Showing posts with label ebook. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ebook. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Book Review + Giveaway: The Patron Murders by Edwin Wilson [3.75 Stars out of 5]


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Welcome, dear readers, to my tour stop for The Patron Murders by Edwin Wilson.  The Patron Murders is a mystery and the tour runs March 1-11 with reviews, guest posts, interviews and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.


About The Book:

PatronMurders300RGBMatt Johanssen, a dedicated stage actor in his early fifties, is currently rehearsing a play soon to open on Broadway. Through the years, Matt has also anonymously assisted the NYPD in solving a number of crimes.
Midway through rehearsals, a startling murder takes place thirty blocks away at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where a trustee is discovered on the roof with a javelin thrust through his heart. Later, just prior to opening night, the admired and beloved producer of Matt's play, Dorothy Tremayne, is found dead in the theatre’s darkened basement lounge.Ten days later, during a gala at the American Museum of Natural History, there is another murder far more sensational than the ones before. Working behind the scenes, Matt becomes deeply involved in solving all three cases. Meanwhile, he meets an intriguing, auburn-haired woman writing about the murders, and a romantic liaison develops amid the danger and suspense.
 Set against the backdrop of the inner workings of New York City’s theatre, art, and cultural scenes, The Patron Murders is part detective story, part social novel, and a witty, incisive critique of the parvenues who attempt to gain acceptance in the old-line arts establishment.

Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Goodreads


About the Author:

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Author, teacher, critic, Edwin Wilson began his career as Assistant to the Producer for the Broadway play Big Fish, Little Fish directed by John Gielgud, and the film Lord of the Flies directed by Peter Brook. He produced plays off-Broadway and coproduced the Broadway play Agatha Sue, I Love You directed by George Abbott. He also produced the film The Nashville Sound.

Educated at Vanderbilt, Edinburgh, and Yale, he received the first Doctor of Fine Arts degree awarded by Yale. From 1972 to 1994 he was the theatre critic for The Wall Street Journal. For thirty years he taught at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. During the past four decades he has been the preeminent writer of college theatre textbooks in the U.S. His three books (two coauthored with Alvin Goldfarb) have sold nearly one million copies.

He has served as president of the Theatre Development Fund and the New York Drama Critics Circle, as well as chairman of the Pulitzer Prize Drama Jury.In the early 1990s, he conducted a series of ninety half-hour television interviews with theater artists ranging from George Abbott to Jerry Zaks, which appeared on CUNY-TV in New York and 200 PBS stations around the country.

The Patron Murders is Wilson’s first novel.

Website

***
MY REVIEW:
I want to preface this by saying, since this is a very well-crafted murder mystery, I'm only going to touch on some high level points as to not spoil the intrigue that you get from reading the book -- because a mystery where you already know what happens, isn't as fun!

3.75 stars out of 5

Edwin Wilson has created a really intelligent murder mystery for his first novel. You can tell a lot of care and love for the theater went into the writing of this book. It started off a little slow for me, which is why I rated it a little lower -- for me, if it had been a little less of a slow build, it would have been more enjoyable, just because it is a strong story that was well-written.  I think starting off how it did, it took me a little longer to get into than how I feel about the book overall.  There are good, strong characters who interact in very interesting ways as well as an intriguing plot that keeps you wondering what's around the corner [or page, as it were].  This is a remarkable first novel and a solid story.  Anyone who is a fan of a smart, well-constructed book, and especially for those who enjoy either the theater or mystery novels will have a great time with this one!

***
GIVEAWAY:
$15 Amazon gift card (INT)
5 hardcover copies of The Patron Murders (US)
5 ebook copies of The Patron Murders (INT)
Ends March 16
This giveaway is provided by the publisher, hosts are not responsible. Must be 13 or older to enter and have parental permission if under 17. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary to win.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Pre-Order Fantasy For Good!



Release Date: 12/9/2014 in Trade Paperback and all eBook formats! Pre-Order Now!

Paperback Pre-Order Link: Trade Paperback Pre-Order on the Nightscape Press Web Store

Kindle Pre-Order Link: Amazon Kindle Pre-Order

eBook (MOBI/EPUB/PDF) Pre-Order Link: eBook Pre-Order Link on the Nightscape Press Web Store

From Sword and Sorcery to Paranormal Romance, from Weird Fiction to Fairy Tales, Fantasy For Good presents a wide range of exciting short fiction to accommodate every taste. In this collection of thirty stories, legendary authors (including NYT Bestsellers and World Fantasy Award winners) and great new up-and-comers in the genre spin tales of magic and mayhem.

