#Book Review Link-Up Starts NOW!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog).
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller

4. Become a follower of my blog, pretty please (not mandatory).
5. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
6. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list.

-CYM

Read More

Blood in the Water by Wilson Smith #Book #Review

Blood in the Water 

by Wilson Smith

(Adaly Publishing 2007)

Reviewing books that come our way is always a fascinating task.  Stories, like people, come in all shapes and sizes, some attractive and interesting.  Like choosing a sweetheart, the process of selecting enjoyable reads is all about what happens to appeal to you.

Personally, I enjoy an entertaining story with characters that will evoke emotions as I read along, wondering how the author will bring its disparate elements together.

The setting for Blood in the Water is post-Katrina New Orleans.  The hero, Andrew, is a fun-loving young man with little interest or motivation for economic success.  Andrew’s best friend Brad introduces him to his boss in the mortgage business.  In turn, the boss introduces Andrew to others, including the wife of an infamous financial scoundrel, Virgina.  Andrew’s charm is deployed.  

He is soon sleeping with Virginia, as her husband is sent to prison.  In the aftermath of hurricane Bret (in the story), Andrew’s lover and boss organize a new mortgage company, intended to take advantage of the efforts of government to rehabilitate a devastated New Orleans.  Corruption and graft are rampant, reaching to the White House.  Andrew succeeds in business, adapting to the world of rich privilege, travel, and the perks of being a rich woman’s lover.  Sex and intrigue take root.

Soon enough, Virginia’s husband is murdered in prison, other people begin dying, and the wily finger of fate points at Andrew.

How will the libidinous young man escape from the whirlwind that has swept into his life?

Wilson Smith is an excellent story-teller.  The pages turn easily, as I tried to anticipate how it would all devolve.  In the end, like all great stories, I closed the cover smiling.  Another story was evolving with the enigmatic Virginia.

Blood in the Water is great beach or airplane reading!  

      You will be entertained, as was I.

  

Warms, Cym

Amazon

Facebook

Read More

Winner of Wednesday's Book Review Link-up Party

    *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *
I promise!

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Book Diary!



Be sure to check out Book Diary and leave a comment!


Send me your email address for the Amazon eGC.

Warms-
CYM

Read More

Author Spotlight: Alexandra Hamlet

The Right Guard

by Alexandra Hamlet

Synopsis:

Over one million military weapons and equipment are missing from the U.S. military inventories across the country. Who is stealing the weapons and why? CIA operative Eric Brent, and his revolutionary light weapon invention, is used by CIA to flush out a secretive, phantom group hostile to a wildly spending, intrusive U.S. Administration that threatens to destroy the American economy and shrink individual freedoms.

Hamlet takes you through the twists and turns of the secretive world of intelligence as the undercover assignment goes astray. Eric exposes a far-reaching and well-planned movement and an event that could alter the United States forever.

Strained loyalties arise as the phantom group appeals to Eric and his superiors. At the height of his infiltration, a former lover, Jill, reenters his life and places them both in danger. Loyal forces within the intelligence community struggle to learn who is involved and organize counter-moves yet stay undetected. Each question ends in surprise as personal and professional conflicts for Eric arise. He is forced to reach back into his high-ranking father's Nazi Germany past...to solicit help.
The year is 1978, yet The Right Guard resembles the present state of the political and economic climate of the U.S. and a possible, eerie scenario and outcome.
The Right Guard is an exercise in gripping, fast-paced realism that keeps the reader mesmerized through the eyes of those who live in the intelligence world.

About Alexandra Hamlet:

Alexandra is a cultural and defense anthropologist, an international lecturer and a former TV and print journalist. She consults on cultural affairs and international business. She was an auxiliary nurse in London; Visiting Fellow at Harvard University; an executive search specialist for world-wide C-suite positions; and is a consultant on irregular warfare. This is her first novel.

Other Resources:

Amazon

TheRightGuardNovel

AlexandraHamletBlog

Thank you Alexandra for being this week's Author Spotlight!

-CYM

Read More

Book Postings From Around the Web

{Guest Post from Beachbrights}

this weeks bookish spotlights

1.  The Creative Penn: 50 Things I Learned at Thrillerfest 2012. Click here...

2. Meg Mims - Double Crossing: Ins and Outs of Book Reviews. Click here...

3. Dear Author: ChicklitGirls charge $95 for reviews; threaten lawsuit to the author who publicized this...Click here...

4. Lifehacker: Share Your Amazon Prime Two-Day Shipping with Four People. Click here...

Found any good bookish tidbits this week? Post the link in a comment!

