partners in crime Bogdan Orlic and Dave Conde are awesome as well as creative, motivating & fun, all you could ask for in a team. They make things easy... all of this leads to Lesson # 3: Surround yourself with the right people; they make life so much easier. Don’t surround yourself with “fr-enemies”. A supportive spouse is also very important :) Now we had a finished product, we just had to get it published. There were a few publishers / printers for indie-comics, but I didn’t have the cash or the desire to do a large print run. Also, I viewed print as being a medium constrained heavily by geography & quantity. With the way technology was evolving, I wanted to invest in something you had to create once, then could infinitely leverage. Don’t get me wrong- printed comic books will always be around, but I think most people would be happy with an e-issue they can take with them wherever they go. I wanted to make a Comic book App for the iPhone. Build it and they will come.
Lesson # 4: Building tech is hard, and they may not come right away, marketing is key. You also need to create economies of scale. Buy the damn app people!!!! Just kidding... sort of. We built it and published WMDs # 1.0 and 1.5 with it... and people are downloading them even as we speak. Hopefully more after this article. Now we’re working on the next few issues, and helping others get their work published in our App reader as well. Why should others have to re-invent the wheel when they can just leverage ours?
All of this to say, that if you have a dream, chase it like crazy and don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes, believe in yourself and work with people that have your back. Also, you reach a point where one person can’t do it all, you have to know when it’s time to relinquish control in order to grow your business. Would you rather own 10% of something that’s wildly successful, or 100% of something that never takes off? If you have a concept you want to get made and you don’t know where to start, give us a call, that’s what we do... is help you get it out there. Once you do, the sky is the limit, so make it happen.
Manoj Rao Founder, Executive Producer DarkMojo Productions Email: ManojRao.darkmojo@gmail.com Web: www.darkmojoproductions.com
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Dean M. DeLuke Shedrow
I didn’t know if this was going to be something I could enjoy, a mystery surrounding race horses. I know absolutely nothing about horse racing or horses in general other than the fact that they have four legs, consume food, and it comes out the other end in large steaming piles. Fortunately for me this novel was not a big steaming pile.
I was as shocked as anyone that I got a groove on this. I would say the reason was that Dean DeLuke ‘s descriptive ability and plotline drew me in. I became fascinated by a world I have not really known and enjoyed learning something new through his eyes. The other part he was throwing in was the medical jargon of his main character a surgeon, and the mindset that he had. I became attached to Dr. Gianni, not to be confused with me the real G-man, and it surprised me. This is a tale that involves a horse, a doctor, the mob, horse racing and a complicated scheme, sounds about right. The bad guys are of course extremely bad, not too bright, and very transparent. The good doctor and the horse though, I wanted to know what was going on with them.
The action is good, the places Dean DeLuke takes in Shedrow are a bit different than the usual crime /suspense novels and his ability to make us feel like we are there is good. I enjoyed this debut novel. It was a nice respite from the usual hardboiled detective novel that seems to come at us all too often. I enjoyed Dean DeLuke’s passion for the horses and for racing; it came through rather nicely and for me that was the crowning point of the novel. I feel without that personal element, the plotline and the narrative would have become flat and formulaic. Personally I was glad I gave it a shot. Right now Dean DeLuke has two appearances scheduled and here is the website to get more info:
http://www.facebook.com/l/a0e5f-YH5enYvByqUHjrZ_1xtQA;www.shedrow1.com
1) Borders on Broadway, Saratoga Springs, August 27th 10 AM to noon.
2) The Open Door Bookstore, Jay St in Schenectady, NY, Sept 25th. He plans to tour later in the fall.
Also, the website has excerpts, reviews, a book trailer, contest offerings etc. at
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin . Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Visual Book Shelf, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I was as shocked as anyone that I got a groove on this. I would say the reason was that Dean DeLuke ‘s descriptive ability and plotline drew me in. I became fascinated by a world I have not really known and enjoyed learning something new through his eyes. The other part he was throwing in was the medical jargon of his main character a surgeon, and the mindset that he had. I became attached to Dr. Gianni, not to be confused with me the real G-man, and it surprised me. This is a tale that involves a horse, a doctor, the mob, horse racing and a complicated scheme, sounds about right. The bad guys are of course extremely bad, not too bright, and very transparent. The good doctor and the horse though, I wanted to know what was going on with them.
The action is good, the places Dean DeLuke takes in Shedrow are a bit different than the usual crime /suspense novels and his ability to make us feel like we are there is good. I enjoyed this debut novel. It was a nice respite from the usual hardboiled detective novel that seems to come at us all too often. I enjoyed Dean DeLuke’s passion for the horses and for racing; it came through rather nicely and for me that was the crowning point of the novel. I feel without that personal element, the plotline and the narrative would have become flat and formulaic. Personally I was glad I gave it a shot. Right now Dean DeLuke has two appearances scheduled and here is the website to get more info:
http://www.facebook.com/l/a0e5f-YH5enYvByqUHjrZ_1xtQA;www.shedrow1.com
1) Borders on Broadway, Saratoga Springs, August 27th 10 AM to noon.
2) The Open Door Bookstore, Jay St in Schenectady, NY, Sept 25th. He plans to tour later in the fall.
Also, the website has excerpts, reviews, a book trailer, contest offerings etc. at
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin . Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Visual Book Shelf, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Blast From The Past Vanished Joseph Finder
Last Sunday, I shared with you a series of novels I thought would make you laugh and cringe at the same time. This week I have a novel for you that have recently been released in paperback, Joseph Finder’s Vanished. To say I am a fan is an understatement. I have read all his novels and always look forward to the next. So, if you wish, click off here, thinking I am a homer, see you tomorrow, maybe. Me being the Yankees fan I was raised to be, always can find something wrong with things in Boston,haha.
Vanished is an absorbing read. I am consistently amazed by the element of detail that Joseph Finder adds to his novels. It sets him apart from others in the genre and he seems to raise his game with each new novel. The plot line of Vanished has us experiencing the collision of three fractured, damaged people, in a father and his two sons. The force and speed to which Finder narrates the story puts them on a course that would seemingly find them in an atom smasher. I personally enjoyed the whole thing. Reading about a fast moving train wreck and being an innocent bystander isn’t a bad thing when there are no real life fatalities.