Featuring brand new fiction from Piers Anthony, Michael Moorcock, Carrie Vaughn, Kelley Armstrong, Alan Dean Foster, Katharine Kerr, David Farland, Jane Lindskold, Nnedi Okorafor, Todd McCaffrey and many more, alongside classic tales from George R.R. Martin, Jay Lake, Kevin J.                                                                                                               Anderson & Rebecca Moesta, and Neil Gaiman.

Fantasy For Good also includes a classic tale by master novelist, Roger Zelazny, author of the Nine Princes in Amber, who passed away in 1995 after a battle with colorectal cancer. His son, Trent, provides a moving introduction.

All proceeds from the sale of this anthology go directly to The Colon Cancer Alliance, a charity dedicated to the prevention of this deadly disease, as well as funding research and supporting patients who suffer from it.

Table of Contents:
Horseman, Pass By – An Introduction — Trent Zelazny
The Edge of Magic — Henry Szabranski
Annual Dues — Ken Scholes
The Kitsune’s Nine Tales — Kelley Armstrong
Elroy Wooden Sword — S.C. Hayden
In the Lost Lands — George R.R. Martin
Worms Rising From the Dirt — David Farland
Snow Wolf and Evening Wolf — James Enge
Knight’s Errand — Jane Lindskold
Languid in Rose — Frances Silversmith
Green They Were, and Golden-Eyed — Alan Dean Foster
Golden — Todd McCaffrey
Mountain Spirit — Piers Anthony
Moon Glass — Megan Moore
The George Business — Roger Zelazny
Only the End of the World Again — Neil Gaiman
Lenora of the Low — Marina J. Lostetter
Trufan Fever — Katharine Kerr
Undying Love — Jackie Kessler
Dancing With the Mouse King — Carrie Vaughn
Showlogo — Nnedi Okorafor
The Bluest Hour — Jaye Wells
Pandal Food — Samit Basu
Loincloth — Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
Man of Water — Kyle Aisteach
Bones of a Righteous Man — Michael Ezell
Time’s Mistress — Steven Savile
Little Pig, Berry Brown and the Hard Moon — Jay Lake
The Grenade Garden — Michael Moorcock
Sand and Teeth — Carmen Tudor
The Seas of Heaven — David Parish-Whittaker

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Looking for a good book?


I am exceptionally proud of each and every title that we have put out through Nightscape Press
We have several titles on board for release throughout 2014 and these will be amazing as well.  However today I'd like to call attention to our titles that we have currently available.  I hope you'll take a moment to check them out and if any catch your eye, hop over to Amazon and buy a copy.  If you do, please let me know which one(s) you checked out!  And once you're done reading, would love it if you'd leave a review!


A Requiem for Dead Flies by Peter N. Dudar After their mother’s miscarriage, Lester and Gordon MacAuley were sent to Battle View Farm to stay with their grandmother for the summer. But the house on Battle View Farm has a haunting secret. As Grandma Vivian slowly slipped into madness, the brothers’ lives became entangled in mortal danger. That summer of terror left them scarred After their mother’s miscarriage, Lester and Gordon MacAuley were sent to Battle View Farm to stay with their grandmother for the summer. But the house on Battle View Farm has a haunting secret. As Grandma Vivian slowly slipped into madness, the brothers’ lives became entangled in mortal danger. That summer of terror left them scarred and plagued by the family’s dark secret. Now, years later, the MacAuley brothers have returned with dreams of breathing new life into Battle View Farm. But living in the house on Battle View Farm, they are forced to face their past and solve the mystery that began generations ago. And to face the ghosts that still haunt their family’s legacy. A legacy written in dead flies. 

Butterfly Potion by Trent Zelazny Perry wakes up in an arroyo, hungover and unsure how he got there. His wallet and cell phone missing, he walks back to the last place he remembers being before he blacked out—the bar. Fueled by alcohol and a touch of companionship, Perry is determined to find out who rolled him, but standing in his way is an accident that happened six months earlier and the struggle his life has become since. In his search for the material things taken from him, he risks walking right past something far more precious: A new beginning. 

