Sandy Wolters
  • Home
  • About Sandy
  • Sandy's Spotlight
  • News/Interviews
    • Privacy Information
  • Purchase
  • Contact Me

Sandy's Spotlight - Marla Madison, She's Not There

2/23/2012

35 Comments

 
Sandy's Spotlight

Today's Special Guest Author is
Marla Madison

Picture
She's Not There
Today I'm introducing you to Marla Madison, author of She's Not There.  If you like suspense and thrillers, you are going to love this book!

I am also hosting a She's Not There Book Discussion, so all of you interested readers will have the opportunity to interact with Marla Madison and ask her whatever you want about the book.  If you've read She's Not There, please stop by and join in the fun.  If you haven't read the book, you have plenty of time to pick it up and read it.  The She's Not There Book Discussion will run until March 8th.  I look forward to seeing you there!

The following is my February 23, 2012, 4 star review:


She's REALLY Not There!

There are so many reasons why I enjoyed SHE'S NOT THERE by MARLA MADISON.  It is a suspense filled, believable tale of abused women disappearing.  Lisa, a psychologist working with abused women in a women's center comes across a statistical anomaly that tells her abused women are coming up missing in higher and higher numbers.  She becomes aware of this fact, just as one of her own patients goes missing without a trace.

Lisa takes this information to the police, but there is nothing that can be done.  These are women that often times want to leave the situation they find themselves in and not be found.   After all, an adult can legally leave and not tell anyone where they are going.  This fact alone makes them a very easy target for a serial killer who has no fear of the police taking the woman's missing status seriously. 

Lisa teams up with a wonderful cast of characters including a colorful retired cop, now PI, and two husbands of missing women, to gather evidence as proof the women are actually missing and take this information to the police to force them to start an investigation.

There are several twists toward the end of the book that I never saw coming and truly enjoyed.  If you like a good suspense, pick up SHE'S NOT THERE by MARLA MADISON.  You won't be disappointed.


Marla Madison, in her own words:

Picture
Marla Madison
On Product, Popcorn, and Pounds

In this wonderful new age of the self-published author, everyone wants to know how to make eBook sales flourish. I’m sorry, but I don’t have one more formula to give you on how to make that happen. What I can tell you is that not all methods work consistently. I’ve tried many that got super results for others, but nothing for my suspense book, She’s Not There. There does not seem to be a guaranteed method for success, although many tout such promises in an effort to sell their own how-to books.

The best sales promotion in the world (or the costliest) won’t help one iota if your product is not excellent. By excellent, I am not speaking of genre, for like John Locke, I believe everyone’s stories have a potential following out there somewhere. The trick is finding that following. There are no shortcuts; building a following takes time and effort and no one way works for everyone.

Most importantly, you have to be ready when your book is noticed. Poor product marks the amateur. I’ve learned the hard way that sub-par editing, formatting, proofing and cover art turn off potential readers. In order to attract the audience waiting for your novel, you have to make that story one they will love reading.

Personally, I don’t have what it takes in the patience department to do my own proofing and formatting—I have learned that about myself. And believe me, there is no worse feeling than being excited about finally putting your eBook up on Amazon and opening it to discover it is fraught with formatting problems and typos. If you don’t have the money to pay a professional to do formatting and proofing for you, then find a method out there is easy to follow and spend whatever time and sweat it takes to turn your manuscript into a polished product.

Another question authors are asked is why they started writing. As an avid reader since I first learned to read, I was always shaping stories in my imagination.

My reading history progressed from fairy tales to romance, followed by espionage, occult, and finally suspense, which is about the only genre I read these days. I find that kind of book to be an exciting get-away from everyday life. To me it made sense to write what I love to read—suspense.

Some favorite authors are Brian Freeman, Jonathan Kellerman, Tami Hoag, Jeffrey Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, to name a few. While not claiming to have nearly her polish and talent, I’d have to say my writing style is most like Tami Hoag.

My writing history is not expansive. I wrote my first short story (a blazing romance) in a creased notebook when I was a young teenager. Over the years, most of my writing was in school or for my arbitration awards. When I retired from full-time work, I started planning a novel in my mind. It led me to a class for fiction writing. I submitted the first three chapters of my suspense novel as my project for the class. My feedback—don’t quit your day job!