I am hard pressed to name more than a handful of authors that are in Joseph Finders stratus in this genre. Getting a novel of his that one has not read is truly a pleasure. If you haven’t discovered him for whatever reason, do yourself a favor and pick up any of his many titles. Here are a few: Paranoia, Power Play, Killer Instinct, Company Man, No Hiding Place. I don’t hesitate to say to put them in your Goodreads or Shelfari –to read – lists. FYI- for Finder fans , if you didn’t know, he is one of the contributing authors of a short story to the Agents of Treachery novel that was recently released. You can check our archives for my thoughts on that. Joseph Finder’s newest novel, Buried Secrets, is due out in the spring of 2011, which I look forward to reading.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Vanished is an absorbing read. I am consistently amazed by the element of detail that Joseph Finder adds to his novels. It sets him apart from others in the genre and he seems to raise his game with each new novel. The plot line of Vanished has us experiencing the collision of three fractured, damaged people, in a father and his two sons. The force and speed to which Finder narrates the story puts them on a course that would seemingly find them in an atom smasher. I personally enjoyed the whole thing. Reading about a fast moving train wreck and being an innocent bystander isn’t a bad thing when there are no real life fatalities.
I am hard pressed to name more than a handful of authors that are in Joseph Finders stratus in this genre. Getting a novel of his that one has not read is truly a pleasure. If you haven’t discovered him for whatever reason, do yourself a favor and pick up any of his many titles. Here are a few: Paranoia, Power Play, Killer Instinct, Company Man, No Hiding Place. I don’t hesitate to say to put them in your Goodreads or Shelfari –to read – lists. FYI- for Finder fans , if you didn’t know, he is one of the contributing authors of a short story to the Agents of Treachery novel that was recently released. You can check our archives for my thoughts on that. Joseph Finder’s newest novel, Buried Secrets, is due out in the spring of 2011, which I look forward to reading.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Graphic Novel Friday Batman/Gotham Underground Frank Tieri
Are you a Batman fan of any kind? I am and this is just the graphic novel for any size Batman fan: passive /aggressive or in the middle. Frank Tieri along with J. Calafiore as Penciller and Jack Purcell/ Inker make an amazzing team (this is so good I had to use two z’s).You want villains: Biff, Pow, Wham, you have almost all of them in these pages.
I give no spoilers but here is the synopsis from the back page: ”Gotham City may be under Batman’s protection, but what if the Dark Knight detective wasn’t there when his city needed him? With an underworld power vacuum caused by the death of Black Mask, Gotham’s gangs are running riot in the streets. A war is brewing between the masked super-villains and the anti-mask mobsters, led by Tobias Whale and the Penguin who supposedly went legit months ago. To confront the growing crisis, Bruce Wayne goes undercover as his gangster alter ego, Matches Malone…and ends up incarcerated in Blackgate Prison with a price on his head and no means of escape. With almost all of Batman’s Rogues Gallery caught up in the gang war, it will take Robin, Nightwing, Oracle, and the rest of the extended Bat-family to prevent Gotham from falling into utter chaos. If they fail, the next person to wind up underground in Gotham could be Batman himself.”
I enjoyed Tieri’s work on Batman and the Outsiders; he has the Dark Knight down pat. The dialogue is crisp and the banter fresh and exciting. The number of villains is too much to keep up with in just one reading. The penciling and ink by the team of Calafiore & Purcell really brings the story to life and adds a totally new dimension to the graphic novel. The action is intense; the pages turn quickly the first time around. These are the many faces of Batman and his Bat Family versus just about everybody. This is a great read; add it to your reading list and enjoy it.
***HEADS UP. I have a bit of news and a contest to for you. It involves Speed Racer and it is an art competition. Here is the link: Go to it and see if you want to enter - http://www.maximilliangallery.com/speedracerartcompetition.php?id=1
And don’t miss out on the Book and Author festival in Idaho October 22 & 23. Here is the link for that: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fidahobookextravaganza.com%252F&h=a0c08&ref=nf
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I give no spoilers but here is the synopsis from the back page: ”Gotham City may be under Batman’s protection, but what if the Dark Knight detective wasn’t there when his city needed him? With an underworld power vacuum caused by the death of Black Mask, Gotham’s gangs are running riot in the streets. A war is brewing between the masked super-villains and the anti-mask mobsters, led by Tobias Whale and the Penguin who supposedly went legit months ago. To confront the growing crisis, Bruce Wayne goes undercover as his gangster alter ego, Matches Malone…and ends up incarcerated in Blackgate Prison with a price on his head and no means of escape. With almost all of Batman’s Rogues Gallery caught up in the gang war, it will take Robin, Nightwing, Oracle, and the rest of the extended Bat-family to prevent Gotham from falling into utter chaos. If they fail, the next person to wind up underground in Gotham could be Batman himself.”
I enjoyed Tieri’s work on Batman and the Outsiders; he has the Dark Knight down pat. The dialogue is crisp and the banter fresh and exciting. The number of villains is too much to keep up with in just one reading. The penciling and ink by the team of Calafiore & Purcell really brings the story to life and adds a totally new dimension to the graphic novel. The action is intense; the pages turn quickly the first time around. These are the many faces of Batman and his Bat Family versus just about everybody. This is a great read; add it to your reading list and enjoy it.
***HEADS UP. I have a bit of news and a contest to for you. It involves Speed Racer and it is an art competition. Here is the link: Go to it and see if you want to enter - http://www.maximilliangallery.com/speedracerartcompetition.php?id=1
And don’t miss out on the Book and Author festival in Idaho October 22 & 23. Here is the link for that: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%253A%252F%252Fidahobookextravaganza.com%252F&h=a0c08&ref=nf
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Graphic Novel Friday WMDs The Weapons Are Coming Manoj Rao
I made some new friends over at Linkedin and they have been amazing finds. The latest one is Manoj Rao and his new graphic novel series WMDs The Weapons Are Coming. I love the concept. I enjoyed the plotline, artwork, dialogue and premise. Wait, did I tell you how much I enjoyed all this? The whole experience was another first for me, reading and experiencing a graphic novel on an iphone , my son’s.
