Not What She Seems by Victorine E. Lieske

When billionaire Steven Ashton couldn’t stand his high society social life anymore, he left the stress of New York on a vacation for his soul. The need to meet real down to earth people lead him to a small Nebraska town he remembered visiting as a child. He didn’t want to lie about who he was, but he couldn’t exactly tell them the truth.
Emily could have easily fallen in love with Steven, under different circumstances, but her past was catching up with her and she needed a new life. If the authorities found out about her, she could lose the one thing that meant everything, her four year old son.
Not What She Seems is approximately 67,000 words long. This book is a "sweet" romantic suspense appropriate for all ages.

Imogen's Review:
An enjoyable read. Not What She Seems tells the story of Emily, a small-town girl on the run (I won’t give away any spoilers) with her son and best friend from high school. It tells the story of Steven, a high-profile New Yorker who, after an accidental encounter with her, becomes entangled in her complicated life. This was a sweet, romantic tale. The story line was fairly predictable, but captivating. The Kindle version was well formatted.

Links:
Amazon
Blog

About the Author:
Victorine and her husband live in Nebraska where they manufacture rubber stamps for the craft industry. They own and operate Victorine Originals Rubber Stamps from their home, where they raise their four children. Victorine has a degree in Art from BYU Idaho, and designs many of the rubber stamps they sell. She has always loved to read, and in her spare time she writes.

Q&A with Victorine E. Lieske:
What/who was the inspiration behind this story?
The story started out as one idea... "a billionaire hiding out in a small town meets woman on the run." I was bored, I had hurt my back and couldn't move, and the story just unfolded as I typed. I would say my inspiration came from all of the wonderful books I have read in my life. I have always enjoyed getting lost in a story.
Who is Emily's character based on? Who would you like her to be played by in a movie version?
I don't think I based any of my characters on real people. I think Emily came from an idea of someone who is doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. She's sort of trapped in her situation and can't get out, and all she wants to do is raise her son and let him have a normal life. I think Kate Hudson would play a good Emily.
Will Emily and Steven reappear in future stories?
The way Not What She Seems ended could lead itself to another story about Emily not fitting in to Steven's life in New York. As it stands right now, I don't have any plans to write more, but I kind of left things open, in case I felt inspired to continue the story.
Who is the inspiration behind Edna's character? Who would you like to see her played by in a movie version?
Edna's sort of the busy body everyone knows, who loves to be the center of the town gossip. Kathy Bates would do a great job as Edna.
How long did it take you to write this story?
I began writing it after suffering a back injury that put me on total bed rest for a week, and I had nothing else to do. I was laying on my back in bed, and I put my laptop on my tummy and typed away. Since I couldn't move, I wrote the entire first draft in one week. But this was my first attempt at writing, so I wanted to know if it was any good. It wasn't. I spent the next four years editing and tightening up the story I had originally written. It's much better now.
How many other books have you published?
Not What She Seems is the first and only book I've published. I hope to finish my current work in progress and have it ready by the end of the year.
Can you share some of your future projects?
Yes, right now I'm working on a story that takes place on another planet. It's about a race called the Maslonians who have telekinetic powers. Their planet gets taken over by the Dykens, a technologically advanced race. The Dyken's erase the Maslonian's memories and strip them of their powers. A female Dyken falls in love with a Maslonian and has to decide where her loyalties lie.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you chose to live?
I actually really like living in Nebraska, my only complaint would be the harsh winters. I might like to live on an island that is 70 degrees all year. My kids would protest though, they love sledding.
Favorite designer?
My idea of fashion is jeans and a t-shirt... so I wouldn't even know a fashion designer to name. LOL!
Team Edward or Team Jacob?
Definitely Team Edward. But they cast a really good looking guy to play Jacob in the movies, so don't ask me right after I see Eclipse, I might not be thinking clearly.

Interview with Imogen Rose, author of Portal

Imogen is the author of the series, The Portal Chronicles. To learn more about Imogen Rose and PORTAL, visit her website ImogenRose.com

How did you come up with the idea for Portal?
PORTAL was the product of a dream. I have had vivid dreams (and nightmares) ever since I was a child. I tend to continue some of my dreams from night to night; my dream world is a virtual soap opera. I often look forward to going to sleep just to find out what happens next! I decided to write this particular one down, it was my first time ever doing so. My younger daughter read it and wanted to know what happened next, so I kept writing. She kept reading and her enthusiasm spurned me on to write what turned into a novel.