After that rejection, my book project sat in a drawer until a few months later when I saw an ad for a writer’s critique group starting up in our area. For me, being in a critique group is what kept me motivated to write. The woman who started our group, Donna White-Glaser, author of The Enemy We Know, was the first one of us to ePublish and inspired the rest of us to take our writing in that direction. I believed I was an educated writer, but quickly found out I had a lot to learn. Nothing I’d done in my former careers prepared me for writing fiction. And going back to what I said earlier about product, believe me, turning out a professional product requires work. A group can help you polish your work by giving you constant feedback, a great timesaving device that helped me improve my writing quickly. I strongly recommend a critique group for a new writer.

You may be wondering what “popcorn and pounds” has to do with writing.

Many successful ePublished authors recommend blogging. If you’re a beginning author, following their blogs will give you a wealth of information. Authors like John Locke, Dean Wesley Smith, and Joe Konrath are three must-follows.

So I knew I had to start blogging. Finding something to blog about seemed like quite a task, especially when it seemed like every author in the world was blogging writing tips. So, instead of giving advice to writers (I thought, what do I know anyway, I’m still learning myself) I decided to blog on a subject that was personal and filled with subject fodder—dieting!

My first successful blog was a series titled, The Ten Pounds of Christmas. It was a weekly lament about the difficulties of maintaining my weight during the holiday season. Every year I gain weight; the process begins with Halloween candy and doesn’t end until I wake up ten pounds heavier on the second week of January. I added tips for my readers every week. The best outcome of the blog was what it did for me—it kept me on track this year and because of it, I only gained ½ a pound over the holidays.

Did the blog push my book to the top of the charts? I’m sorry to say I don’t think my blogging sold any books. What it did do was build a list of  friends and followers, and that is what the new author has to do in order to build a social presence. This week I changed my strategy and added a blog on The Ten Things About Epublishing I Learned the Hard Way. (There were probably a lot more than ten!) So far, it’s been well received.

I think the thing to take with you from my experience, is if you ePublish like I did, it will unfortunately involve a lot of trial and error. It can be discouraging, for sure. One more reason to join a group—lots of support along the way!

Right now I’m working on my second suspense novel and hope to have it available as an eBook by summer.

Please visit me at mam887@gmail.com or on my blog at http://marlamadison.blogspot.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Marla Madison


Donovancreed.com
Jakonrath.blogspot.com
www.deanwesleysmith.com
Donnawhiteglaser.jigsy.com


****

Don't forget to join us over at the She's Not There Book Discussion!

Share
35 Comments

Sandy's Spotlight Special - Ashlynne Laynne, The Progeny Blog Tour

2/21/2012

6 Comments

 
Sandy's Spotlight Special

Ashlynne Laynne,
The Progeny Blog Tour

Picture
Paranormal Romance Guild
I have a special treat for you today.  I've partnered up with the Paranormal Romance Guild to introduce you to author Ashlynne Laynne and her debut novel, The Progeny.

The Paranormal Romance Guild, AKA("PRG"), was formed by the banding together of paranormal romance genre readers and writers, through the internet, with the sole purpose of supporting and promoting authors of the paranormal romance genre through the organization's website and special events.

You can join PRG with a free membership to discover and support new voices in paranormal literature. Just visit the PRG website at: http://www.ParanormalRomanceGuild.com.


Picture
The Progeny
The following is the PRG 5 star review for Ashlynne Laynne's novel, The Progeny:


5*****Stars
Book: The Progeny
Author: Ashlynne Laynne
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Novel Concept Publishing
Rating: Adult                    

I love paranormal books and this one had it all. Murder, vampires, wiccan, love, sex, romance and suspense. What more could a paranormal lover want?

Ascher Rousseau is a half bloodling from the purest of bloodlines. His mother was a human and his father was a vampire. He has three brothers, Quinn, Gabriel and Tristian. The family owns a club called Rousseau and one day a woman walks in who will turn Ascher's life upside down. Her name is Shauna McCutchin and she is the new bartender.

Ascher is the youngest of the brothers and he is to be mated to Ursula from the Romanian clan. It is a prearranged marriage and one that Ascher is having difficulty accepting. Ursula is a cold hearted woman and every time he is near her he feels ill. How can he spend an eternity with someone he can't stand to be around? If he breaks off the mating, he risks a bloody reprisal from Ursula's clan that could mean war between the two families. He would be risking his family as well as himself.

