When Life Takes Over

Dear readers, authors and fellow bloggers,

This is just a short note from me to explain why my blog has experienced a hiatus of sorts for the past month or so. It has been an incredibly difficult time for me and it's been increasingly hard for me to keep up with reading, reviewing, etc.

This September, my relationship of 15 or so months of incredible love and emotion reached its conclusion. Naturally, this leaves a huge stain on one's emotions and I was am still very emotional and sad about it. It also was a very strenuous time in school, with six exams I have to pass and very little time to do it.

I am very aware that this sort of post can seem unprofessional. The truth is, I'm not a professional blogger. I don't make any money off of this. And when I (as I'm sure many other bloggers do) review a book, it's because our passion for the industry, for the authors and for the written word.

So I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for the month of September - the reviews I failed to write, the giveaways I failed to wrap up (and which I'm going to do very soon, the best way I can) and the posts I failed to comment.

This blog is my baby, but I had to temporarily abandon it. Life took over. And I'm happy to continue balancing everything the best I can.

Thank you everybody. Just following your blogs in my Google Reader and reading your books is making my world a better place.

xoxo

Nikola.

Giveaway Winners Galore!

Finally, here are the winners for the giveaways that were just standing there on my blog for a very long time. I hope the winners are happy to receive the books and that I will see those reviews up soon! :)

Kiss of the Rose goes to:

Stacey

The Human Bobby goes to:

Aik

His Last Letter goes to:

The Book Pixie and Spring

Thanks for entering, everybody! I have the next giveaway in store, and it is going to be epic! Think a celebrity author, whose book has been made into a cult TV show and who has recently published her first YA book... If anyone can guess, well, let's just say I'll keep that in mind. And you'll want to win that signed copy, trust me!

Guest Post + Giveaway: Jeane Westin

I am sure everyone here will agree that there is nothing worse than a month full of exams - well, at least it's in the top 10. This is how it's been for me lately, and I'm very sorry I had to hit the pause button with the blog lately.

Today, I hope to make up for this by introducing historical fiction author Jeane Westin to the blog, who has prepared a guest post concerning her book His Last Letter. Please give a warm welcome for Jeane!

Hello Nikola, I'm so happy to hear from you and know you have an interest in England's Queen Elizabeth I and my book His Last Letter:Elizabeth I and the Earl of Leicester. The book is a novel about Elizabeth's lifelong love, Robert Dudley as I imagined it. Their story started when they were children of eight years and continued until her death nearly 70 year later. Although she was called, and called herself, the Virgin Queen, their long, romantic relationship raise doubts and I decided to imagine that theirs had been more than a deep friendship, although it was always that.

They were playmates first, impetuous companions as adults and the center of each others' lives for decades. Astute to the dangers of choosing any one man, the Virgin Queen could never give Dudley what he wanted most, to be her husband and England's king, she insisted that he stay close by her side. Possessive and jealous, they survived quarrels, his two disastrous marriages to other women, her constant flirtations and political machinations with foreign princes. Yet still, there is no written evidence that confirms the depth of the love between Elizabeth and her "sweet Robin".

  But was there such evidence? At the moment of her greatest victory over the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth receives news of Robin's death along with his last letter to her. Elizabeth kept one page of that letter inscribed in her hand His Last Letter in a locked treasures box by her side until the day she died and that page survives in the UK files to this day.

His Last Letter asks: what if there were a second page to Robin's passionate missive, a page confirming the passionate love affair Elizabeth and Robin engaged in for decades, and a page that the Queen had to destroy?

Upon receiving the letter and overcome with grief, the Queen locks herself in her rooms for three long days, refuses all food, water and comfort and lets Robin's letter transport her back to their last years together, the most dangerous of her rule, as well as to the most passionate moments of their affair. Elizabeth loved Robin until her very last breath, but as queen she loved the throne and her independence more...and that love ultimately forces her to burn the second page of sweet Robin's missive, breaking her woman's heart for good.

Doesn't that sound intriguing? And, since Jeane rules, she has offered two copies of her book to two lucky winners! Here are the giveaway rules:

-US only
-the giveaway ends September 9th
-make sure you leave your email in the comment (no email, no entry!)
-two winners

BONUS ENTRIES:
+2 for following (old and new followers)
+2 for leaving the link in your sidebar (+4 if you leave a graphic!)
+2 for tweeting about this (leave a link!)
+4 for blogging about this

Good luck!

Special thanks to Kaitlyn Kennedy for making this giveaway possible.