World's Collider edited by Richard Salter The Collision is the worst disaster in human history. So far… In the near future, an experiment at the Large Hadron Collider causes an enormous explosion, known as the Collision. The blast flattens a huge chunk of central Europe and punches a massive hole in the Earth’s surface. Over the next decade, unspeakable horrors pour from the rift: vicious creatures with a taste for human flesh, a terrible scream that drives all who hear it insane, a phantom entity that feeds on fear and paranoia, and a nightmare train from the pits of hell, to name but a few. This onslaught of terror causes the collapse of civilization and threatens to wipe humanity from the planet. World’s Collider is a unique concept in short fiction, where all eighteen original stories are part of a common narrative, recounting the disaster and its aftermath. A true novel by many voices. Fifty million people died in the Collision. They were the lucky ones… 

Life Rage by L.L. Soares Winner of the 2012 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a FIRST NOVEL! Sam Wayne is a psychologist who specializes in anger management. He’s very good at his job. Almost too good. In fact, he considers himself something of a miracle worker. A mad man is on the loose, ripping people apart with his bare hands. The police have no clues. Those who see him and survive never seem to make out his face. All except for one… Colleen has led a wasted life, bringing home a new man to her bed every night. Until that night. Witnessing her friend torn to pieces right before her eyes, she sees the murderer’s face clearly. She manages to escape, traumatized by what she’s seen, and keeps running until she falls into the arms of Jeremy Rust. An ex Hollywood playboy, Jeremy now hides out in a secluded beach house with his mysterious roommate, Viv… Viv has an insatiable hunger. Like Colleen, Viv never stays long with one partner. Because those who sleep with Viv never manage to live very long, once she finds the key to their soul. The number of murders keeps growing, until an eruption of rage begins to spread like an epidemic. Everywhere, crowds of people mindlessly rip each other apart. An event that will tie all these characters together in a final showdown of supernatural forces. But not everyone will survive the explosive fury of Life Rage! 


Sunfall Manor by Peter Giglio Edgar is a ghost cursed to spend his nights at Sunfall Manor, an apartment complex that was once a farmhouse in the flatlands of Nebraska. Every night he must move through five different dwellings, haunted by the living—a drunken and paranoid writer, an abused housewife, a colder-than-ice web-mistress, a two-bit drug dealer, and a crazy old man who plays with puppets—trying to unlock the secrets of who he is. But tonight is different. The lost souls of Sunfall Manor are ready to give up the ghost, and the past is ready to open its cold, unforgiving arms. 

Dungeon Brain by Benjamin Kane Ethridge On a distant planet, war rages between an alien race and the small society of humans who escaped their genetic laboratories. In a forested region on the outskirts of battle, June Nilman is held as a prisoner of that war. Stricken with amnesia and trapped in an abandoned hospital, her caretaker, Nurse Maggie, presides over her with a horrible, mysterious fascination. At night June hears the aliens patrolling in and out of the hospital, and in time discovers Maggie has mental control over them. But June has thousands of personalities in her head to probe for help. Unfortunately, they're all deviants and criminals and dipping into their minds is often a practice in psychological endurance. Escape seems impossible until June discovers a rat hole in the wall--the starting point of her freedom. But when she ventures out into a war-torn world, she discovers all manner of genetic creations and a dangerous power she cannot control. And as her bloodstained past slowly comes unraveled, it brings her face to face with the most horrifying truth of all.

Three Miles Past by Stephen Graham Jones INTERSTATE LOVE AFFAIR won the 2013 This is Horror Short Fiction of the Year Award! There are lines that probably shouldn't be crossed, doors that should stay shut, thoughts that shouldn't be considered. In these three novellas by Stephen Graham Jones, the dead talk, ancient evil opens its eyes, and that guy across the parking lot, he's watching you, and has been for a while now. Lock the door, tell yourself it's nothing, turn the radio up. It won't matter. You're already three miles past where you meant to stop. 

