"Ghostly Summons" - John Karr (Tribute Books Blog Tour)

 BLURB
"Lars Kelsen doesn’t believe in psychic phenomenon. To him, visions of murder victims are a form of mental illness. Once they begin, options are limited; he can try to ignore them or deal with them by exposing a killer. Only the latter provides any semblance of peace. Temporarily, anyway. Five years into his new life as a programmer, Kelsen—ex-crime beat reporter with a penance he can never fully satisfy—sees a victim.

In person. Upright. Staring.

Typical of such past "Visits" as he calls them, he doesn’t welcome this one. The nude form of a beautiful millionairess in his cubicle means murder has come to the vacation haven known as North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It means he’ll have to go places he'd rather avoid. See things he'll wish he hadn’t. Do things that don't come naturally, like in-your-face confrontation and bending the law. Actually, breaking the law ... but with good intent. It also means dealing with one very attractive county coroner, who pushes his buttons in a not entirely unwelcome way.

So begins Kelsen's return to investigative reporting—complete with attempts on his life, fights, deception, and all the technological tricks, such as GPS and computer hacking, at his disposal. And maybe even finding a new love interest."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John A. Karr believes fiction writing each day helps keep the demons at bay. Ghostly Summons is his first full-length novel for Dark Continents Publishing. DCP has also published his Weird West novella, Ujahwek. He is the author of a handful of other novels: Death Clause, Hippocrates Shattered (scheduled for reprint by World Castle Publications as Shattered), Rhone, and Van Gogh, Encore. His short stories have appeared on webzines Allegory, The Absent Willow Review, and Danse Macabre. More works are in progress and in the marketing queue.

Karr is an ardent believer in the quote by Carl Van Doren (1885-1950), U.S. man of letters: Yes, it's hard to write, but it's harder not to.

Author Links: Website       Twitter       Facebook       Blog       Goodreads

Book Links:  Goodreads       Kindle       Nook       Kobo

REVIEW

The macabre.  What is it that holds such fascination for us?  Certain psychologists who shall go unnamed would argue it is is a "ohmigosh I'm so glad it was them and not me" mentality.  Others would claim we are all inherently morbid and macabre genres of entertainment offer most of us an avenue to explore that morbidity (perhaps an expression of id impulses?) without fear of a jail sentence.  But what about when macabre is mixed with the supernatural?  Well?

"The Cryptid Tales" by Brina Courtney (Rockstar Book Tour)

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"You think seeing ghosts is weird? Tell me something I don't know.

My childhood best friend Jeremy happens to be a ghost.

My life is a puzzle, and the biggest piece missing has been my dad. Since his disappearance when I was six it's been tough, but Jeremy has been by my side through it all.

But now Jeremy has gone missing too and I feel like I'm never going to get all the answers I've been looking for.

Fate intervenes when Hugh, a real live college beefcake, starts taking an interest in me. He divulges that he also shares my little "gift" of seeing the dead and I know I'm finally getting closer to finding all the pieces.

However, the more the puzzle is completed, the more questions I have.

Senior year is hard enough as it is, but clearly I like a challenge."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Brina Courtney

Brina Courtney is a young adult author obsessed with chocolate, crime shows, and fantasy movies. She's spent the last few years as an elementary teacher and a high school cheering coach. She lives in a small town in Pennsylvania with her husband and two very loud, small dogs.

Website                    Facebook 

Twitter                     Goodreads 

REVIEW
This is the first paranormal book reviewed on this here, my blog.  Paranormal works make me nervous for various reasons that I don't feel like going into but will if you send me an email (elnora dot romness at gmail dot com).  For one thing, I'm easily spooked and already have an overactive imagination regarding piles of clothes on my floor in the middle of the night, or the goofy dog making me think something is burrowing its way through the floor when he scratches an itch...of course in the middle of the night.  But I digress...

"Assured Destruction" - by Michael Stewart (Tribute Books Blog Tour)

BLURB
"Sixteen-year-old Jan Rose knows that nothing is ever truly deleted. At least, not from the hard drives she scours to create the online identities she calls the Shadownet.

Hobby? Art form? Sad, pathetic plea to garner friendship, even virtually? Sure, Jan is guilty on all counts. Maybe she’s even addicted to it. It’s an exploration. Everyone has something to hide. The Shadownet’s hard drives are Jan’s secrets. They're stolen from her family’s computer recycling business Assured Destruction. If the police found out, Jan’s family would lose their livelihood. 