Interview & Giveaway: Gabe Rotter

Today we welcome Gabe Rotter, whose sophomore novel The Human Bobby is out today for an interview and a giveaway. Welcome, Gabe!

Thank you for featuring The Human Bobby on your blog!

The book seems heavier in tone than your previous, Duck Duck Wally. Is this a good observation?

Yes, The Human Bobby is certainly much darker than Duck Duck Wally, which had a decidedly sillier tone. I wanted to attempt to write something in similar voice to my first book, but that went on a completely different place. But at their core I think they could both be said to be about the unraveling of a man, which is a theme I'm very interested in writing about.

Where did The Human Bobby come from?

I've always been completely fascinated by homeless people. I look at them and I desperately want to know their back-stories. How does one get to that point? What was their childhood like? Did they ever have a normal life? A spouse? Children? What are they like in their moments of clarity?

What would you say the most rewarding part of getting your book published is - seeing it on the shelf at your local bookstore, doing a book signing or receiving fan mail?

I think those are definitely three of the best things about it! Seeing it at a book store or in a library is always a thrill. Book signings are completely awesome. I think getting fan mail is probably the most rewarding. There's nothing cooler than when someone enjoys your book so much that they take the time to write you a note about it. That always makes my day and makes it worth all the hard work.

What's your focus group when it comes to readers of The Human Bobby? What's the emotion you're trying to provoke in your readers?

My focus group consists of my wife, my father and a few of my closest friends and family. In this book, the emotion I was trying to provoke was surprise. I was very taken by the idea of writing through the POV of an unreliable narrator. Someone you come to trust but whose perspective you are forced to question at some point during the story.

Would it be okay to say that The Human Bobby is a story about the state of the modern man?

I think with the state of the world economy, natural and man-made disasters, wars, etc. that most people today have a sort of tenuous grasp on their possessions, because the reality is that most of us could lose everything very easily. One of the themes of The Human Bobby is, "What are we?" - in other words, are we the things we own? Is that what defines us? The house we live in? The car we drive? Is it the people we love that makes us who we are? Once these things are taken from us, who are we?

One copy of The Human Bobby has generously been offered for a giveaway. Here are the giveaway rules:

-US/Canada only

-the giveaway ends August 31st

-make sure you leave your email in the comment (no email, no entry!)

-one winner

BONUS ENTRIES:

+2 for following (old and new followers)

+2 for leaving the link in your sidebar (+4 if you leave a graphic!)

+2 for tweeting about this (leave a link!)

+4 for blogging about this

Good luck!

Review: Necessary Madness by Lisabet Sarai

"Necessary Madness" is Lisabet Sarai's first gay novel - and one could never guess! An established romance/erotica author, she has written a somewhat paranormal thriller with an abundance of romantic and sexual situations that are sure to get your blood flowing faster.

The protagonist, Kyle, is a homeless man with a curse - he is haunted by visions of future deaths and he is unable to do anything about them. After a particularly intense vision, he ends up in the hospital, where he is interrogated by Rob, a handsome policemen. Rob offers a spare room until Kyle can get back on his feet and it is not soon before they start a passionate relationship. However, Rob's ghosts of the past are threatening to compromise their relationship - as well as a mysterious man from Kyle's visions.

There are two things that should be talked about when it comes to this book. The plot and the sex scenes. Plot-wise, the book is a tight, solid thriller. Although I would have preferred to find about a little more about the antagonist's background, the cast of characters is a solid, interesting bunch. On the other hand, the sex scenes are always explicit and arousing - Sarai knows her way with words and I'm certain veteran erotica readers will enjoy Necessary Madness immensely (on the other hand, less experienced readers are certain to blush throughout). Another thing I loved about the book was that the paranormal element wasn't overused - it is there and crucial to the story, but the two lovers are human.

What I had a minor problem with was the way the plot and the sex were combined. There are fantastic instances where sex itself is a major plot device (the chilling finale is a great example of this). On the other hand, it sometimes feels like filler - as well as the reason for Rob and Kyle's romantic co-dependence. This is a small bone to pick, especially when the sex scenes are written so deliciously. Luckily, there is room to extend the story to a second book and I sincerely hope this will happen.

RATING: 4/5

This book counts towards my GLBT challenge.

Interview & Giveaway: Kate Pearce

Today I have a very special treat for you - a mix of the Tudors, vampires and romance. That's right - please welcome the prolific romance author Kate Pearce, here to talk about her latest novel, Kiss of the Rose, the first in the upcoming (and I'm sure, bestselling) Tudor Vampire Chronicles. It seems like Henry VIII will never go out of style!

