Giovanni Gelati's Blog – December 2010 Archive (50)

Genre: historical fiction, young adult, romance, but not in any particular order. Vixen is a very nice debut novel from Jillian Larkin. The 20’s roar in this novel and it is altogether a blast. Check out the particulars:

“Jazz . . . Booze . . . Boys . . . It’s a dangerous combination.

Every girl wants what she can’t have. Seventeen-year-old Gloria Carmody wants the flapper lifestyle—and the bobbed hair, cigarettes, and music-filled nights that go with it. Now that she’s engaged…

-When you come up with such a unique world as the one you created in this novel, what do you draw from to get this right? Where do the names come from?

I draw completely from my imagination, working out all the world logistics as I'm building it. Because the novel is also set in historical times, the research I do for the era also adds to the fantasy element that I develop. Most of the names are also a result of my research for the era, although all of the fantasy names I make up on…

Life ever kick you in the head? Wonder why the neighbor’s seemingly have it better than you? Down on your luck and just can’t find the right focus? Welcome to John Kralik’s life and times and enjoy the simple solutions and viewpoint he came to adopt to change his life around. I loved this book, I like the time of year it is released( release date is 12/28/2010), and I totally grooved on his newfound perspective. Check out the synopsis:

“One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik…

When I put in the time to read a book, I find that I can really only get to the end of it if I’ve fallen in love, to some degree, with the characters, the plot, or both. There is the rare occasion where I will finish the book - or want to finish the book - simply because I’ve invested so much into it, but those instances are few and far between. The characters are usually the ones who carry me through because most of what I write is centered around character development, so it’s only natural…

Peeker

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Yep, that’s me. I’m one of those. I peek. I look at the end of books before I finish them. Sometimes I look at the end of chapters. I skip around all the time.

Often my excuse is simple: I look ahead to see how many pages are left before I finish the chapter, the section, the entire bloody book. I glance forward to see how many pages there are, period.

I consider those legitimate glances. Anyone, in the right…

Why Shakespeare, what made made you pick that time and period and author?

C: Actually we sort of came upon the Bard by accident. We were brainstorming video ame ideas (a medium that interests us as storytellers) and Anthony made a crack about Kill Bill. Except he said instead of having a game where you are trying to kill David Carradine, he said it should be a different Bill, such as say… Billy Shakespeare?

A: We’ve both been fans of…

We have an ambitious tripleheader today, three novels each different, each has a decidedly different flavor, and each is the type of novel that one can take and use for different reasons. Our first novel this morning has its roots in a Ponzi scheme, but that isn’t what I want to focus on, instead I want to focus on the main message Alan Sakowitz is trying to deliver, or at least, I think he is. Here is the synopsis of the novel and I think you may possible see where I am going with…

Paranormal mystery murder short story is what the tags read on this digital short story by A.J. Pompano. Has your GPS ever given you the wrong directions? Ever wonder why? One explanation can be gotten from this brick of plastic explosives disguised in a firecracker 4910 words. Check out the story line:

“Chuck Stratton’s detective father brought two disappointments to the grave. One was that that he couldn’t find a kidnapped girl in time to prevent her murder and the other…

I have featured Tor in the past and enjoyed his work so much I wanted to read some more. He has a nice package up over at Smashwords that has four digital short stories in it called: Four Felonies and One Very Small Problem. The price to pick up all four is $2.99, not bad for four quality stories. I have featured one already, Starting Over , please check our archives for my thoughts on that. Today I want to concentrate on another digital…

Check this out, it comes from the back cover of this graphic novel:

“Mission Statement:

To entertain and educate young minds by creating unique illustrated books to recount stories of human values, to arouse curiosity in the world around us, and to inspire by tales of great deeds of unforgettable people.”

Their website is : www.campfire.co.in

The author of this graphic novel is C.E.L. Welsh. I have…

I am going to lead off with this today for a few reasons. Prepare yourself because I am going to be hitting you with a bunch of information on this bad boy. Monday I am also going to lead off with this dynamic duo, Conor McCreery & Anthony Del Col, in a Q&A I was lucky enough to get. The graphic novel is original, fresh, irreverent, and just about all the things I love in a graphic novel. Here is the official press release:

“Canadians Successful in quest to Kill…

Does Cotton Malone ever get to be behind the counter of his book store and actually sell a book to anyone? If so what would the book be and to what famous figure or character would he sell it? Fun thought? Well, since he didn’t sell any books this again,

what exactly did he do with his bad self ?

“The tomb of China’s First Emperor, guarded by an underground army of terra-cotta warriors has remained sealed for more than 2,000 years. Though…

It seems I have arrived late for the party yet again. Kidnap & Ransom is Michele Gagnon’s fourth novel, The Gatekeeper, Boneyard and The Tunnels are here other works to date. I am going to get right to the rundown of

what the novel is about and then we can discuss it:

“When the world's foremost kidnap and ransom negotiator is snatched by a ruthless drug cartel, Jake Riley becomes ensnared in the effort to save him. But he's up against…

If you are looking for some historical romance, step right up this is your novel. Susan Fraser King gives us all history we can handle with a side order of romance, or is it vice versa, in Queen Hereafter. I am

going to do things a little backward in this post, so please forgive me and

just indulge me a little if you will. I want to go with the author’s

biographical information first and I think that will better help explain the

novel and its plotline.…

Elven Lords rule the Realms… is what it says on the back cover of this novel. I thought it said Eleven Lords, so I was expecting a different type of romance novel, but to my surprise it was actually pretty neat

in an elven sort of way. Kathryne Kennedy creates a totally original, organic,

captivating microcosm of insight into the heart in The Fire Lord’s Lover. Here

is what to expect:

“Fighting for control of a kingdom that is…

Big names populate this week’s list of new releases. I also have some more news on the Gelati’s Scoop front. Next week I will be posting our year end best of lists: novels (Tuesday), digital shorts (Saturday),

graphic novels (Friday), and self-published (Sunday). We will also be starting

a new themed day that is going to revolve around Publishers, Agents, Websites,

Bookstores, and Graphic Novel stores. I am pretty excited about the new addition

to the…

The problem with wanting to be an author is the bombardment of the same negative message from everyone (teachers, agents, publishers, strangers) that this dream is nigh impossible.

The repeated warning goes something like this: anyone foolish enough to want to

be an author needs thick skin, perseverance, and phenomenal writing talent…

Right on the heels of Foreign Influence comes a new project from Brad Thor, The Athena Project. Was I pumped, excited, impatient to get it, ready to read it, looking forward to it? To put it mildly, yes, that and much

more, I ran out ways to say how much I wanted to get this novel and read it. I

am a big Brad Thor fan and was happy to see him branch out and do something a

little different. Let’s get to what the action is all about:…

Quite possibly you are getting tired of me talking about this guy. I don’t know, but hey, good is good, and Jason McIntyre keeps pumping out the stuff I keep reading and sleeping with the lights on. He claims this,

his newest work to date, is his best yet, Thalo Blue. Is he right? I am going

to agree with him, this just kicks $%#.

“A young man on the brink of true adulthood experiences the trauma of his life when a trespasser breaks…

-You have published two novels thus far, Always & Nature of The Beast, how has the experience been: Pluses and minuses..

It has been mostly positive, but stressful. There's a learning curve for self-publishing. I think the most stressful thing is getting your work out to the world. Trying to find all the right channels and not

market to the point your friends and family block you on Facebook and…