Manoj Rao puts together an amazing concept and method of delivery. He is going to guest post this coming Wednesday. I had the benefit of reading about the journey he has made to get this point, truly amazing. The graphic novel was one fun read and I enjoyed the entire thing. The characters he has created are original and fun; the artwork is very nice and the inks are great. I could easily see this as a nice cartoon series or animated movie.
WMDs is a well thought out and executed idea. The heart and dedication to bringing this to market can be felt in the read. The core group of weapons is intriguing and I feel that I could get sucked into this rather easily. Agustin Padilla has done an excellent job with the illustrations; Rao has put together some very nice dialogue, and the combination is a winner. Reading them on the iphone made it even more special for me as it was my first time doing so. Would I like to read all my graphic novels this way, I don’t know? I haven’t really digested that one yet. The Weapons Are Coming though was built for it and it was fun; the colors were vibrant and tangible. I felt no disconnect at all.
I didn’t know what I was getting in WMDs when I received it. Having gone through it though, I would have to say that is nothing short of cutting edge for graphic novels. This is what the future holds for the industry. Is the print version of the graphic novel dead? No, I don’t think that paper is going to pass whether it is for books, newspapers, or graphic novels. Radio was supposed to die with cable television and we now have satellite radio, who would have thought. Finding new things is nice and fun; quality in the work is great also. Put them together and you have a really nice combination. Be bold, give this new group of Superheroes a chance, WMDs. Manjoa Rao has created a winner in this series. Here is the link you will need to use to go to their website and check everything out. It is fun and interactive:
www.darkmojoproductions.com/Stuff/Home.html
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin . Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Manoj Rao puts together an amazing concept and method of delivery. He is going to guest post this coming Wednesday. I had the benefit of reading about the journey he has made to get this point, truly amazing. The graphic novel was one fun read and I enjoyed the entire thing. The characters he has created are original and fun; the artwork is very nice and the inks are great. I could easily see this as a nice cartoon series or animated movie.
WMDs is a well thought out and executed idea. The heart and dedication to bringing this to market can be felt in the read. The core group of weapons is intriguing and I feel that I could get sucked into this rather easily. Agustin Padilla has done an excellent job with the illustrations; Rao has put together some very nice dialogue, and the combination is a winner. Reading them on the iphone made it even more special for me as it was my first time doing so. Would I like to read all my graphic novels this way, I don’t know? I haven’t really digested that one yet. The Weapons Are Coming though was built for it and it was fun; the colors were vibrant and tangible. I felt no disconnect at all.
I didn’t know what I was getting in WMDs when I received it. Having gone through it though, I would have to say that is nothing short of cutting edge for graphic novels. This is what the future holds for the industry. Is the print version of the graphic novel dead? No, I don’t think that paper is going to pass whether it is for books, newspapers, or graphic novels. Radio was supposed to die with cable television and we now have satellite radio, who would have thought. Finding new things is nice and fun; quality in the work is great also. Put them together and you have a really nice combination. Be bold, give this new group of Superheroes a chance, WMDs. Manjoa Rao has created a winner in this series. Here is the link you will need to use to go to their website and check everything out. It is fun and interactive:
www.darkmojoproductions.com/Stuff/Home.html
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook & Linkedin . Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; We will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Shane Briant Worst Nightmares
Goodreads for me has been a fun and exciting place. Shane Briant was nice enough to friend me there, and because of that I learned of his novel. I have to admit right from the get go I was a bit taken aback by the whole thing. It is an unusual novel filled with so many different elements; it is difficult for me to tell you it fits this genre or that. That I think is the beauty of the novel.
Worst Nightmares is a major roller coaster of a ride. I think it would have been fun to have been a fly on the wall as Shane Briant possibly sat down and laid this all out before he started to write it. He has created a very eerie and emotionally charged microcosm for his core group of characters. Each has their own issues and none of them seems to be equipped to help the other out. They are jaded, condescending and totally wrapped up into themselves. Amazingly, by the same token, Shane Briant brings his writing skills to bear and helps us to become emotionally invested in these same characters so we have a sense of caring in what happens to them at novel’s end. The tension builds the entire novel to an ending that I don’t think most readers would expect, right up to the last line.
Shane Briant is working on the sequel to this and he has told me when he started the project he had always envisioned a trilogy; I am in on that. I want more; the story and the plotline are that good. Is this a: Horror novel? Action/Thriller? Mystery? Tale of legal suspense? Western (just checking to see if you were paying attention)? I am going to go with all of the above. Opening the pages of this novel is going to give you a ride, a unique departure from the norm that is going to leave you thinking and shaking your head. I was glad to have been able to have this novel brought to my attention; for me that is the fun of the Goodreads website. Make sure that at the minimum you put this in your –to read- list there and have some fun with it; I know I did.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Worst Nightmares is a major roller coaster of a ride. I think it would have been fun to have been a fly on the wall as Shane Briant possibly sat down and laid this all out before he started to write it. He has created a very eerie and emotionally charged microcosm for his core group of characters. Each has their own issues and none of them seems to be equipped to help the other out. They are jaded, condescending and totally wrapped up into themselves. Amazingly, by the same token, Shane Briant brings his writing skills to bear and helps us to become emotionally invested in these same characters so we have a sense of caring in what happens to them at novel’s end. The tension builds the entire novel to an ending that I don’t think most readers would expect, right up to the last line.
Shane Briant is working on the sequel to this and he has told me when he started the project he had always envisioned a trilogy; I am in on that. I want more; the story and the plotline are that good. Is this a: Horror novel? Action/Thriller? Mystery? Tale of legal suspense? Western (just checking to see if you were paying attention)? I am going to go with all of the above. Opening the pages of this novel is going to give you a ride, a unique departure from the norm that is going to leave you thinking and shaking your head. I was glad to have been able to have this novel brought to my attention; for me that is the fun of the Goodreads website. Make sure that at the minimum you put this in your –to read- list there and have some fun with it; I know I did.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Guest Post Q & A with Rick R. Reed
I have read one of your novels, what made you get into the paranormal genre?
I have always had a fascination for things that go bump in the night. Whether its ghosts, werewolves, vampires or the far-scarier real things human beings do to one another, fear is an element of life that fascinates me, along with obsession. I guess those two things led me into writing horror/paranormal fiction. Plus, I spent my childhood watching every horror movie I could and Dark Shadows every day.