But when Shauna arrives he realizes that there is something between them and he knows that he has to break off the marriage no matter the consequences.  Shauna is a beautiful bi-racial woman and he can't get her off his mind.  She has no idea what Ascher is but she also has an immediate reaction to him.

Shauna grew up with very religious parents who punished her for anything that they felt was wrong.  Her childhood was a very unhappy one and her parents eventually disowned her.  They refused to talk to her or allow her sister Katy to have a relationship with her.  Katy could only text Shauna or meet her on the sly.  Katy is everything to Shauna and the only family she has. When Ascher calls off the mating with Ursula, Katy suddenly disappears. There is no doubt who took her and why.  Revenge.  Can she be found? Is she alive? The quest for her is very exciting and suspenseful.

There are many characters in the story and the author gives the reader a full understanding of their lives.  I loved reading about Ascher's brothers and his father. We learn the truth about Ascher's birth and about his mother. There are so many secrets and all questions were fully answered.

This is an author I would have no hesitation in reading again.  The story just moved smoothly and never left me feeling let down.

Reviewed by:     Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team


Ashlynne Laynne, in her own words:

I was eight years old the first time I realized the power of my words. I’d placed third in an oratorical contest and received a shiny, gold pin and the opportunity to read my paper for the sponsoring club.

A writer was born.

A poet and songwriter, before 2011, I’ve had my poetry in several anthologies, written a book of poetry, under another pseudonym, and my songs place in two song festivals. I’ve endeavored to continue my poetry as I continue to write novels. The Epilogue of The Progeny is an actual original poem that I wrote three years ago—before I ever thought of writing novels.

How’s that for destiny?

I never thought myself patient enough to write a novel. In October 2010, I started a project with a title, some rough sketches of a special amulet and two names—Shauna and Ascher. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for vampires but grew tired of the garlic fearing, sun loathing creatures of old. An avid horror movie fan, I tend to enjoy media and music that is of a younger, more eclectic nature. This was the catalyst for my writing of The Progeny. The infinite possibilities, for such a wicked couple, intrigued me. I like to think of Ascher and Shauna as the damned version of Romeo and Juliet with supernatural abilities.

I wanted my couple to be unique, so I made Ascher a half-bloodling (my term to describe his half human, half vampire existence) and Shauna a bi-racial Wiccan. I think their unique relationship reflects the changing complexion of relationships in today’s society. I wanted Shauna to be strong and to be his equal. I really believe I’ve accomplished that. I only meant for Ascher to be the progeny, but realized that Shauna is also one (I can’t say much more about that without spoiling a story line).

I’m currently working on the sequel to The Progeny.

Author Links:

Twitter
Facebook - Book Page
Facebook - Author Page
Author Blog

The Progeny Blurb:

“No fate other than the one I choose.” The timeless creed, and tattoo, bore by the Rousseau’s— a vampire clan with the purest bloodline of any vampire family. Out of this clandestine group came one who was different, yet the same: Ascher - a half-bloodling— half- human, half vampire.

Ascher questions the purpose for his existence and which world he truly belongs to: the human world or the vampire world. Two months from sealing to Ursula— a prearranged union to a woman he abhors — he’s at his wit’s end. He knows if he calls off the sealing, the Romanian clan will strike with deadly force, but he cannot see eternity with a cold empty shell of a woman like Ursula.


Just when he thought life was complicated enough, he meets Shauna— a beautiful, bi-racial human Wiccan — and immediately develops an unshakable attraction to her. She makes him feel alive and vital despite his origins and Ascher makes a decision that turns his immortal world upside down.

The Progeny Excerpt:

Shauna walked in. The unrest in the room made her nervous, putting her on edge. A beautiful woman— with a deep, olive complexion; long, black hair; and the most curvaceous body she’d ever seen— sat at the wooden table. Ascher was trembling, his face an unfamiliar mask. She cut her eyes at the mysterious stranger. “You never came back. I was worried.”

Ascher pulled Shauna behind him, his stance clearly a protective one. But why-? Surely, she didn’t need protection from her. His grip tightened around her arm, his knuckles straining with tension. Her mind finally registered his firm hold and sent messages to her heart and eyes.

She wiggled away from him. “Let go of me, Ash! What’s wrong with you? Who is she?”

“I’m fine and she’s nobody. Ursula was just leaving.” He spoke with little conviction.

