MOVED

Hi all,  I've moved to a new blog.  For any updates on Lorne Oliver, Red Island, or future works come and see me.  My new blog is dedicated to the genre of Mystery/Suspense/Thriller with an emphasis on Indie Authors.  http://lorneoliver.blogspot.ca

Stranger In Town by Cheryl Bradshaw

This is the perfect book for a one of those great evenings when you get to sit in your favorite spot with your favorite drink.  I’m a slow reader and this one went smooth with the story flowing nicely.

Stranger in Town is the fourth novel staring private investigator, Sloane Monroe.  This time she is hired to find a child who was taken from the daycare play area and may be connected to another child abduction 2 years earlier in a different city in Wyoming.

I didn’t read the other Sloane Monroe stories, and maybe I should have.  I felt there was a lack of description of the main character.  I’m a fan of the reader using their own imagination, but some description can lead your mind in the right direction.  Also I was not a big fan of the ending of the mystery.

All that aside it was an excellent read that I would happily recommend and would gladly read again.  Now I have to go back and read Cheryl Bradshaw’s other books.

My rating 4 stars.

To read my interview of Stranger in Town author, Cheryl Bradshaw, click here.

 

Synopsis of Stranger in Town

He only needed her to look away for a few seconds...

Six-year-old Olivia Hathaway tiptoes down the center aisle of Maybelle's Market, stopping once to glance over her shoulder and make sure her mother isn't watching. But Mrs. Hathaway is too preoccupied to notice her daughter has slipped away. Moments later, a frantic Mrs. Hathaway runs up and down the aisles, desperately searching for her missing daughter. But little Olivia is already in the arms of a stranger. Will PI Sloane Monroe find Olivia before it's too late?(

A Review of TWO GRAVES by DA Graystone

 

I was bullied in school, but nowhere as bad as Preston Peterson.  My bullying was more in my head than in reality, but I get how it can make you feel.  I can understand how someone would want to get revenge.

 In Two Graves, kind of by accident, Preston gets a taste of what it was like to strike back at the people who liked torturing the week.  He got a taste for murder.  And he liked it.  At first I sympathised with Preston and how he wanted to get back at the bullies from his high school years, even though his revenge blinded him to the fact that he was killing people who only looked like the bullies.  I was on Preston’s side right up until Benji.  I dealt with the sick things this killer did.  I cringed at the pain from one victim and I felt ready to vomit at what he did to the reporter, but once he killed Benji I was on Lt. Mann’s side.

 As a second story Lt. Mann, a cop who put his own reputation on the line to weed out those who would soil the police force, had a strong hatred for the largest mafia family in town.  When it becomes Southside Slasher vs. mafia hitman all bets were off.

 Now for the honest side of things.  With two, sometimes four, stories going on at once it occasionally was tricky to figure out which story I was on, but since my own novel is similar – who am I to bitch?  I will say I was not a fan of the ending.  It was like having a great season finale with a flop for a new season premier.  You get all excited only to have it fall flat.  But it was still a great read and I highly recommend it.

 

My rating is 4 stars

Winner, winner - Chicken dinner

I have some winners for you.  All winners were picked using random.org

 

The four winners of the cookbook are

Stephanie Andrassy

Gale Nelson

Kim Griffin

Brittany Carrigan

 

The winner of the plaque and Guatamalen worry doll

Sandra Oliver

(yes this was a random draw)

by the way, nobody got Reid's name right

 

The winner of naming a character in my upcoming novel Forever Screaming

Kathy Fuierer

Kathy has now named the RCMP Facial Reconstructionist, Cassandra Michaels

 

I thank everyone for checking out my blog and entering contests.  It was a lot of fun.  I can't wait for the New Years one coming up in January.

Holiday Blog Hop

I'm so excited.  This is my first blog hop and I have really been looking forward to it.  There are a lot of great authors involved with great novels.  Enter the giveaways...but also really look at their books.  We all work so hard.  This is a great chance for us to give back to the readers and for others to give back to all of the authors at the same time.

 

 

I'm offering a few prizes so read through and then enter to win one, two, or all of the prizes. 

Good luck!
Once you are done entering my contests click HERE to return to the Hop

 

My first novel is Red Island

The mystery/suspense/thriller is the first in the Sgt. Reid Series

Sgt. Reid of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

hunts Prince Edward Island, Canada's first serial killer

 

PRIZE #1

Cookbook of my favorite recipes, tips I've learned from working in restaurants, and little stories of the crazy industry.  Four copies of this prize to be won.
Once you do any (or all) of them send me an email with Holiday Hop in the subject line
redislandnovel@gmail.com

 

1. Follow me on Twitter = 1 entry

 

2. Like Red Island's Facebook Page = 1 entry

 

3. Like my author page on Facebook = 1 entry

4. Subscribe to my new website = 1 entry

If you've already done these tell some friends to do the same and then send me an email.

 

PRIZE #2

Inspirational coaster and Guatemalan Worry Doll
The stone coaster helps keep your coffee warm or can be used as a plaque
The worry doll pouch goes under your pillow to help with nightmares
Red Island gave me nightmares so hopefully this helps with yours.

To Enter:

Sgt. Reid never lets anyone know his first name.  Can you guess what it is?

To eliminate some names read Red Island as Cpl. Eckhart guesses a lot through its pages

 

Type your guess below in the comments

all those that guess get 1 entry for the Prize #2

all those that guess correctly get an extra entry in all draws

 

PRIZE #3

Name a Character in book 2 of the Sgt. Reid Series, Forever Screaming, out Autumn 2013

 

Purchase Red Island to find out the name of the PEI town Reid and Marilyn drive through at the beginning of Chapter 29 then email the answer HERE

 

Review: Post Parcel

Post Parcel is the second book by Indie writer, Kate Kulig.  I enjoyed her first book, Bloody Murder, but this second effort was a whole lot better.  There were actual moments while reading this story that I thought, "ooooo the plot thickens."  I wasn't planning on reading this right after reading the first book.  I thought I would check out the first couple of pages just to see how it was and I was hooked.  I had to read on.