Your sense of humor is sharp, I enjoyed it. How hard is it for you to inject that element into your novels without going too far?
Not hard because I believe there's no such thing as going too far. Seriously, though, it's just my frame of reference, the way I look at the world. Laughter is a way of dealing with the world. The humor has to come naturally; it can't be forced. I think injecting humor into my work is more a function of the characters themselves adding it, or just my own warped view of the world and seeing the absurdity in it.
I have started to call one of the days I post, Digital Short Saturday. Are you planning to supplement what you are currently doing with any digital shorts, and what are your feelings on them?
I'm not sure what you mean by "digital shorts". I have some cargo shorts and some boxer shorts, but no digital shorts. If you mean e-books, I have fourteen already published, ranging in length from 5,000 words to over 20,000 words, too short to be print books. I love the fact that e-books have made it possible to publish shorter works of fiction as standalone books.
How has the ebook revolution changed your views on how you are published and does it affect the way and manner in which you write?
The e-book revolution means that I have seen the bulk of my royalties shift over from print to e-books as the scene has exploded. For full-length works, I won't work with a publisher who will not bring my work out in both print and e-book formats; I like readers being able to have all the options. It has no effect, however on the "way and manner" in which I write; storytelling principles and magic stay the same, no matter what the medium.
I live here in Levittown,Pa. right outside of Phila.,Pa and you are way out there in Seattle ,Washington. Cheesesteaks and soft pretzels are big here. What are the big differences out there and what are some of your favorite outdoor grilling recipes? You guys able to do that there, doesn't it ran all the time?
Well, since we're close to the Pacific and surrounded by water, seafood here is fresh and really good. We also have a large Asian population, so that means we can get just about any stripe of Asian food out there easily. It's been said that teriyaki joints are Seattle's fast food. I don't grill outdoors myself, but that's not because it rains in Seattle all the time. In fact, it doesn't. Summers are mostly dry, sunny, and temperate. I saw much more rain when I lived in Miami and Chicago than I have in Seattle.
Visit: http://www.rickrreed.com Follow: http://rickrreedreality.blogspot.com/
Recent releases--Tales from the Sexual Underground: http://tinyurl.com/yjgmtos & The Blue Moon Cafe: http://tinyurl.com/ykj5m9v & A Demon Inside: http://tinyurl.com/28eylrp
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation, Filedby, & Shoutlife. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Q & A with Smashwords Founder Mark Coker
When did the light bulb go on for you that held the Smashwords idea?
I don't recall it as a single light bulb moment. More like one of those dimmer lights that slowly gets brighter and brighter. In my case, the light got brighter as I realized how broken the traditional book publishing industry had become from the perspective of authors who wanted to publish, and readers who wanted the freedom to read the greatest diversity of books.
Smashwords grew out of my own experience as a writer. My wife and I wrote a novel, Boob Tube, and we had representation from one of the top literary agencies in New York. Ever major NY publisher rejected the book. The experience was quite frustrating, and then I started to think of the hundreds of thousands of other authors who are rejected by these publishers each year, and then I had an epiphany. I thought, "This is crazy. I want to create an online publishing platform that will allow any author, anywhere in the world, to instantly publish an ebook, and let them do it for free."
Do you remember the place and the time?
There's wasn't a single place, though most of the business plan writing happened during vacations to Hawaii, Cabo San Lucas, and the Sierras.
What does it feel like to know on a daily basis you are giving other people and their hard work a chance to thrive and grow?
It feels more incredible than I can describe. We're helping to liberate the collective imaginations of thousands of authors around the world, and giving them a fair chance to reach readers.
My neighbor goes to San Francisco a lot on business. He claims that Ghirardelli chocolate is better than Hershey's, your opinion on this very important matter please.
Tough to say. Ghirardelli is in my back yard, though when my wife and I were researching Boob Tube, a novel about Hollywood soap operas, we actually visited Hershey, PA because our central character was from there. We interviewed a young man in a Hershey restaurant who told us, "I need to get out of Hershey. There's nothing to do in this town other than work at the factory, have kids, grow old and die." His comments helped inform the development of our character.
Please give us your top 5 reasons why Smashwords and the ebook revolution are going to make leaps and bounds within the next 6-8 months.
1. We publish nearly 8,000 indie authors today, all of whom deserve a chance to be discovered and appreciated by readers.
2. We're publishing over 2,000 new books each month, and within six months will surpass over 25,000 titles published.
3. We're signing ebook distribution agreements with the world's leading ebook retailers - we make it possible for authors to reach readers in every corner of the globe
4. In the next 6-8 months, it will become more clear to people that Smashwords is helping to launch the careers of talented authors who will go on to become the next decade's best-sellers
5. Book reading is moving to screens, and ebooks will allow more readers in more parts of the world to discover the joys of books!
Last but not least, I am a big Huey Lewis and The News and Mr. Monk fan. When I do get to make the pilgrimage to San Francisco were are the statues for these guys at.
You might have to build the statues yourself. Too bad you weren't here last week. Huey Lewis and the News played last week in Saratoga, California, the town next to Los Gatos, our headquarters.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation, Filedby, & Shoutlife. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I don't recall it as a single light bulb moment. More like one of those dimmer lights that slowly gets brighter and brighter. In my case, the light got brighter as I realized how broken the traditional book publishing industry had become from the perspective of authors who wanted to publish, and readers who wanted the freedom to read the greatest diversity of books.
Smashwords grew out of my own experience as a writer. My wife and I wrote a novel, Boob Tube, and we had representation from one of the top literary agencies in New York. Ever major NY publisher rejected the book. The experience was quite frustrating, and then I started to think of the hundreds of thousands of other authors who are rejected by these publishers each year, and then I had an epiphany. I thought, "This is crazy. I want to create an online publishing platform that will allow any author, anywhere in the world, to instantly publish an ebook, and let them do it for free."
Do you remember the place and the time?
There's wasn't a single place, though most of the business plan writing happened during vacations to Hawaii, Cabo San Lucas, and the Sierras.
What does it feel like to know on a daily basis you are giving other people and their hard work a chance to thrive and grow?
It feels more incredible than I can describe. We're helping to liberate the collective imaginations of thousands of authors around the world, and giving them a fair chance to reach readers.