~XOXO~

Beachbrights

Read More

#Book Review Link-up Party Starts NOW!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog).
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller

4. Become a follower of my blog, pretty please (not mandatory).
5. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
6. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list.

-CYM

Read More

The Pilgrim’s Progress, in the Timeless Writings of C.S.Lewis #Book Review

The Pilgrim’s Progress, in the Timeless Writings of C.S.Lewis 

(Inspiration Press)

I have always been fascinated with C.S. Lewis (Tales of Narnia), as with J.R. Tolkein (Lord of the Rings) and Lewis Carroll (pen name of author of Alice in Wonderland).  They were all professors at Oxford, teaching various subjects, but able to blend their day job work with stories that have been classical stories for children.  Indeed, each of the stories has produced generations of entertainment, including major motion pictures, stage plays, and endless adaptation.  

What creativity was in the waters of Oxford?  I have read and re-read wondering what the answer may be, and the true meaning of the stories.

In the case of C.S. Lewis, he also became a leading commentator about the meaning of Christianity.  He began as an atheist, and evolved to be a believer, as well as a treasured radio commentator during the siege of England in World War II.

In The Pilgrim’s Process, the narrator recounts the journey of a young man in his dreams.  John is in search of an enchanted island.  He leaves home on his quest, initially encountering  girls who seduce him in their own world.  He moves on, finding escorts of various sorts as he meanders through the valleys and mountains of a mythical world.  In the end John finds meaning.

To me, this is not so much a story about Christianity, as it is the process of discovery of self.  In conversation with thoughtful friends, we often discuss the meaning of Genesis in the Old Testament.  It is also a journey.  I am always quite amazed at how a group of about the same age, background, and intellect can derive such vastly different meanings from the same words.

As each of us ages and meanders through our own valleys and mountains, we  seek meaning.  Who am I?  Why am I here?  How do I believe or not believe in my Creator?  What is my purpose?  Is this my only life?  And on and on.  

If I were organizing a biblical study, it would be enjoyable to get my compatriots to read three items.  The first two would be Genesis and The Pilgrim’s Progress.  When these had been devoured, I would ask them to read the tiny story of Punchinello, the beautiful allegory by Max Lucado.  The young Wemmick (carved people) is not pretty.  Punchinello asks his maker “why am I not pretty like the other Wemmicks?”  The creator’s answer, when the young boy returns from his own journey, is that “I created you to be you.”

The genius of Max Lucado is that he is able to convey heartfelt meaning in easily understood parables, so that one’s mind is opened to answer the questions we all have about ourselves and our purpose in this life.

The genius of C.S. Lewis is in telling a story that requires careful thought to try to discern the meaning that he is seeking to frame.  As compared to the easily readable Lucado, C.S. Lewis  often seems impenetrable.

When these two are combined with Genesis, and probably ample wine, an enjoyable and meaningful discussion with surely occur.

Warms, Cym  

AMAZON

Read More

Winner of Wednesday's #Book Review Link-Up $15 @Amazon GC

    *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *
I promise!

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Book Obsessed!




Be sure to check out Book Obsessed and leave a comment!


Send me your email address for the Amazon eGC.

Warms-
CYM

Read More

Author Spotlight: Sherri Fulmer Moorer

Recently Released....

Synopsis:

Meet Jana Lanning: A recent college graduate who can't seem to get a grip on life. All of her plans for the future have fallen apart within two weeks of graduation. The only comfort she finds is in a mysterious music box sent to her by a friend. At first she looks to it for comforting memories of her past, but soon she's having strange dreams of a life where she's the queen of a world where everything she desires comes to pass. It seems ideal until elements of reality and her dream world start to merge, leaving her ill and confused. When she's confronted by attacks in both worlds she must face her demons and choose which reality she prefers; and what price she'll pay to keep it.

Sherri Fulmer Moorer's Bio:

By day, Sherri is a program assistant working in professional licensing for design professionals. By night, Sherri writes mystery novels from her home in the woods. She has published 4 books, 2 novellettes, and is a regular contributor to the Mystery Readers and Writer's Newsletter. 

Resources:

Amazon Author Page
Amazon UK
B & N
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

Sherri the Writer

Thank you Sherri for being this week's Author Spotlight!

-CYM

Read More

Review Party Link-up Starts NOW!

<a href="http://cymlowell.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="CymLowell" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2442/3960797566_f11cfb2f41_o.jpg" /></a>

Welcome to Book Review Party Wednesday.

It is real simple. Link up any (old or new, any genre) book review that you have
written to the below MckLinky.

A couple of things to remember while you're linking.