“
The hell I am…” the stranger mumbled, an unsavory smirk turning up the corners of her mouth. “Tell her, Ascher. Tell her who I really am!”

“Yeah, Ascher,” Shauna spoke in a mocking tone, her eyes becoming pieces of wet coal in narrow sockets. “Why don’t you tell me the truth…who is she?”

He froze, his youthful face chiseled with a mixture of shock, horror and anger. “There’s something you need to know.”

“Spit it out, Ascher. Tell her! Or I will!” Ursula growled, her hands flicking the shades away from her face.

Terror, worse than any horror movie Shauna had ever seen. More ghastly than any monster a mind could conjure.

Shauna clutched her chest, stepping away from both of them. “Her eyes!” she screamed. “Ascher…what’s wrong with her eyes?”

The stranger giggled and continued piercing her demonized stare into Shauna.

Ascher struggled to control his mounting anger. He clutched Shauna closer. “Do you trust me?”

The floor vibrated underneath their feet. Shauna’s eyes became cold, the glare of distrust swimming in them.

“No. I don’t! Why are you so nervous?”

“You left Katy alone. You should go back up with her. I’ll be up there in a little while. Okay?”

“No. I want to know who she is. Right now, Ascher! Who…is…she?”

“Please, Shauna,”— he huffed with impatience— “just do it.”

“For cryin’ out loud…” Ursula groaned.

“I warned you, Ursula,” he growled, every part of him aching to rip her to shreds. She had nerve. Were he not a gentleman, he’d finish her and be done with it.

“You don’t warn me. Looks like you’ve been keeping a lot from her. Afraid she might not want you if she knows the real you?”

His lips strained against clenched teeth, begging to curl up and release a menacing snarl. Control— He had to stay in control. Push the anger back down. Stem the raging desire to lash out at Ursula.

Her red eyes narrowed, the smirk taunting him, daring him to expose himself. He was strong in his gifts, but rage made her stronger. Her mind turned, fighting off the subliminals he hurled at her.

She cackled, “That won’t work, dearest. It’s time she knows everything.”

“Dearest?” Shauna questioned, her tiny fists balling.

Ascher reached for Shauna but she moved away from him.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Ursula, doing this won’t change things between us,” he uttered, knowing she’d never listen to reason.

“No! She deserves to know the truth, Ascher,” Ursula responded.

“Ursula, please—” He couldn’t believe he was begging her for anything.

Ignoring his pleading, she continued, “My name is Ursula. Ascher and I are to seal in two days.”

Shauna drew in a staggered breath. “Seal— as in marriage?”

Ascher sighed.

“Is this true?” Shauna demanded.

His head dropped in shame. “Yes, but…”

“So she is your fiancée? And let me guess, she’s the first.”

“Shauna, I can explain.”

Shauna clutched her head with both hands screaming, “No!” The window, behind her, cracked. She ran towards the door, fresh tears flooding her face. Ascher grabbed at her, missing. “No!” she shouted again. The ceiling rumbled, water raining down from the sprinklers. “Move!” she shouted, pointing towards the door. It flew open, nearly ripping off its hinges. Ascher appeared in front of her. She scowled then pushed him back. “Go away!” she yelled then watched as an unseen force moved him from her path. She turned, backing away from both of them, her eyes fixated on the two. Her finger twirled then pointed at each of them. “Stay!”

“I hope you’re happy now,” he growled at Ursula then sprinted after Shauna, catching her before she hit the stairs. He clutched her, turning her to him. Distress blanketed her face. “Shauna please, just let me explain.”

A strange burn started in her legs. What’s happening to me? She’d had rage issues all her life but never anything like this. Her normally clear eyesight was now blurry and grey. The hall—she’d seen for three months and knew like the back of her hand—became an unfamiliar maze, veiled by her fuzzy vision.

She took a step, stumbled then regained her balance against the wall.

“I told you how important honesty was to me and you’ve been keeping this from me the whole time. You told me she was nobody… that it was only physical curiosity. It doesn’t look that way to me. She talks like she owns you. You told me it was over between the two of you. How were you going to cover up getting married to someone else?”

“I wasn’t, just listen to me...”

She shook her head. “I’ve listened enough. I can’t trust you. Without trust, we have nothing. All you’ve done is feed me lies. You’re a liar! I despise liars! I can’t believe I was going to sleep with you—allow you to be my first.” She gripped her stomach and doubled over. “I’m going to be sick…”

He reached for her, again.