My neighbor goes to San Francisco a lot on business. He claims that Ghirardelli chocolate is better than Hershey's, your opinion on this very important matter please.
Tough to say. Ghirardelli is in my back yard, though when my wife and I were researching Boob Tube, a novel about Hollywood soap operas, we actually visited Hershey, PA because our central character was from there. We interviewed a young man in a Hershey restaurant who told us, "I need to get out of Hershey. There's nothing to do in this town other than work at the factory, have kids, grow old and die." His comments helped inform the development of our character.
Please give us your top 5 reasons why Smashwords and the ebook revolution are going to make leaps and bounds within the next 6-8 months.
1. We publish nearly 8,000 indie authors today, all of whom deserve a chance to be discovered and appreciated by readers.
2. We're publishing over 2,000 new books each month, and within six months will surpass over 25,000 titles published.
3. We're signing ebook distribution agreements with the world's leading ebook retailers - we make it possible for authors to reach readers in every corner of the globe
4. In the next 6-8 months, it will become more clear to people that Smashwords is helping to launch the careers of talented authors who will go on to become the next decade's best-sellers
5. Book reading is moving to screens, and ebooks will allow more readers in more parts of the world to discover the joys of books!
Last but not least, I am a big Huey Lewis and The News and Mr. Monk fan. When I do get to make the pilgrimage to San Francisco were are the statues for these guys at.
You might have to build the statues yourself. Too bad you weren't here last week. Huey Lewis and the News played last week in Saratoga, California, the town next to Los Gatos, our headquarters.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation, Filedby, & Shoutlife. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Stephen Jay Schwartz Boulevard
I have read so many novels that involve Los Angeles’s Parker Center that I feel as if I have been there many times. Boulevard is another one of those detective stories that revolves around it and all the infighting and politics that go along with it. Before you click away though, understand that Stephen Jay Schwartz has penned a very good debut novel that has a very warped twist to it. For some reason the novels that I have posted on for this week seem to have a certain trend to them: twisted , damaged people with unusual proclivities.
Boulevard is a very gripping, quick read. It is hard to put down. Stephen Jay Schwartz’s novel is compelling, at times revolting, and altogether a well-constructed novel, not just for a debut. His main character is two sides of a coin that at times seems more complex than a Rubik’s Cube. Addiction is a recurring theme throughout and it is not for drugs or alcohol; he has a sex addiction. The problem with that is he picks up prostitutes on the Boulevard. He is supposed to be putting them behind bars; go figure. Twist, twist, twisted, it is a nice wrinkle. Did it rankle me? Yes it did, but other novelists have used other devices and plotlines that have gotten my attention in other ways too; his is just a bit more unique.
Don’t let his use of this type of addiction make you pass on this novel. The characters he creates and the setting, although used by many, seem perfect for his construct. If he had set this in my hometown, it wouldn’t have worked; we don’t have a Boulevard. This novel definitely had a different feel and grit to it than others that have characters working out of the same building; it was refreshing. Stephen Jay Schwartz has crafted a tough, cop, crime drama with many flawed, damaged characters that leads to many places one may not expect. The ride is a bit rough, the action is intense, and the pages turn quick. Be warned, addictions come in many forms, but get beyond it and don’t pass up this highly nominated debut novel.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Boulevard is a very gripping, quick read. It is hard to put down. Stephen Jay Schwartz’s novel is compelling, at times revolting, and altogether a well-constructed novel, not just for a debut. His main character is two sides of a coin that at times seems more complex than a Rubik’s Cube. Addiction is a recurring theme throughout and it is not for drugs or alcohol; he has a sex addiction. The problem with that is he picks up prostitutes on the Boulevard. He is supposed to be putting them behind bars; go figure. Twist, twist, twisted, it is a nice wrinkle. Did it rankle me? Yes it did, but other novelists have used other devices and plotlines that have gotten my attention in other ways too; his is just a bit more unique.
Don’t let his use of this type of addiction make you pass on this novel. The characters he creates and the setting, although used by many, seem perfect for his construct. If he had set this in my hometown, it wouldn’t have worked; we don’t have a Boulevard. This novel definitely had a different feel and grit to it than others that have characters working out of the same building; it was refreshing. Stephen Jay Schwartz has crafted a tough, cop, crime drama with many flawed, damaged characters that leads to many places one may not expect. The ride is a bit rough, the action is intense, and the pages turn quick. Be warned, addictions come in many forms, but get beyond it and don’t pass up this highly nominated debut novel.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Monday, August 23, 2010
James Patterson Private
Not a fancy title, but sometimes less is more, and in this case I think we get more. I am not going to be giving anyone a news flash that is a regular follower of my rants here @ The Scoop. I like James Patterson’s work. I read almost all of his work from his graphic novels (see our archives), young adult (Daniel X), and just about all his regular material. I got excited when I saw that he had this new series coming out: Private.
I really enjoyed this novel, I am not going to make any bones about it; I just really had a good time with it. Here is what the inside jacket had to say: “Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily- and his staff of investigators use the world’s most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.” In the debut novel of the series the men and women of Private take on three different cases and juggle them and their private lives at the same time. The cases that others can’t seem to crack: a serial murder case, a good friend’s death, and a case brought to them by the NFL.
Once I got into the first few pages of this novel I was total absorbed and immersed in it. I really couldn’t put it down. The action is fast, the characters and the bonds they share are fascinating. The plotline and the precision of the execution of it are incredible. The cast of characters themselves was worth the read. I was locked into caring about them and what happened to them early on. At the novel’s end, I was definitely wanting more. This is a series I am looking forward to following. James Patterson scores again with Private. The problem for me now is, I don’t want less; I want more.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I really enjoyed this novel, I am not going to make any bones about it; I just really had a good time with it. Here is what the inside jacket had to say: “Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum discretion. The secrets of the most influential men and women on the planet come to Jack daily- and his staff of investigators use the world’s most advanced forensic tools to make and break their cases.” In the debut novel of the series the men and women of Private take on three different cases and juggle them and their private lives at the same time. The cases that others can’t seem to crack: a serial murder case, a good friend’s death, and a case brought to them by the NFL.