When the real people behind Shadownet’s hard drives endure vicious cyber attacks, Jan realizes she is responsible. She doesn’t know who is targeting these people or why but as her life collapses Jan must use all her tech savvy to bring the perpetrators to justice before she becomes the next victim."




ABOUT THE AUTHOR - Michael Stewart

After crewing ships in the Antarctic and the Baltic Sea and some fun in venture capital, Michael anchored himself (happily) to a marriage and a boatload of kids. Now he injects his adventurous spirit into his writing with brief respites for research into the jungles of Sumatra and Guatemala, the ruins of Egypt and Tik’al, paddling the Zambezi and diving whatever cave or ocean reef will have him. He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and SF Canada, and the author of the Assured Destruction series, 24 Bones, The Sand Dragon, Hurakan, Ruination and several award winning graphic novels for young adults.


REVIEW
I know very little about computers.  Being able to utilize basic Microsoft programs, game a little, cuss Excel into cooperating with me, minor photo editing...I'd quickly be swamped by the genius of Jan - the main character in Assured Destruction.  But what happens when someone's genius gets the better of them...or those around them....

"Owlet" - by Emma Michaels (Tribute Books Blog Tour)

Blurb

"Somewhere between falling and flying...there is a girl.

Iris has a secret.  She lost her memory eight years ago and never told a living soul.  After an asthma attack one night she finds out that her dreams of a strange house on a snowy island may be a memory resurfacing but the more she learns about the past the more she realizes the life she has been living is a lie.  As the facade her father has built starts to crumble around her she will have to decide which means more to her: the truth or her life."

About the Author
"Emma Michaels is the author of the 'A Sense of Truth' and 'Society of Feather' series.  Her goal with her latest YA novel 'Owlet' is to give others what she did not have growing up: a strong female protagonist with asthma.  While her previous aspiration was to be a lady knight she realized that not being able to run more than a few feet might become a hindrance so turned to writing instead.  Her day jobs include being a cover artist, marketing consultant, and silk screen designer.

As the founder of The Writers Voice blog, she loves to connect authors and readers.  As a book blogger turned author, she was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, until she moved at eighteen to Washington State.  Suddenly, the world was a new place filled with tall green trees that reached further for the sky with every moment, making her want to do the same.  Ever since, she has tried to make her life something new and different from what it was before, pursuing her future career, setting high goals and reaching for them.  With the support of her fiance, Chihuahua, and her amazing blog followers and fellow bloggers, she wants to prove to the world that anything is possible and help inspire fellow literary lovers to reach for their dreams."

REVIEW
Even in our so-called "enlightened" society (pardon the sarcasm), it is difficult to find a book that has a character with a significant physical or mental illness.  Emma Michaels aimed to provide a book that shows just how capable of a "normal" life people with illnesses are when she chose to make the protagonist of "Owlet" a young lady with asthma.  Mythical elements, song, and fanciful writing come together in this work to weave a beautiful portrait of what happens when a special young lady finds out about the past she has forgotten.

"The Grey"

Blurb on cover of the DVD jacket:

"Liam Neeson stars as the unlikely hero Ottway in this undeniably suspenseful and powerful survival adventure.  After their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness, a roughneck group of oil drillers is forced to find a way back to civilization.  As Ottway leads the injured survivors through the brutal snow and ice, they are relentlessly tracked by a vicious pack of rogue wolves that will do anything to defend their territory.  Adrenaline-fueled, action-packed and loaded with some of the most intense and brutally realistic attack scenes ever filmed, The Grey is being hailed as 'a thriller you can sink you teeth into!' (The Washington Post)"


REVIEW
I'm from Alaska, and as such am very critical about movies and/or books that have anything to do with Alaska.  Will the flick support stereotypes about Alaska?  Will it make us Alaskans look like country backwater bums liked "Snow Dogs" did?

The Good
The story itself is definitely realistic - plane goes down in the wilderness, pack of men is hunted by pack of wolves who are defending their turf, men are taken out by wolves and forces of nature one by one until Ottway is the only one left.  In trying to get away from the wolves and reach civilization, he walks right into the wolves' den and faces down the alpha male.  Philosophical musings and thoughts about God and the afterlife are woven into the dialog in a way that will stick with viewers (especially Ottway's outburst at God near the very end) and make them think later, which I appreciate.