The Angel of Shadwell by Jonathan Templar London, 83AV (Anno Victoria) On the cobbled streets of Low London, Inspector Noridel of the Eternal Queen’s Constabulary is on the trail of a killer. A killer who removes the still-beating heart from his victims. A killer who witnesses describe as an “angel.” This is an England where Queen Victoria has refused to die. Frozen in state, she thaws for a single day each year to guide her Eternal Empire to even greater glories. An England where the Working Guilds of the Flesh and the Clockwork exist in an uneasy truce, each with their own secret agendas. No longer a green and pleasant land, this is a country whose gardens have become the factory floor for an ever-expanding Industrial and Military Empire that has conquered the globe. An Empire that breeds ever-growing resistance. Here, Scotland Yard walks the land in the belly of an Iron Giant, fighting crime wherever it may go, home to a vast super-computer with a penchant for riddles and a dangerous crush on Inspector Noridel. To catch the killer, Noridel will have to look to his own past. And to his future… 

The Evolutionist by Rena Mason Winner of the 2013 Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a First Novel! Las Vegas suburbanite, Stacy Troy, dreams that everyone is dead. She dismembers the bodies of loved ones, stuffs them into a shopping cart, then takes them two at a time to the pile where she will burn their remains and say her last goodbyes. Waking nightly to her own screams, Stacy is convinced she’s on the brink of a mid-life crisis and begins secretly seeing a psychiatrist. Dr. Light and his methods seem strange and unconventional, but his treatments work, and her circumstances improve. Until the nightmares return with a vengeance, taking on a life of their own. Uncertain what to believe, Stacy carries on living the only life she remembers. Nosebleeds and head-splitting alarms only she can hear, become a regular occurrence. In physical and mental decline, the nocturnal world in her mind refuses to die. The images it reveals hold clues that lead her to a shocking discovery. Threatening to unravel the last thread of her sanity, Stacy must make a heartrending decision...before her post-apocalyptic nightmares come true. 

Stealing Night by Peter Giglio Jack has nothing to live for, nothing worth dying for, no one to love, nothing to lose; but that all changes when his sister’s life unravels and he takes guardianship of Nora, his eleven-year-old niece. Looking out for her fast becomes the only thing he has ever done right. Driven to move his family from the bleak flatlands, to give his niece a chance at a better life, Jack takes the only job he can find, washing cars for minimum wage, saving every penny. When an old friend steps back into Jack’s life, a joyride leads to an explosive night of terror and betrayal. Now Jack must stand firm for those he loves as he struggles between the promising new life in bloom and the dark secret of a dead girl from California. Stealing Night is a riveting exploration of our best and worst angels, the familial ties that bend but never break, the decisions we make, and the high cost of hesitation in the face of evil.

Nightscapes: Volume 1 edited by Mark Scioneaux, Robert S. Wilson, and Jennifer Wilson From the depths of the soul to the depths of hell. From the shadows of your most frightening dreams to the shadows lurking in the corner unseen and waiting. Darkness is painted across the palette of every nightscape. And it’s waiting for you… In this new anthology from Nightscape Press, we bring you 24 tales of bitter loss, jaded love, obsession, murder, cannibalism, hauntings, voodoo, black market horrors, demons, leprechauns, zombies, deadly mysteries, and much more!

Control by Ed Kurtz Leon Weissmann is an introverted loner with no control over his life. His only joy is the menagerie of insects, spiders, and scorpions he tends to in his garage. When he acquires an illegally poached rainforest spider, he unknowingly contracts a rare strain of fungus that enables him to control people, to make them do anything he wants. As his power grows, Leon begins to abuse it until there are bodies in his wake and a coterie of brainwashed disciples under his influence. But soon Leon suspects that the thing growing inside his head may be the one with the power… It wants to come out. To reproduce. It wants to control everyone.

The Angel of Death by Peter N. Dudar Everyone has done something evil. Frank is planning to murder his ex-wife. Working a construction job by day and driving a cab by night, Frank is slowly falling apart just trying to make ends meet. He’s poisoned by the toxic relationship with the mother of his children; all for the sake of staying in their lives. But the more he gives, the more she takes away, until he’s stripped of everything. And when she finally files the restraining order to keep him away from his kids, Frank is pushed over the brink of sanity. The ex-Mrs. Blake deserves to die, and Frank buys the gun and puts his plan into motion. Malcolm owns a bar in downtown Portland. In his decades of running MacAuley’s of Scotland, he’s seen every form of sin and iniquity the city has to offer. But Mal has his own sins to hide from. His past life as a World War II pilot, and the death of innocent people he inadvertently caused has always haunted him. It’s been the catalyst for his downward spiral of sin and degradation. Until he realizes that he’s marked for damnation. A man can only live so long and run so far from the past… Both men are on the brink of darkness until the Angel of Death pays one of them a visit. Salvation is at hand. But how far will one man go to save himself? Can he save his friend from the very same fate?