Once I got into the first few pages of this novel I was total absorbed and immersed in it. I really couldn’t put it down. The action is fast, the characters and the bonds they share are fascinating. The plotline and the precision of the execution of it are incredible. The cast of characters themselves was worth the read. I was locked into caring about them and what happened to them early on. At the novel’s end, I was definitely wanting more. This is a series I am looking forward to following. James Patterson scores again with Private. The problem for me now is, I don’t want less; I want more.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, Crimespace, and AuthorNation. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, Visual Book Shelf, Book Marketing Network, Linkedin, Pump Up Your Book Promotion and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Blast From The Past Kinky Friedman Blast From The Past
I think that everyone has a set of novels they like to read on occasion that are just offbeat, a bit of a different flav, something that is going to shake up the usual mix to help keep everything fresh and provide added perspective. The Mighty Kinkster is just the thing. Kinky Freidman , a former Jewish Country music star, Texas Monthly columnist, and former candidate for the governship of the great state of Texas 2006, has written a series of novels that star, you guessed it, himself. Surprise!
The Kinkster has surrounded himself with a motley group of characters that call themselves “The Village Irregulars”. The setting for the novels has this group of lovable characters living in and around Greenwich Village in New York City. Where else could they be? The plotlines are insane; the dialogue is quick and funny. At times it’s just laugh out loud funny. I have read almost all of them in the series; it has taken awhile. Reading them back to back to back is not an easy thing. I would liken it to too much lemon in the lemonade; you just kind of pucker up and cringe. Taken in small doses, reading this on the beach or poolside, chuckling at the insanity of it all is fun. Caution and warning, these novels possess no social redeeming value, other than how strong friendship is. That is all I can gather from them, but hey, what else can you expect from a novel that has characters like Ratso, Rambam and Abbie Hoffman?
Looking for a departure, something that is going to make you laugh and tilt your head and say “No way, did I just read that”. This is that novel. Shake it up a bit, go backward to go forward, try to think like the Kinkster for a little bit, you may look at things differently for a little bit and laugh.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook and Shelfari. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page, also look for our posts on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System . Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Digital Short Saturday Lee Driver Sara Morningsky
Each week as I hunt for a digital short to present for you, I learn something new about the process that these authors go through to bring their hard work, their soul, and dedication to their craft to you in ways that are imaginative and for me in many ways amazing. Sara Morningsky is a free download on Smashwords and available on a few other carriers. You can down load it from Smashwords to any device that you are able to read a story. My choice was the laptop, but one of these times I am going to give my cellphone, a Verizon Droid, a try. My son has offered his iPhone and my son-in-law his iPad. I think that you are getting the point here. These digital shorts have the ability to be digested in all forms by anyone at almost any time.
One of my daughters now reads them on the train to work on her iPhone or laptop, why not? The whole idea is to get a nice quick hit by the author that is trying to impart their work in a concise manner. The digital short is taking us to a time and place that requires skills different from that of the traditional novel. I enjoy the versatility these authors show and their descriptive abilities. Lee Driver in Sara Morningsky is a very good example of this. I was not drawn to this because it was available at no cost, although that was a bonus. I was intrigued by the premise and the characters.
Lee Driver has created a unique pairing in Sara and Chase. The dialogue is pleasant; the plotline is fun and the action moves the story along quickly. The story itself is just over 6,000 words and there is not one word wasted in this story. We get a great narrative and learn as much about the characters as I think possible in the digital short. Here is a little something I took off of the afterword of the story:
“Sara Morningsky first appeared in “A Mystery in Mind Anthology” in 2004. This short story is a prelude to the Chase Dagger series and was never meant to be a series. However the characters refused to shut up. There are currently four books in the series: The Good Die Twice, Full Moon, The Unseen, and Chasing Ghosts. Visit the author at www.sdtooley.com”
I don’t see how you can miss on this one. There is no cost involved and I am sure that you will enjoy it so much that may check out the others in the series. If you haven’t set up a Smashwords account yet, it doesn’t take much to do so and it requires very little time. Then you can explore the many wonders that await you there and start to build your own library.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
One of my daughters now reads them on the train to work on her iPhone or laptop, why not? The whole idea is to get a nice quick hit by the author that is trying to impart their work in a concise manner. The digital short is taking us to a time and place that requires skills different from that of the traditional novel. I enjoy the versatility these authors show and their descriptive abilities. Lee Driver in Sara Morningsky is a very good example of this. I was not drawn to this because it was available at no cost, although that was a bonus. I was intrigued by the premise and the characters.
Lee Driver has created a unique pairing in Sara and Chase. The dialogue is pleasant; the plotline is fun and the action moves the story along quickly. The story itself is just over 6,000 words and there is not one word wasted in this story. We get a great narrative and learn as much about the characters as I think possible in the digital short. Here is a little something I took off of the afterword of the story:
“Sara Morningsky first appeared in “A Mystery in Mind Anthology” in 2004. This short story is a prelude to the Chase Dagger series and was never meant to be a series. However the characters refused to shut up. There are currently four books in the series: The Good Die Twice, Full Moon, The Unseen, and Chasing Ghosts. Visit the author at www.sdtooley.com”
I don’t see how you can miss on this one. There is no cost involved and I am sure that you will enjoy it so much that may check out the others in the series. If you haven’t set up a Smashwords account yet, it doesn’t take much to do so and it requires very little time. Then you can explore the many wonders that await you there and start to build your own library.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Graphic Novel Friday R.A. Salvatore Streams Of Silver: The Legend Of Drizzt BookV
Yeah, serious title I would have to say. The graphic novels of the forgotten realms are fun. I am not gifted enough descriptively to relay to you accurately what happens in the pages within the graphic novel so I going to defer to the back cover to do that for me; otherwise I may not convey the proper sequence of events. Here it is: “Fantasy’s most popular character returns in the fifth chapter of R.A. Salvatore’s Legend of Drizzt series! After many lonely, nomadic years, Drizzt Do’urden finally settled in the remote artic outpost of Icewind Dale. There, the dark elf found what he’d sought for so long: deep-rooted friendship worth dying for. After defending the Dale’s community of outcasts from a mad wizard and his monstrous allies, a peace has settled over the land. In this time of calm, Drizzt fulfills an oath to one of his friends- to join him in his quest to find the legendary land of Mithral Hall.