I know you mentioned that it only took a month for you to write Portal. Do you always write that quickly?
I’ve only written two so far, both first drafts in a month.

Is there a lot of editing involved afterwards, or does it just come naturally for you?
Editing is much slower. I look at it myself and then it gets sent in to Sue, my wonderful editor. After Sue is done with it, it’s time for the copy-editors to go through the manuscript and then finally my beta readers.

Was Portal always meant to be a series?
It was never really even meant to be a book. When I finished writing it, the sequel was a no-brainer. There is so much more to the story. I am now on Book Three.

You have enjoyed several small successes with Portal. What do you attribute to that success the most? Has it been a lot of work getting it noticed?
I have had a reasonably big Internet following over the years, not as a writer, but as a Hermès collector. The contacts and experiences I have gained through that have been invaluable in terms of getting out on the forum and boards and promoting myself.

Tell us about the Hermès Look Book.
I started out my “internet” life in the Hermès boards and forums. I run a private, but widely read blog called The Scarfologist. The Hermès LookBook was born from that passion. It’s a collection of people enjoying their Hermès items. A second LookBook is planned for Christmas.

Do you have any other books lined up when Quantum is finished?
MOMENTUM (Portal Chronicles Book Four) will hopefully take shape and I will be working on a children’s book based on a story I made up for my own kids.

Check out our Review of Imogen's book Portal.

Alison Wonderland by Helen Smith

Alison's job as a private detective with Mrs Fitzgerald's Bureau of Investigation takes her on a series of loosely linked adventures involving an abandoned baby, a transgenic animal and secret tunnels under The Thames. She travels from London to the seaside town of Weymouth and back again with her new best friend Taron, a girl with a hundred candle smile. But someone is betraying her. Is it Taron? Is it Jeff, the sweet-natured inventor who writes her poetry? Or are there darker forces at play?

ISBN: 978-0956517005

BLOG: Helen Smith

Q&A with Helen Smith
Who/what was the inspiration behind your main character of the book, Alison Temple?
I remember reading about an all-female detective agency – I think it was in Singapore – which operated partly to trap unfaithful husbands, and that was my starting point. I wanted to write a book about a woman who joins an all-female detective agency and set it in Brixton in south London, where I live. Although Alison is a private detective, the book isn’t detective genre, it’s a wry comedy about friendship, love, betrayal - and London. Consequently, Alison isn’t particularly good at her job. I suppose to some extent she’s based on me, though she’s a bit grumpier. I asked myself, what would it be like to be a private detective? And I realised it would be quite difficult. Someone would show you the ropes, there would be procedures to follow, but there would be very little certainty about anything.

Who/what was the inspiration behind Taron?
Taron is kooky, maddening, selfish, entertaining, inconsistent – and entirely a product of my imagination. I have never met anyone quite like her and I suppose I invented her because I thought that’s what a best friend is supposed to be like; Alison comes alive in her presence. I have had boyfriends like Taron, and I wanted to take romance out of it and just look at the relationship, though it’s true that Alison’s probably a little in love with Taron, even if she won’t admit it. I made best friends with an English girl when I went on an extended trip to Australia many years ago. We went on all sorts of adventures together and wherever we went we laughed and laughed and laughed. We were both so enamoured of Sydney that we said we’d go back to England, scrape the money together and set up home in Australia together. I remember she said she’d sew the curtains for our flat because she was good at sewing. She came back to England about two months before me and I never saw her again, though I phoned her once when I was drunk on Sherry and we had a really nice chat. Though she didn’t look anything like Taron and she wasn’t much like her in character, perhaps there’s a little of my friendship with her in Alison’s friendship with Taron.

Will we encounter these characters again, in future novels?
Some of the characters from this book turn up in the next one, Being Light, although it’s not a sequel and can be read as a standalone book. Being Light takes place in the same version of London that I created for Alison Wonderland; I like the idea of a city so small that it functions like a small village, with people criss-crossing in and out of each other’s lives and knowing each other’s business.