1. Add a permalink to your specific post, not the main page of your blog (only one review per blog).
2. Add my Book Review Wednesday Badge or a link-back to the party at the end of your review post.
3. List the name of your blog, Title of Book or Genre. Be sure to use spaces and limit characters to 50. For example: The Lost Symbol, thriller

4. Become a follower of my blog, pretty please (not mandatory).
5. Visit the other linked up reviews and leave comments....it's a party, have fun!
6. I will announce the winner in a weekend post. The winner is chosen from the linked up reviewers using Random Number Generator. All included.

I am so excited to be reading all the reviews! This is always so much fun and gives me the opportunity to add new books to my list.

-CYM

Read More

Strong Vengeance by Jon Land {5-Star Review}

RELEASED TODAY!

Strong Vengeance 

by Jon Land 

(Forge/Tom Doherty Associates Books 2012)

The ability to combine nightmarish events that could occur just down the street from the safety of our homes with colorful backgrounds, thought-provoking characters, and extreme danger is a rare and vital talent.  These are the elements of popular thrillers.  A few authors are able to take such stories to an even more enjoyable level by imbuing the characters with human emotions that resonate in readers with the reality of their own life experience.  These elements are combined in Jon Land’s Caitlin Strong series. 

Caitlin, a fifth generation Texas Ranger, is a thoroughly engaging heroine.  Called “Hurricane” for good reason by her mentor, who had served with her father and grandfather, because grim danger and corpses are the future and wake of her path through life.  Single-minded service as a Ranger has been interrupted by falling in love with an infamous hoodlum, Cort Wesley Masters.  While having served his time officially, Cort Wesley is always on at least the brink of detention.  He has two teenage sons.  Caitlin becomes their de facto mother, exposing a touching maternal instinct.  A lethal peace officer, in love with a henchman, caring for his children, and enmeshed in the crises of the moment presents a character with immense possibility.  Will she have to choose between hearth and home or crime solving? 

Strong Vengeance picks up on that beat.  On a boat ride in the Gulf of Mexico with one of the boys, they encounter a freak occurrence.  Twenty or so corpses lined-up on a silent drill rig.  What’s this about?  What does it have to do with Caitlin doing her motherhood thing?

Cort Wesley is in a Mexican prison, where he fights daily for survival.  As Caitlin is drawn into the vortex of spiraling events, she is joined by a breathing survivor and ghosts of her ancestry, the boys, a Mexican giant with a team of Zeta force commandos, shadowy Homeland Security operatives, bodies of people having no finger prints or who have died before, devil logos, and local police who stumble from failure to another.  Caitlin’s forbears had failed to solve the mysterious murder of Longhorn frat boys on Galveston Island chasing the supposed treasure of Jean Lafitte from pre-Civil War pirating in the Louisiana bayous. 

The trail she blazes leads to a grimly real plan of a local Al Queada terrorist cell to detonate thousands of barrels of nuclear waste in a manner that will potentially kill millions in Texas and up the Atlantic Coast.

Can the disaster be averted?  Will Cort Wesley get out of Mexico?  Will the boys be sacrificed?  Will romance blossom for Caitlin?  If so, will we experience any of it?  Can she adjust to domestic life?  Can Cort Wesley?

As promised, all of these elements are woven together in a wonderfully readable story.  I only put down Strong Vengeance to sleep.  I was on my way to Paris from Texas, wondering if my homeland would be there when I returned.  When I turned the last page, my mind was moving to the next adventure.  The anticipations I had when opening the book were whetted and reframed for the next in the Caitlin series to come.

If you enjoy thrillers, with characters having hearts and souls, and you have not been immersed in the world of Jon Land, you are in for a treat.  His work provides a refreshing gust of fresh air to the predictable intrigue and violence of the genre.  I look forward to Strong Vengeance climbing atop the best seller list, as well as to its sequels.

What new danger will invade Caitlin’s peaceful life?  That I close with such a question is simple testament to the joy of the reading.  In each of my prior reviews of this series, I closed with the declaration that I am ready for more.  Damn!  Bring it on, Jon.  I am Strong at Heart and ready for the next adventure.

Strong Vengeance is just that, a story about the Strongs and vengeance on all sides of the law.

Warms-CYM

Resources:

Amazon

B&N

JonLand

Read More

Thoughts on Thrillerfest 2012

We attended the International Thriller Writers’ Association ThrillerFest in New York City again this year (11 to 14 July 2012). The organization continues to grow at a rather amazing pace.  ThrillerFest is the annual meeting of ITW.  It is designed to address the full spectrum of those interested in thrillers, including avid fans, aspiring writers, bloggers, and world famous bestselling authors.

