Gabriella Hewitt

This month I am giving away a copy of HEART OF THE NILE.

Simply leave a comment and you’re automatically entered!

One entry per person please. (Winner will be announced here on September 30th)

Kat, Stealer of Memories, brings the wrath of Ra down upon her. She risks her status among the pride by freeing her mortal enemy, an Anubian dog named Nikos, Keeper of Secrets. They have 48 hours to find the HEART OF THE NILE or die. Can a cat trust a dog?

Click here to read an excerpt now!

I’ve been tagged. I’ve managed to avoid if for a while, but bam, there it was a little note from friend and fellow author Maggie Nash that she’d been tagged and so she just had to spread the love. And who tagged Maggie? That would be Heather who was tagged by someone else. If you want to see how the list has changed, click here to view it on Heather’s blog.

Rules:
I am going to list three categories of books: 5 MUST Read Books, 5 Books on Your Nightstand, and 5 Look For These Soon.

Anyone I tag should put these same lists on their blog but SUBTRACT one book from each list and ADD one of their own.

Then they should tag at least 5 more bloggers. It will be fun to see how the lists change as it goes around the blogosphere.

Please come back to this post and leave a comment so I can see how the lists are changing as they go around the blogosphere.

Since this is Book Buzz…please keep your lists to titles released in 2007-2009.

5 MUST Read Books:
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (entire series, really)
Alibi in High Heels by Gemma Halliday (Again, suggest entire series)
A Mile in My Flip-Flops by Melody Carlson
Lover Unbound by J.R. Ward
The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy

5 Books on the Nightstand:
Twin Killing by Marshall Cook
No one Heard her Scream – Jordan Dane
Crazy in Love by Lani Diane Rich
Pleasure by Eric Jerome Dickey
Shoots to Kill by Kate Collins

5 Look For These Soon:
A Rush of Wings – Adrian Phoenix
Evernight by Claudia Gray
The Witch’s Grave by Shirley Damsgaard
The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J.R. Ward
Mayhem in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

There you go!

Who am I tagging? Kate, Gwen, Sarah, Tempest Knight and Susan at West of Mars.

Ladies, I’m passing the baton.

I kid you not this is a true story.

I come home from vacation, rested and happy, when I noticed on the kitchen table an envelope. It is a 8×11 envelope I had been using to sendout my books to Newspapers for review. On the outside of the envelope someone has scratched out hte zip code and put a sticker over the envelope with the box for “Insufficient address” checked off. I notice that the book is missing inside. Only inside there is my letters with the press release and the cover page addressing the editor. I look to my husband and inquire about the envelope since he picksup the mail. I ask if it had a book in it. He answers no.

Well, I am not happy that the seal has been broken and the book removed, obviously by a postal worker. Since I have no insurance on the mail (because seriously who would want to steal a book) I cannot recover the cost of the book.

In a strange way I am flattered that someone would want to steal my book. Hopefully to read it.

I’m not going back to the States this summer, which means I’m so not loving life. Japan is hot and sticky in August. Add in three boys, an apartment the size of my parent’s living room (ok, so I’m exaggerating), well you get the picture. What’s made it bearable is Amazon. Not the US one, the Japanese one. They opened their doors a few years back and I parked myself at the front of the line. Whoever thought of putting books only a click away is a genius.

Now, if you prefer to visit the bookstore, I hear you. One of the first places I hit when I’m on US soil is a Barnes and Noble or a Borders. I can spend hours there perfectly content, browsing the shelves. (I must say I love how cozy bookstores have become with their cushiony chairs and Starbucks in the corner). I’m a mystery and romance fan, so those tend to be the sections I linger in the longest.

Which brings me to my question: Are you a cover girl or a blurb man? What is it that gets you to pick up a book and actually purchase it? I admit that an intriguing cover or a catchy title will make me at least stop and look. It’s the blurb though that’s the biggest deciding factor. I’ll read the blurb and if it sounds like a story I’d enjoy, I’ll usually then check out if there’s that little excerpt at the beginning of the book that gives me an idea of the author’s writing style and the characters. Occasionally, I’ll check out the first page. If it hooks me right away, it’s sold.