How long have you been writing for?
I started writing my first novel when I was about ten – before that, I used to write a lot of poetry. I never quite got the hang of poetry but I persisted with my dream of becoming a novelist. When I was eighteen I decided I should try and live an interesting life and then start writing in earnest when I was thirty. And that’s pretty much what I did, though I cheated and started when I was twenty-nine, to give myself a head start.

Has this novel been optioned for TV/film?
Yes, it has been optioned to be turned into a TV series by the BBC.

Who would you like to see play Alison? Taron?
Ooh, that’s a good question! I have no idea. I’d like Alison to be played by one of those comediennes who turn out to be really good at crying. She makes all sorts of sardonic quips in the book and there’s a hint of anger behind what she says, and comediennes have a way of conveying that so you love them for it rather than resenting them. Taron would have to be bewitching and difficult to read , so you’d never be sure whether what she was saying was going to get her and everyone around her into trouble, or whether it might save the world. If anyone reading this has read Alison Wonderland and has any ideas about who should play either character, let me know. Better yet – write to the BBC and tell them!

Do you have a favorite book/Author?
I’d find it impossible to choose just one book, and even narrowing it down to just one author is tricky so I’m going to say Peter Carey, Chuck Palaniuk, Paul Auster, Kazuo Ishiguro, Mary Carr and Dickens.

What's your favorite movie?
Is there room for more than one? I loved Baz Luhrman’s Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom, Fargo, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Some Like it Hot, Muriel’s Wedding, Sweet Charity, Children of Men, Being John Malkovitch and Synecdoche New York.

About the Author:

Helen Smith travelled the world when her daughter was small, doing all sorts of strange jobs to support them both-from cleaning motels to working as a magician's assistant–before returning to live in London where she wrote her first novel. She writes novels, poetry, plays and screenplays. She's a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and mentors members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their stories. She likes knitting but she doesn't like driving. She likes dancing.

Review:

You had me at "I'm waiting for Mr. Wonderland and when I find him I'll get married. Until, then I'm staying single." And you kept me captivated right to the end-the poignant parting words will stay with me.
I can't rave about this book enough. The Author, Helen Smith, takes us on a wondrous journey into the life of Alison Temple, a private detective based in London. Her writing is sharp and witty, her ideas totally original. All the characters in this story are interesting and peculiar in their own ways. I won't say a lot about Taron, only that you will instantly fall in love with her. I can't wait to read more from this brilliant Author.

Wrapped In a Rainbow by Delyse Rodrigues-Trink

Have you ever wondered -- what would have happened if I took that chance? Life presents to Kristy a fabulous once in a lifetime opportunity to work in the Bahamas. If she decides to go for it, will it meet, exceed, or fall short of her expectations?
Sexy, handsome Dave is wary and jaded about women. He likes his life in the beautiful Bahamas where his romantic encounters are fast and fleeting. Gorgeous Kristy catches his eye but refuses to play by those rules. In fact she has studiously avoided men like him! David is intrigued by her resistance and so relentless in his pursuit, that much to her astonishment, Kristy finds herself agreeing to go out with him.
They end up having a sensational first date, but then it all turns to shambles. Could it be that David isn’t everything he appears to be? Could it be that Kristy isn’t everything David assumes her to be? Read Wrapped in a Rainbow to find out!

Links:
Amazon

About the Author:
Author Delyse Rodrigues-Trink currently lives with her family in Ontario, Canada. She has been writing since her high school days where she enjoyed twisting the suggested titles for compositions by teachers into something unexpected. She admits to being a bookworm and in the summer she can’t wait to get all the chores done so that she can daydream and relax with a cool drink and a good book on the back deck. Her favourite genre to read is romance and she has always wanted to write one of her own. Wrapped in a Rainbow is that accomplishment. She is currently working on a mystery novel and also has plans to write a romantic suspense novel.

Review:
Wrapped in a Rainbow is great summer reading/beach book. I think at some point everyone has felt the way Kristy feels at the beginning of the book. You go through her range of emotions with her. Though there are a couple of different times where Kristy reacted much differently (and better) than I would have. Delyse describes the places in the book with such detail that you almost feel like your right there on the beaches of Bahama's too. I also really loved that there wasn't a what happened next when the story was over. I really hate being left hanging when a book ends and it isn't part of a series, this book ties up the loose ends. If your looking for a light, fun read then Wrapped in a Rainbow is the book for you.