But they are not alone on this quest. The fearsome assassin Artemis Entereri stalks them from the shadows, and even greater power seeks Drizzt himself. It seems the quest to discover Mithral Hall’s mythic streams of silver will come only with unbearable sacrifice….”
I think that that sums it up rather well. I could have said it in fewer words, but you would not have understood the gravity of the situation. Basically, and I say this with no malice but only tongue in cheek, there are two midgets , a tall black elf, and somebody that looks like Thor, stomping through the woods looking for a place one of the midgets called home back in the day, while some really ugly bad guys try to kill them. It is fun to read, the action is good and the art is very nice. I don’t hesitate to pick one of these up anytime I can. They are fun to read at the beach, poolside, or anytime you read any news at all involving the President or one of his cabinet members ( just checking to see if you are really following along here).
A little escapism is good now and then, and a guilty pleasure isn’t such a bad thing. I have to admit to taking a chill pill by reading one of these is fun and relaxing, give it a try. It always lowers my blood pressure and makes me chuckle.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
But they are not alone on this quest. The fearsome assassin Artemis Entereri stalks them from the shadows, and even greater power seeks Drizzt himself. It seems the quest to discover Mithral Hall’s mythic streams of silver will come only with unbearable sacrifice….”
I think that that sums it up rather well. I could have said it in fewer words, but you would not have understood the gravity of the situation. Basically, and I say this with no malice but only tongue in cheek, there are two midgets , a tall black elf, and somebody that looks like Thor, stomping through the woods looking for a place one of the midgets called home back in the day, while some really ugly bad guys try to kill them. It is fun to read, the action is good and the art is very nice. I don’t hesitate to pick one of these up anytime I can. They are fun to read at the beach, poolside, or anytime you read any news at all involving the President or one of his cabinet members ( just checking to see if you are really following along here).
A little escapism is good now and then, and a guilty pleasure isn’t such a bad thing. I have to admit to taking a chill pill by reading one of these is fun and relaxing, give it a try. It always lowers my blood pressure and makes me chuckle.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, Target, eBay, Books A Million, Smashwords and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
David Rollins Hard Rain
I have to say right from the get go that I am a huge fan of David Rollin’s work. You may want to read what I am going to write with a grain of salt. Vin Cooper is one of my favorite fictional characters. David Rollins doesn’t have a dozen novels with the character under his belt like some in the genre, but that has been part of the ride for me; I got in on the ground floor. The other novels in the series are A Knife Edge, and The Death Trust, both excellent, just my opinion.
David Rollins has put together another incredible ride in Hard Rain. Special Agent Vin Cooper is in all his glory and he is one amazingly crafty, savvy, smart ass. The wit and humor that flows through the novel is cutting, laugh out loud. If you are a lawyer (I am not spoiling anything),expect a few jokes at your occupation’s expense. I personally loved them all; I wish there were a few more. Rollins has a gift of being able to inject the humor into the storyline not as a distraction , but a way of making his main character more human and believable , thus enhancing our experience. I guess what I am trying to say is that it all works and fits in the right places; nothing seem to be out of line.
The plotline is a serious one and made me think more about the sacrifices made by those that defend us, and the way our government works to care for them afterward. The seed is planted, registered, and received without the overbearing sledgehammer. Hard Rain is a great ride. Once I got it in my hands and started to read it, I knew I didn’t want to stop. Rollins crafts an excellent novel and executes it very well. The ride doesn’t end till the very last word; I love it. He makes us care about his characters and their quest for justice for those wronged. Vin Cooper is worse than a dog with a new bone, he just won’t let things go, and it takes him places that he didn’t think he would be, wise cracking the whole time. If you enjoy this genre of novels in the least, you need to give this novel a go. At the minimum start with A Knifes Edge and begin the journey; Vin Cooper and David Rollins are that good. This novel comes out in paperback form at the end of the month, click on the Amazon box and enjoy the ride.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Richard Doetsch The 13th Hour
Oh, the books of summer fun. The 13th Hour is a very unique and satisfying novel for many reasons. Can I say this is a thriller, a paranormal novel, romance, who-done-it, action /adventure? Why bother to categorize it? Let’s just call it fun and imaginative. If your spouse was killed would you go back in time and save them if you could? Rarely do I like to do things backward, but Richard Doetsch has us do just that, one hour at a time.
The 13th Hour is a very unique read. The plot itself is not something that is terribly unheard of, the death of a spouse. Going backwards in time, discovering things as each hour unfolds, the ramifications of those discoveries, the choices made from each twist and the fates to which those decisions are tied is what makes this novel tick. The action is quick, the characters are engaging and well crafted, we come to care about the outcome and the crossroads as we approach the final hour.
Richard Doetsch puts together a challenging novel in The 13th Hour. I received way more than I expected in this novel; it was a fun read that I don’t hesitate to say put into your Goodreads/Shelfari –to read- list. Going in the opposite direction for once was the right thing to do, although it was one hour at a time. It went quickly, and was satisfying and enjoyable. What more could one ask from a novel?
This was my first read with Richard Doetsch work, but it will just be a jumping off point for me. He has three other novels in print, they are: The Thieves Of Heaven, The Thieves Of Faith, and his newest novel in the series The Thieves Of Darkness. I have read the snapshots of the novel series and to say I am intrigued and excited would be accurate.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
The 13th Hour is a very unique read. The plot itself is not something that is terribly unheard of, the death of a spouse. Going backwards in time, discovering things as each hour unfolds, the ramifications of those discoveries, the choices made from each twist and the fates to which those decisions are tied is what makes this novel tick. The action is quick, the characters are engaging and well crafted, we come to care about the outcome and the crossroads as we approach the final hour.
Richard Doetsch puts together a challenging novel in The 13th Hour. I received way more than I expected in this novel; it was a fun read that I don’t hesitate to say put into your Goodreads/Shelfari –to read- list. Going in the opposite direction for once was the right thing to do, although it was one hour at a time. It went quickly, and was satisfying and enjoyable. What more could one ask from a novel?