In Post Parcel - Zofia at the Bloody Murder Bookstore gets a UPS delivery of a steamer trunk with a body inside wrapped in plastic.  (I won't make the COD joke)  "It's a considerate thriller that wraps his or her bodies in plastic."

The book flows excellently taking the reader along with Zo, Michael, Feliz, and a cast of characters through the streets of New Orleans.  I wanted to climb into a chair with a bug cup of bitter chicory coffee, a Po'boy sandwich, crank up the Harry Connick jr.(my New Orleans favorite), and read the book from start to finish.

I can't wait for the next book in the Bloody Murder series.

5 Stars out of 5

Memorable quotes:
"Reality outdoes the imagination every time."
"A geek and a laptop.  It's a beautiful thing."
"It's a lot easier to sell someone on a new author if you have his or her earliest work."

Jerry looked at Michael.  "What have you done with Zo?"
Michael returned the level gave.  "Would you like the list chronologically or shall I start from her toes?"

Post Parcel on Amazon

Interview with No More Wasted Time author Beverly Preston

I had the great joy of interviewing author of the book, No More Wasted Time, Beverly Preston.  Her book,  The only bad part is that I didn't get to go to her home town of Las Vegas.

Welcome Beverly.
Hi Lorne!  Thanks so much for having me.

LO:  Tell me something about yourself and your book, No More Wasted Time.
BP:  I've been a Domestic Enineer, aka mom and wife, for twenty years.  In January, I published my debute novel, No More Wasted Time.  It's been a busy year!  No More Wasted Time has nearly 50,000 downloads and has been ranked #1 in Travel on Amazon for six months.  I recently, last week, completed my second manuscripts and books two and three are plotted out.  The second book in the series will be published early 2013.

LO:  How much of your novel is drawn from real life?
BP:  I definitely write in my own voice.  I draw inspiration from friends, relatives, and I live in Las Vegas which makes for fantastic people watching.  I was lucky enough to travel to Bora Bora a few years ago.  Greece and Tuscany are on my bucket list.  (No More Wasted Time takes place in Las Vegas and Bora Bora)

LO:  From a previous conversation I remember you telling me that you wrote the fourth book before writing the second...I was wondering why?
BP:  Sheer dumb luck, Lorne!  I removed the epilogue from No More Wasted Time right before publishing, realizing it set me up for an entire series about the Mathews/Clemmins Family.  I began writing the next story in my imagination, but quickly realized that I had a big info/back story dump.  So by removing the epilogue and back story it created basic plots for all four books in the series.

LO:  Do you anticipate a lot of changes in book 4 after writing the second?
BP:  No.  Crossing fingers, but no.  Each book is about Tess' grown children.

LO:  Are you going to release them close to each other?
BP:  All four books will be published by the end of 2013.

LO:  Are you able to give us any clues to the second book?  Title, plot, etc.
BP:  I can tell you that book two is the story of Shayla Clemmins and I'm leaning toward the title Shayla's Story.  The third book in the series is about Tracy Mathews.  Book four is titled The Perfect Someday and it's the story of the very spicy JC Mathews.

LO:  I'm a chef so I have to ask, what do you like to eat or snack on while writing?
BP:  Apples with peanut butter, cashew clusters and chocolate.

LO:  If your main character Tess were to come knocking on your door, where in your home town of Las Vegas would you go?  What would you do and what do you think you would talk about?
BP:  We would hit Starbucks on the way up to Red Rock, where we would go hiking for the afternoon, assuming it wasn't the middle of July.  Then the Yard House Restaurant at the Red Rock Hotel for tasty food, great beer, and some good old rock-n-roll while chatting about...life!

LO:  My 10 year old son read the first two pages of my novel and told me it was pretty good (best review ever) and then he tried getting his Grade 5 teacher to go online and buy a copy.  What do your children think of your book?
BP:  I have four kids ages 22, 19, 19 and 12.  My nineteen year old daughter is my biggest cheerleader and helped me a lot with the writing process, including final edits.  My youngest daugher gives her teachers, if we know them, my book for teacher appreciation day.  Wrapped in a brown bag of course.

LO:  Does your husband read your writing?
BP:  He is not a big reader, unless it's a set of house plans, but he has read my book and LOVD it!  He tells all of his friends to get it for their wives and...well, I'll just leave it at that.

LO:  My wife has a copy of your book so we will see what happens.

Click here to check out Beverly's novel No More Wasted Time

After losing her husband to a sudden heart attack, Tess Mathews escapes to Bora Bora to lay her husband and sorrow to rest. What she doesn’t expect is a new beginning.
Tom Clemmins is an A-list actor whose life revolves around work and an onslaught of women. He travels to Bora Bora for a much-needed break. Tom has a few ideas of how he’ll enjoy his vacation, but love isn’t one of them. Until he sees Tess.
Reserving a private shark-feeding excursion to scatter her husband’s ashes into the lagoon, Tess is furious when Mr. Hollywood bribes his way onto the boat, leaving her no other choice but to share the boat ride.
Tess is torn between tremendous guilt and zealous lust when their boat ride turns into a week full of romance and desire neither thought imaginable. Utterly smitten with a woman for the first time in his life, Tom casts his commitment phobia aside and whisks Tess off to Malibu where he introduces her as his “girlfriend” on the red carpet.
As the paparazzi besiege, can Tess survive the media blitz that ensues in order to find her second chance at love?

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