“Don’t touch me!” Every ounce of restraint left her body. Chaos now flooded her brain. She wanted to lash out. No, she needed to lash out.

“Shauna. Just let me take you home. I promise I’ll explain things to you.”

“What part of, ‘I don’t want to hear your lies’-- don’t you understand?” she seethed through clenched teeth, her anger blazing directly into him. “Back…!” she barked, pushing her hands away from her body, towards him. He flew back against the wall. “I don’t want to hear it! Don’t touch me, Ascher,” she sobbed into her hands, “I hate you. I wish I’d never met you!”

“Shauna…?” he whispered, pain and disbelief creasing his face.

“Just leave me alone. I never want to see you again.”

“Shauna you don’t….”

“Oh yes I do— I mean it and I quit! I can’t work here anymore.”

She ran out the emergency exit, setting off the door alarm, sprinting—into the night.

Share
6 Comments

Sandy's Spotlight - Dee Ernst, Better Off Without Him

2/9/2012

29 Comments

 
Sandy's Spotlight

Today's Special Guest Author is
Dee Ernst

Picture
Dee Ernst
You are in for a special treat today!  I'm interviewing Dee Ernst, author of the romantic comedy, Better Off Without Him.

Dee is here to tell you all about herself and this fantastic book in the video below!


I'm also hosting a Better Off Without Him Book Discussion that will be running simultaneously with this blog through February 23rd.  Dee and I look forward to seeing you at the discussion.  That's right!  You can have a discussion with the author herself, ask her questions about her book or characters.  It's going to be a lot of fun!  There's still plenty of time to read the book and join us.

Here's a little about Dee Ernst.  The following information was taken directly from her website:

"Dee Ernst was born Elizabeth Diane Ascoli in Newark, NJ. Her family moved to Morristown, NJ when she was still a toddler. She started writing stories on a battered Royal typewriter when she was about ten or twelve, and she graduated Morristown High School determined to pursue a career as a writer in some form or another (she considered advertising, but luckily came to her senses). Creative writing majors were hard to find in 1974, so she attended Marshall University as a journalism major. That wasn’t working, so she tried Education, but that didn’t quite work either. Several jobs and years later, staying home with a three-year-old and trying to figure out what to do when she grew up, Joan Hamburg on WOR radio in New York was interviewing someone who said if you wanted to know what to with your life, remember what you were playing when you were ten, and try to turn that into a career. Since Dee was writing stories at ten, she sat down and wrote her first novel. It went nowhere. Her second novel got her a terrific agent and upwards of fifteen rejection letters (She reread them all in preparation of this biography). Her third novel, Better Off Without Him, garnered even more rejection letters from a much higher caliber of editor. Undaunted, she self-published Better Off Without Him in October 2010. She is now waiting patiently for fame and fortune.
"

Picture
Better Off Without Him
The following is my February 9, 2012, 4 star review:

Mona is most definitely Better Off Without Him!

I had such fun reading BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM written by Dee Ernst. The character interaction was imaginatively written and funny. It was so nice reading about a 40-plus woman for a change. I was able to relate to her in more ways the one.

I enjoyed getting to know Mona and her emotional strength in dealing with a husband she's been married to for twenty years but finds she never really knew him in the first place. I also really liked Mona's friends and children. While reading, many times I found myself laughing out loud as well as craving a vodka martini, which I've never had but I'm going to be trying very soon.

Not only do I recommend BETTER OFF WITHOUT HIM, I've gifted it to a very good friend. The only criticism I have regarding this book is that it could use another edit.


Stop by Dee's website to see all purchase links for Better Off Without Him.

Don't forget to join us over at the Better Off Without Him Book Discussion!
Share
29 Comments


    Books by
    Sandy Wolters

    Purchase Links HERE

    Picture
    Sandy Wolters is a proud member of PRG

    Picture
    The Rock Star Series took 1st Place Winner: Best Contemporary Romance Series
    2014 PRG Reviewer's Choice Awards

    Picture
    Another Door Opens, Book 2 in the Rock Star Series took 1st Place Winner: Best Contemporary Romance Novella
    2014 PRG Reviewer's Choice Awards

    Follow @SandyWolters
    Follow Me on Pinterest

    RSS Feed

    Night Owl Reviews

    Archives

    August 2020
    July 2020
    July 2018
    May 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.