A Whisper to a Scream by Karen Wojcik Berner

Ovulation detectors. Hormone surges. Anxiety-ridden dreams. This is the world in which Annie Jacobs is thrust when she and her husband John receive a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. A 37-year old PR executive, Annie has wanted to be a mother since she first cuddled her Baby Tenderlove at age five. She is dreading another Christmas of relatives asking when they will be hearing the pitter patter of little feet, and Uncle Joe slapping John on the back, telling him to relax and take a cruise. Lots of people get pregnant on vacation, you know.
Across town, stay-at-home mom of two, Sarah Anderson, attempts grocery shopping with a toddler intent on hurling items from the cart at passersby. She notices a box of rice heading straight for a pink-babushkaed head. Leaping across the aisle, Sarah grabs it, saving the woman from certain doom, or at least a minor head injury. Little Alex screams at being thwarted. The unknowing octogenarian shakes her head and admonishes Sarah for not knowing how to keep her child quiet in public.
"A Whisper to a Scream" is the story of two women on opposite ends of the child-bearing spectrum who come to realize the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence. A vivid portrayal of contemporary marriage and its problems, the novel speaks to a longing in all of us, a yearning that might start as a vague notion, but eventually grows into an unbearable, vociferous cry.

Links:
Official Page of Karen Wojcik Berner
Amazon
Facebook Fan Page

About the Author:
Karen Berner is a journalist and former magazine editor who knew she was destined for fiction at an early age with the production of her cardboard-bound classic, “The Car,” which chronicled the heartfelt struggle of an eight-year-old dealing with the sale of Betsy, the family Chevrolet. Although beautifully illustrated in crayon, it sold only one copy.
Many years later, Karen dabbled in fiction again, earning a double major in English and communication arts and sciences, only to realize money was required for survival in society, particularly an amount that gets one out of her parent’s house.
Shortly after the birth of her second son, the character of Sarah, the invisible mom, intruded Karen’s thoughts during a shower, which was really quite rude considering it was the only five minutes the poor woman had to herself for the entire day, with a newborn baby and five year old to take care of. Soon after, Annie came to her in a particularly vivid dream. Back in the shower, Karen could not help but wonder what would happen if Sarah and Annie met? She delved into "A Whisper to a Scream" and has been writing fiction ever since.

Dawn's Review:
A Whisper to a Scream takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions. This tale of two women, one already a mother and one who desperately wants to become a mother, accurately depicts the raw human emotion that comes with the prospect of becoming a parent. My heart ached for both Annie and Sarah as the course of their lives was altered by cruel fate. I admired the strength they showed despite everything they encountered. They both proved that what does not kill us truly does make us stronger. Karen's writing is smooth and entertaining, leading the reader right to the heart of the story. Her words tell us of the true strength of the human spirit.

Portal by Imogen Rose

Come Find Me Two Years Ago...
These six words propel sullen teen Arizona Stevens into an alternate dimension. She suddenly finds herself in the past. In one moment she goes from being an ice hockey-playing teenager in New Jersey to a glamorous cheerleader in California. She finds herself transported from a happy life with her dad, Dillard, to a new, strange one living with her mother whom she loathes. Apparently it's a life she's always lived.
Everyone knows her as Arizona Darley, but she isn't. She is Arizona Stevens.
As she struggles to find answers she is certain of one thing- that her mother Olivia, a brilliant physicist, is somehow responsible.
PORTAL is the story of the repercussions of Olivia Darley's attempt at creating a perfect world for herself and her children. Arizona's quest for answers threatens to undermine the seemingly perfect world that her mother has so carefully constructed.
PORTAL is the first book of the Portal Chronicles. Fans of time travel, Twilight, Evermore, Sookie Stackhouse and the supernatural will enjoy Arizona's quest for answers.