Sterling City by Stephen Graham Jones A moon explodes and a marriage dies. An impossible creature rises from the tall grass, watches a farmer's circle system crawl across the field like a giant insect. That farmer watches back. His wife's footprints are there in the dirt. The fire in the sky leaves his shadow crisp and deep. This is Texas without the cowboy hat. This is Texas with a soft rain of cosmic debris sifting down over it. This is a dark, dangerous thing hiding in the cellar, but this is also a girl threading her bangs out of her face and smiling with her eyes at a boy. 
This is that impossible creature, love. 
This is Sterling City.

Blood Type: An Anthology of Vampire SF on the Cutting Edge edited by Robert S. Wilson Blood Type: An Anthology of Vampire SF on the Cutting Edge is predominately a collection of stories that represent the most cutting edge science fiction-based vampire fiction. Think SF-based vampire fiction like I Am Legend and Necroscope and how they affected the vampire genre when they were first released. Dark Vampire SF that goes where the genre hasn't before. It is not just an anthology of hard science fiction, however. This book also contains examples of science fantasy as well as some classic vampire stories. 

All proceeds from this anthology will go to The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. 
You can learn more about The CFT and the wonderful things they do at: The Cystic Fibrosis Trust 

The Gentling Box by Lisa Mannetti Set in 19th century Hungary and Romania, The Gentling Box is the Bram Stoker Award-winning novel about a half-gypsy horse trader named Imre and the terrifying choices he must make in order to save the family he loves from the curse known as the hand of the dead. After a vengeful sorceress inflicts him with a mortal disease, Imre discovers, to his horror, that the only way he can prevent his beloved wife Mimi and their young daughter Lenore from falling prey to the terrifying gypsy curse is to confront the single most horrendous moment of his life. He must decide if he can, once again, face the dark, hideous secrets of the gentling box. 

Deathwatch by Lisa Mannetti DEATHWATCH: the explosive novella collection from Bram Stoker Award-Winning Author Lisa Mannetti. 
In DISSOLUTION, Stuart Granville is a would-be medical student from the South who's been expelled for drinking and believes he's heading north to Hyde Park, New York to tutor twin girls. Instead, he discovers that his charges, Abby and Eleanor, have never been to school of any kind. They are also Siamese twins and their father, a doctor with grandiose dreams, means to separate them surgically. He intends to take advantage of Stuart's expertise and vulnerability; but unbeknownst to both men, the supernatural force in the house has an agenda--and a will--of its own. 
In THE SHEILA NA GIG, Tom Smith is on a ship in steerage and bound for New York from his native Ireland after facing down the constraints imposed by his family, overcoming the loss of his first love, circumventing his grandmother's wiles and occult knowledge, and trying to save his younger, mentally challenged sister, Delia, from both witchcraft and sexual abuse.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Book Review: Too Late to Call Texas by Trent Zelazny

Too Late to Call TexasToo Late to Call Texas by Trent Zelazny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Trent Zelazny never ceases to amaze me with the style and finesse with which he presents his stories. Too Late to Call Texas is no exception. It's quite a bit different from his other works, but still done in such a way that keeps you turning the pages.

Carson Halliday is a troubled soul and his plight doesn't really ever look up from there. "If only he hadn't found the hat. Or the dead guy. Or the steamer trunk. Or the rag doll. If only he hadn't found any of these things, everything might have been okay." -- Indeed, but even through all the misery and gut-wrenching events, you walk away from this one with a feeling of hope. A little worn from the experience but knowing that the possibility for better things still exists.

The only slight drawback for me, that has happened in a couple other of his books, is his propensity to have thoughts/dialogue in Spanish. While it totally fits and is completely in character when it happens, I can't help but worry that I've missed something not knowing the language or having the means to translate it. I definitely don't think it takes away from the overall, but especially with the setting on this one, there were several sections where I wish I could follow the dialogue completely.

Even with that said, I recommend this book and I'm so very glad I had the chance to read it. Pick it up and then grab up any other book of his that you've not read -- you will not regret it!

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