Author Sandra Brown

The program is divided into three parts: (i) CraftFest (intended to teach the craft of thriller writing); (ii) AgentFest (intended to bring together agents or publisher editors in search of new clients or manuscripts); and (iii) ThrillerFest (intended to address the current range of issues for thriller writers, including interviews with our famous members and presentation of awards at the Saturday night banquet.

Sat. night awards

This was my fourth time to attend the program.  It was plainly the most beneficial for me.  I believe this to be attributable to the fact that I have completed a manuscript that seems to have potential and am working with an excellent editor recommended by successful authors.  We are about 20% done with the manuscript, following the 26 single-spaced pages of initial comments from the editor.  She said “the more comments I send, the better I liked the manuscript and its potential.  I guess she liked this one.

In the various breakout sessions, conducted by panels of acclaimed thriller writers (all the names you know and love) I listened carefully, typically sitting in the front row to make sure I was focused.  Many comments resonated with me in terms of issues that I am experiencing in working with my editor.  I will summarize this learning in a future comment.

Authors in line to pitch to agents @Agentfest

I will then review my experience in AgentFest, and finally the other elements of ThrillerFest. Stay tuned & get ready for Wednesday's book review party!

                Warms, Cym

Read More

Thrillerfest 2012 Update

My poor neglected blog this week! I am knee deep in another awesome Thrillerfest in NYC. I will return next week to regular blogging. I will also have all those wonderful multi-book giveaways that I will be handing out to you... So stay tuned.

If you need to reach me or want to keep up with Thrillerfest, find me on Facebook or Twitter.

 Love you friends- CYM 

www.twitter.com/cymlowell 
www.facebook.com/cymlowell 
 cymlowell(at)gmail.com

Read More

Thrillerfest 2012 Q and A

This week is Thrillerfest.  So, be on the lookout for tweets & posts coming live from NYC! I've received a couple of emails lately from blog readers who are going to Thrillerfest this year. I will answer those questions here on the blog. Be sure to check out last year's Thrillerfest 2011 posts:

Part ONE Thrillerfest 2011
Part TWO Thrillerfest 2011
Part THREE Thrillerfest 2011

If you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a line CYMLOWELL (cymlowell at gmail.com).

1.  I've gone to your blog several times since I decided to go to Thrillerfest this year (2012).  Thank you!  Would love your feedback on how we can improve the blog.

2.  I will be attending Thrillerfest for the first time ever, and I will be participating in all the fest activities (including volunteering).  Congratulations.  I look forward to meeting you.  I will be around all week.  I am 66, 6'2" with whitish curly hair.  I will look for you as well. 

3. Can you provide some advice on Agentfest? What did you provide the Literary Agents? This will be my third AgentFest.  I have tried different approaches.  The tendency is to over-prepare and have too much paper in your hand.  The agents are looking for a simple, confident "elevator summary" of your project.  This year, I have made mine into about a 20 second explanation, which I have tried on a variety of people.  Every time I say it, it fits together in my head.  I plan to have a business card, a smile, and confidence to communicate my enthusiasm about my project.  

4. How did you pitch them your ideas?  In the past, I have had too much to say and did not make it an elevator pitch.  

5. Do you stick with the "What if" type pitch?  Do what is comfortable for you.  How would you explain your project in a 20 second elevator ride, or in a bar, or wherever?

  

6. Do you have to have a completed website?  Yes, it is www.cymlowell.com. 

7. My manuscript is in the final stages of revision.  Do I need to bring any copies with me to Thrillerfest?  No, just bring your smile, confidence, and joy.  

8. Does my manuscript need to be perfect before next week?  No.  If agents are interested, they will ask for a synopsis and about 25-50 pages.  Your pitch should set the hook, drive it in with the synopsis, and opening paragraph of your book.  Good luck!

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. I also hope to see you there! Be sure to let me know if you will be attending Thrillerfest 2012.

-CYM

Read More

Winner of Wednesday's Book Review Party!

    *all winners are selected by Random Number Generator *
I promise!

And the winner of the Amazon Gift Card ($15 value) from Wednesday's Review Party is...

(**Drums Rolling in the Background**)

Congratulations to Wag The Fox!

Be sure to check out Wag The Fox and leave a comment!


Send me your email address for the Amazon eGC.

Warms-
CYM

DUE TO THE 4TH HOLIDAY THIS WEEK, THERE WILL NOT BE A BOOK REVIEW LINK UP THIS WEEK. STAY TUNED FOR NEXT WEEK JULY 11TH.

Read More