ISBN: 0615345077

Links:
ImogenRose.com
http://www.imogenrose.com/
FaceBook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/PORTAL/243074017116?ref=ts
Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Portal-Imogen-Rose/dp/0615345077/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
Amazon Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Portal-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B0035RPGOK/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
Barnes and Noble
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?EAN=9780615345079
Sample Chapters
http://www.freado.com/book/6487/portal
http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=19413

About the Author:
For as long as she can remember, Imogen Rose has dreamt stories. Stories that she could, would continue from night to night, from dream to dream. So, going to bed was never an issue, just an anticipation of the story to come.
Imogen. was born in a small town in Sweden and moved to London in her twenties. After obtaining a PhD in immunology from Imperial College, she moved with her family to New Jersey, where she has been based for the past ten years. Although storytelling is her real passion, she has only now decided to share her stories by publishing her first work of fiction, PORTAL.
PORTAL would have remained in her imagination, to be shared only with her daughter, Lauren, had her eight-year-old not insisted that she wrote it down. In the course of a month, Imogen typed while Lauren waited eagerly by the printer for the pages to appear, and a novel took shape.
The warm reception PORTAL has received has encouraged Imogen to continue with the story and the Portal Chronicles. The sequel, EQUILIBRIUM, is due to be published Summer 2010.
To learn more about Imogen Rose and PORTAL, or to schedule an interview with her, please contact her at PortalChronicles@hotmail.com.

Dawn's Review:
Portal is an exciting adventure into the unknown. Arizona, the main character, is ripped from the life she loves and thrust into a strange, but not all-together unfamiliar new life. As memories from a life she hasn't truly lived start to surface, she has to decide if she should stay and live out this exciting new life or return to the one she thought she missed so much. Somewhere in between, she must discover how she got here in the first place. Imogen keeps us guessing throughout the whole book. Every turn of the page is another mystery and keeps the reader on the edge of her seat. Portal is truly a magnificent work of art and would be enjoyed not only by young adults, but readers of all ages.

The Mengliad by Jana Janeway

“There are a lot of beliefs out there. Some people think we got here by spacecraft. Some think we evolved, like Humans, but in a slightly different direction. Some think we were created by God, after Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. However we came to be, the truth of the matter is, there are two species that are near-identical in every way that inhabit the Earth. One is Human, one is Mengliad.”
What would you do if you learned that there was a separate Human-like species on the planet? Jessica Mitchell is about to be faced with that very question. The strange flu bug she seems to have caught quickly becomes the least of her worries. While on her way home from work, she passes out in Central Park, only to regain consciousness hours later, under the gaze of a kind but odd stranger. This Good Samaritan offers his assistance, and subsequently opens the gate to a world she knows nothing about.
Initially, Jessica is reluctant to believe what Craddock Daniels tells her, but after the unsettling reality sinks in, she feels she has no choice but to follow him and his friends. Changes are taking place, and she is now in danger because of them. Will Craddock be able to protect her? Does Jessica possess the strength to endure all that is happening to her? Can love really blossom under the direst of circumstances?
THE MENGLIAD is a romance adventure novel with a sci-fi flavor. At over 112,000 words, this story evokes a sense of how horrible it would be to have everything you knew pulled from under you.

ISBN-13: 978-1449929688

Links:
The Mengliad
Facebook
Amazon


About the Author:
Jana Janeway graduated high school at the age of sixteen and has dedicated her life to raising her children ever since.
An avid writer since the age of nine, she started publishing her highly acclaimed stories in 2001, on various websites, including her own: http://www.janaonwheels.com/.
In 2009, she published her first novel, The Mengliad; the first in a three part series. The second book of the series, The Registry's Secrets, is currently in production, and due to be released in 2010.
Jana's style of writing has been described as conversational storytelling, heavy on dialog and emotions of characters, with surprising twists and turns. Terms like: "romantic", "angsty", and "consistent" have also been used.
Interesting facts about the author:
Jana became disabled in 1995, when a car jumped the curb and struck her head on while she was out walking for exercise.
Her youngest son was born on the T.V. show 'A Baby Story' in 1999.
She is a strong supporter of Autism Awareness; both of her sons have been diagnosed as Autistic.
Jana currently resides in Southern California with her four children.


Dawn's Review:
I enjoyed this book right from the beginning. It was well written and full of action. I found myself mesmerized by the story; completely drawn into it. Jana's way of keeping the action going is refreshing. Every time I thought the story was about to wrap up, she threw another twist in there, keeping the story alive and exciting. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit romance, and a little bit action. All rolled into one, it's a good read for any genre.