My own experience tells me how rough it can be for new authors to get noticed and get people to buy your books. I rarely read reviews. However, with a lot of my book shopping today being done the Amazon way, I find myself skimming the reviews of customers to get a better feel of the story since I can’t pick the book up and flip through it. Some readers do a good job reviewing the book, while others tend to give away the whole plot, which is why I skim them quickly. I also love Amazon’s feature where they recommend similar books. I’ve found several authors that way. All in all, it’s wonderful to take a chance on an author you’ve never read and to discover a gem.

Here are some authors I’ve read for the first time this summer:

Laura Levine (Jaine Austen mysteries)

Candy Calvert (Darcy Cavanaugh mysteries)

Wendy Roberts (Ghost Dusters mysteries –see my review in the previous post)

Susan Goodwill (Kate London mysteries)

Kresley Cole (The Immortals After Dark series)

To Be Read this week I hope:

Angie Fox–The Accidental Demonslayer

Dakota Cassidy–The Accidental Werewolf

How about you? Who have you read for the first time this summer and what led you to give them a chance?

In Wendy Roberts’ new Ghost Dusters mystery series, The Remains of the Dead, the person bereaved relatives can call to clean up after a homicide is Sadie Novak. Sadie is owner of Scene-2-Clean, one of Seattle’s two crime scene clean up companies. Her best friend doesn’t want to discuss it, her mother hopes it’s a phase, and it certainly puts a damper on dating when it comes to chit chat. For Sadie, though, it’s all about providing closure to the family left behind–and helping a few lost souls cross to the other side.

Five years ago, Sadie’s brother killed himself, an act that Sadie is still trying to understand. This internal struggle colors her journey throughout the story as she searches for the truth behind a murder/suicide of one her clients. Roberts deftly handles the pain and incomprehension of those who try to understand what can’t be explained when it comes to sudden death in less than normal circumstances.

I have to admit what I found most fascinating was the description of Sadie’s job. Sure, I knew this kind of work existed, but had never considered the details. Crime scene cleaners dress for bio-hazard to protect against blood-borne pathogens and being cut from bone fragments, among other icky stuff. They need to suck up, cut up, get rid of anything that has been contaminated by human tissue and then put the place back in order. Roberts’ research in this area shines through without coming across as an information dump or overly technical.

While there is nothing funny about Sadie’s job, Roberts laces humor throughout the story with strong dialog and a solid crew to back Sadie up. She’s got her her employee Zach Bowman, an ex-cop and possible love interest down the road, as well as her best friend Pam, sister Dawn, and new-to-Sadie’s circle, Maeva the psychic. And then there are the dead who make their presence occasionally known. See, Sadie has a talent, she doesn’t exactly broadcast–she talks to the dead. For the most part, this is confined to letting them know they are dead and it’s time to face the light. But it doesn’t always work as when a murder victim insists her husband didn’t kill her and then commit suicide. Sadie can’t let it go and soon both her life and reputation are on the line as she searches for the truth.

The Remains of the Dead is an intricate mystery that will keep you glued to the pages. Kudos to Roberts, too, for a twist at the very end that I never saw coming and has me looking forward to Sadie’s next adventure available in December 2008. For more information on Roberts, check out her website at www.wendyroberts.com

Okay, I wake up every morning and shlep out of bed. I am really the last person you want to talk to before I have had a morning cup of java.

I throw the switch on my handy dandy brewer, a cute little Mr. Coffee maker. I’m not into fancy beans or instant. I get a can of Chuck-Full-O-Nuts and heap in the spoonfuls, some water, sugar, milk and Coffee Mate (french vanilla).

Two minutes later I got a cup of hot Joe. The only hot Joe I get in the morning.

Now if I had a real life full bodied hot Joe in the morning I probably wouldn’t get out of bed at all;)

YES!! Finally there will be a Latino vampire series. Is anyone else as excited as I am by this?

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. announced the names of the supporting castmembers who will be sharing the set with Latino icons Chayanne (playing the modern-day vampire of the title role) and José Luis Rodríguez (El Puma) on “Gabriel”, the first miniseries aired by Mega TV and produced by the new entertainment division Megafilms, which is scheduled to debut in September. DirecTV Más also signed on as Co-producer of this groundbreaking project.

Check out the Full trailer

“>

Yeah, I got a mention in Express Checkout in the Long Island Press!

THE BOOK – DARK WATERS

I joined up at Red Room. It is place to meet authors and readers.

http://www.redroom.com/author/gabriella-hewitt

Come on up and visit me sometime. (Yeah, I stole it from Mae West)