Henry VIII is a pretty popular guy nowadays, don't you think? The Tudors are everywhere, so tell us what your particular reason was to use him in your novel. And where do the vampires fit in?

I studied Tudor politics as part of my degree and I've always enjoyed reading novels about them so when my agent suggested I try and write Tudor Vampires, it all seemed to click! As my starting point, I used the notion that the Tudors came to power unexpectedly and that it would've been a great opportunity for them to win the crown with some paranormal help. In my mind, this resulted in an alliance with the Druids. The Tudor family are from Wales and I reckoned the young Henry VII might well have been exposed to some pagan religion as well as Christianity. In my paranormal world the Vampires are an offshoot of the Druids, so there is a natural enmity between them which leads to all sorts of problems over the centuries.

Did the book require a lot of research?

Yes it did. But then as a history major I love to research and know how to do it competently. For example, the costume book I consulted had about 6oo pages of text in it which proved a little time consuming! And after all the research only a tiny proportion of the history ended up in the book because it is primarily a paranormal romance.

Tell us a little bit about the heroine.

Rosalind Llewellyn is an anomaly in her own time, the first woman to be born with the mark of Awen which means she is entitled to train as a Vampire slayer - a most unladylike thing to do. She is very strong and a great match for the arrogant hero, Christopher Ellis who begins by underestimating her and ends up respecting and loving her.

How is this book different than your other titles - and there are many of them!

I've written a few, haven't I?! My books for Kensington Aphrodisia, Ellora's Cave and Virgin Black Lace 'Cheek' are all classed as erotic romance and brought out as e-books or trade-size paperbacks. Kiss of the Rose is different because it is a paranormal, historical romance in mass market format. I like to write different things and this was a new challenge for me.

Tell us about your writing routine. Also, what's next in store for Kate Pearce?

I write about 4 hours a day when the kids are in school and the house is relatively quiet. Along with writing new stuff I also have to deal with edits, copy edits, galleys, blog writing, promotion, etc. This means it gets very busy sometimes. I try and write a minimum of 2000 words a day to keep on my tight deadline schedule.

Coming up next is a novella in a Kensington Brava anthology called "Lords of Passion" with Virginia Henley and Maggie Robinson, which comes out in early December and then next year I have 2 books out around February, 2011 Simply Forbidden from Kensington Aphrodisia which is the 6th book in my Regency erotic romance House of Pleasure series, and Blood of the Rose, part two of the Tudor Vampire Chronicles which centers around Anne Boleyn.

Brace yourselves - Kate has generously offered to give away a copy of Kiss of the Rose to one lucky winner. Read it before it's all over the blogosphere! Here are the giveaway rules:

-the contest ends August 25th.

-there will be one winner.

-make sure you leave your email in the comment - no email, no entry!

-the giveaway is open internationally! (Kate rules!)

BONUS ENTRIES:

+2 for following (old and new followers)

+2 for leaving the link in your sidebar (+4 for leaving a graphic)

+2 for tweeting about this (leave a link!)

+4 for blogging about this

+4 for visiting Kate's website and coming back with the title that you find most interesting

This giveaway has been advertised on Giveaway Scout.

Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I may be the last person on earth to read Charlaine Harris' Dead Until Dark - but I'm definitely not the last person to fall in love with True Blood, the racy HBO show based on the book. In fact, I consider myself a huge fan. So I was beyond excited to read the book that started it all when I bought my paperback copy in Dubrovnik. And I enjoyed it immensely.

Set in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, the story revolves around a telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. The vampires have just recently come out of the coffin and Sookie is excited to meet one. The vampire in question is the mysterious Bill Compton, but when Bon Temps is struck by a tragedy - which soon escalates into a killing spree - Sookie fears she might be in danger.

As a writer, Harris writes with assurance, so I ultimately forgave her the shameless 1st person POV - even when it came to the corniest sentences. She utilizes the mysterious and dark Louisiana atmosphere to the maximum, and in the context of the story, it works out perfectly. The story itself is a perfectly balanced detective story that is never too obvious (unless you've seen the first season of the TV show). However, there are enough surprises in the book to keep you reading, even if you did.

I loved how vampires are sometimes used allegorically to represent real-life minority groups. It's very cool to see them represent people of a different race or sexual orientation. However, I didn't like how in the end, the book ends very lightly, when I feel like it could have packed more impact. However, it is an excellent mystery book and the basis for a fantastic TV show. I can't wait to read book two!

RATING: 4/5

This book counts toward my GLBT challenge.