This was my first read with Richard Doetsch work, but it will just be a jumping off point for me. He has three other novels in print, they are: The Thieves Of Heaven, The Thieves Of Faith, and his newest novel in the series The Thieves Of Darkness. I have read the snapshots of the novel series and to say I am intrigued and excited would be accurate.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Agents Of Treachery Edited with an Intro by Otto Penzler
Fourteen short stories written by some of the thriller genre’s best authors: Gayle Lynds, Joseph Finder, Lee Child, David Morell, John Weisman….., are contained in this novel. I am not sure what it took to get this done, but every page is like gold. I have made a point on this in a previous post about the digital shorts, this is perfect: A very nice way to get a little fix of one of your authors before they put out the main course, their newest novel.
I read the printed version of the novel, but it can be purchased in an ereader form and read just as a series of digital shorts. I am a bit surprised they didn’t also break them up and sell them individually, why not? Everything is in place to do so. Picking up one of these well written pieces would be a bargain for any fan of this group of authors. I had a difficult time trying to figure out where to start with it. I am a big fan of most of the authors in the group and didn’t want to disrespect any of them so I wrote all the names down put them in one of my ball caps and picked out the names and wrote down the order. It added to the fun and the excitement of the novel. Having choices is fun and this type of format gives the reader that and so much more.
Digital shorts, short stories, they are a wave that is beginning to cause a current and an undertow that I think is exciting. Having access to something like this is amazing. Picking up a novel, pulling up the file on the ereader, getting that quick hit, that satisfaction immediately is just a win-win for the author and their customer, the consumer/their fan. I hope that more novels like this hit the market because this is like holding lightning in a bottle. The power, the sheer force of having such skill and storytelling ability in one novel, fourteen well-crafted shorts by some of the industry’s best authors shouldn’t be passed up. I don’t hesitate to say not just to put this in your Goodreads/Shelfari –to read- list, but to get it a.s.a.p.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
I read the printed version of the novel, but it can be purchased in an ereader form and read just as a series of digital shorts. I am a bit surprised they didn’t also break them up and sell them individually, why not? Everything is in place to do so. Picking up one of these well written pieces would be a bargain for any fan of this group of authors. I had a difficult time trying to figure out where to start with it. I am a big fan of most of the authors in the group and didn’t want to disrespect any of them so I wrote all the names down put them in one of my ball caps and picked out the names and wrote down the order. It added to the fun and the excitement of the novel. Having choices is fun and this type of format gives the reader that and so much more.
Digital shorts, short stories, they are a wave that is beginning to cause a current and an undertow that I think is exciting. Having access to something like this is amazing. Picking up a novel, pulling up the file on the ereader, getting that quick hit, that satisfaction immediately is just a win-win for the author and their customer, the consumer/their fan. I hope that more novels like this hit the market because this is like holding lightning in a bottle. The power, the sheer force of having such skill and storytelling ability in one novel, fourteen well-crafted shorts by some of the industry’s best authors shouldn’t be passed up. I don’t hesitate to say not just to put this in your Goodreads/Shelfari –to read- list, but to get it a.s.a.p.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Blast From The Past Tim Dorsey Gator A-Go-Go
Serge Storm is as good an offbeat character as they get. How can I categorize Tim Dorsey’s work? It’s action packed, filled with history, incredible narrative, totally humorous, well-constructed, and imaginative in manner of executions (I mean people), and great covers. I could go on for it seems hours, days or weeks. I have read all his work and must say I for one have enjoyed the crazy gonzo ride with Serge and Coleman.
My wife doesn’t even have to ask which author I reading when I have one of Tim Dorsey’s novels in my hand. I laugh out loud so much it is annoying; I can’t help it though. Gator A-Go-Go is his best work in my estimation. I got to read this in January and we had plenty of snow on the ground; in fact it was near blizzard conditions when I got to read it. I loved it, sunny Florida, the history of it according to Serge Storm, and me waist deep in snow laughing my rump off. Coleman as always is on a tangent showing the uninitiated spring break newbies how to take care of their beer and drugs so as to keep it cold and away from the police.
The usual frivolity and madcap fun ensues and the reader is sucked into Serge’s romp through Florida, killing people as he goes, in a manner most would not think or conceive. The description by Tim Dorsey is amazing and made me feel like I was cruising along with Serge. It is a big part of why I enjoy his work so much. He has an ability to not only put me there in Florida, but to feel it and enjoy. The manner in which he constructs and executes his plotline is awesome, no matter how out there Serge and Coleman get. Dorsey ties each knot up and brings it to an unbelievably concise ending. I always want more. I can never seem to put it down once I open it up, and I can’t wait till the next installment. What more as a reader could we ask for? I don’t hesitate to say put this in your Goodreads & Shelfari –to read- list. The ride that awaits you is fast, gonzo and laugh out loud.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
My wife doesn’t even have to ask which author I reading when I have one of Tim Dorsey’s novels in my hand. I laugh out loud so much it is annoying; I can’t help it though. Gator A-Go-Go is his best work in my estimation. I got to read this in January and we had plenty of snow on the ground; in fact it was near blizzard conditions when I got to read it. I loved it, sunny Florida, the history of it according to Serge Storm, and me waist deep in snow laughing my rump off. Coleman as always is on a tangent showing the uninitiated spring break newbies how to take care of their beer and drugs so as to keep it cold and away from the police.
The usual frivolity and madcap fun ensues and the reader is sucked into Serge’s romp through Florida, killing people as he goes, in a manner most would not think or conceive. The description by Tim Dorsey is amazing and made me feel like I was cruising along with Serge. It is a big part of why I enjoy his work so much. He has an ability to not only put me there in Florida, but to feel it and enjoy. The manner in which he constructs and executes his plotline is awesome, no matter how out there Serge and Coleman get. Dorsey ties each knot up and brings it to an unbelievably concise ending. I always want more. I can never seem to put it down once I open it up, and I can’t wait till the next installment. What more as a reader could we ask for? I don’t hesitate to say put this in your Goodreads & Shelfari –to read- list. The ride that awaits you is fast, gonzo and laugh out loud.
What are you reading today? Check us out and become our friend on Facebook, Shelfari, and Crimespace. Go to Goodreads and become our friend there and suggest books for us to read and post on. You can also follow us on Twitter, Book Blogs, and the Gelati’s Scoop Facebook Fan Page; also look for our posts on Amazon, Borders, Barnes and Nobles, and the Bucks County Library System. Did you know you can shop directly on Amazon by clicking the Gelati’s Store Tab on our blog? Thanks for stopping by today; we will see you tomorrow. Have a great day.
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