First line: “It’s strange how much you can change in just one year.”
Jess Riley had me at hello. Okay, on page one, the literary equivalent of hello. With lines like, “I feel as if I’ve just discovered that the cure for cancer is dark chocolate followed by two orgasms,” I knew I was in for a great ride. Driving Sideways follows recent kidney transplant recipient Leigh Fielding, a likable young woman who understandably hasn’t gotten out much. Except from hospitals.
Not only is her new zest for life attributed to better health brought on by a functioning donor kidney; Leigh believes it’s possibly from the zest of the kidney donor himself, Larry.
A/B TV Says: “It’s use of professional voice over talent and unique illustration make it stand apart from usual “trailer” park sludge. A shorter version would make this even better, but it’s still watchable throughout.”
First line: ”A throaty feminine moan disturbed the cozy peace of the stable loft.”
Teresa Medeiros weaves a light hearted story of a young girl who sees a hero in a man who is about to have her cousin.Yes, I said have.Wicked? Definitely.Our hero is in all places, Newgate Prison for debts unpaid.He is certainly a most unlikely hero.Of course he is dashing, rakish, scoundrel-like.I found a touching story of a man who had no idea he could grow.I really appreciated how he did not become the man of our dreams overnight.He really had to struggle to with his alcohol consumption and gambling ways.But when our heroine almost drowns, he sees the light.He did not save her; she saved herself, and then her eyes were opened. Medeiros’ descriptions carry you right into the action.
For: Readers who want to see a hero grow into his own potential - something he had no idea he had.And a heroine who can hold her own. -Kathy Wheeler
After years of frequent moves following her mother’s death, Chloe Saunders’s life is finally settling down. She is attending art school, pursuing her dreams of becoming a director, making friends, meeting boys. Her biggest concern is that she’s not developing as fast as her friends are. But when puberty does hit, it brings more than hormone surges. Chloe starts seeing ghosts–everywhere, demanding her attention. After she suffers a breakdown, her devoted aunt Lauren gets her into a highly recommended group home.
At first, Lyle House seems a pretty okay place, except for Chloe’s small problem of fearing she might be facing a lifetime of mental illness. But as she gradually gets to know the other kids at the home–charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek, obnoxious Tori, and Rae, who has a “thing” for fire–Chloe begins to realize that there is something that binds them all together, and it isn’t your usual “problem kid” behaviour. And together they discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home either…
Who the Hell Is Pansy O’Hara?: The Fascinating Stories Behind 50 of the World’s Best-Loved Books by Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy
By now, the story of the dark and stormy night that spurred Mary Shelley to pen is known even to those who’ve never read the novel. But raise your hand if you known CASINO ROYALE came to be, or how THE CATCHER IN THE RYE got started. You’ll know the answer — and 47 more — after reading Jenny Bond and Chris Sheedy’s WHO THE HELL IS PANSY O’HARA?: THE FASCINATING STORIES BEHIND 50 OF THE WORLD’S BEST-LOVED BOOKS
To be honest, these stories aren’t so much about the books, but their authors. Each chapter is like a mini-bio, and sometimes Bond and Sheedy have no info to deliver on what sparked the idea for a particular book. Sometimes, it just is. Even still, WHO THE HELL is quite entertaining, especially for trivia buffs and people too lazy to read full-length biographies.
The book is arranged chronologically, moving from Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE to Dan Brown’s THE DA VINCI CODE. Then at the back, a few nonfiction titles are included as well, from Samuel Johnson’s to Stephen Hawking’s A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. Hey-didja-know facts are doled out for each. For example, Brown turned to writing only after trying his hand (and failing) at creating synth-driven kids’ albums with song titles like “Happy Frogs.” And Hawking only wrote BRIEF HISTORY for a quick buck, because full-time caretakers don’t come cheap.
I received a review copy of your debut novel, This Year’s Model (August 26, 2008), yesterday, and let me be the first novelist to welcome you into the Novel Family. (Or perhaps the first female blogger reviewer/novelist from Oklahoma to welcome you.) We are a lot like the Sopranos, only with less hair product. And we just write about murder, money-laundering and adultery instead of actually doing them. (Well, I can’t speak for all novelists, I suppose.) Since you are a fledgling novelist birdie about to step out of the nest, a few comments and pointers, because I’m sure, like all new authors, you are scared out of your skinny pants about the whole thing:
1. Your novel is about a supermodel. I see that you’ve taken the writing advice to “write what you know.” You’ve graced more than 700 magazine covers, so I guess you’ve got the whole “expert” thing working for you. Hurrah! It must feel weird to have your author photo only be 1×2″ on the BACK of the book instead of the cover. May I advise you that speak with your publisher about this? Seriously, authors way less attractive that you have full page back cover photos! I see you lost the battle to write under a pseudonym, but your publisher has that pesky “ROI” to worry about and a few people have heard of you before, so Carol Alt it is!
2. About that photo. Not that I’m jealous or anything, but see, we authors typically don’t use the whole “fan on the hair/windblown” look on our photos. Are you trying to make us look bad? We got into this “profession” precisely because it didn’t matter if we waxed our eyebrows or got our hair blown out every week at the salon. Don’t worry - it’s a newbie mistake. See, what we do is borrow a digital camera (we don’t use them much ourselves) and then ask that person to snap our picture quickly before we change our mind. It usually takes about seven to ten shots to get one with our eyes open. Authors are typically introverts, so sometimes we don’t even ask someone to take the picture and we just hold it out in front of us and take it ourselves. A photo just seems like a lot of fuss, and we’ve got that final draft to get done before our cats need a bath. But, hey, with someone like you in the Family, perhaps we’ll improve our schlumpadinka lifestyles. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s the first book of hers that I have read and I would read more. The story is a part of the “Key TV” suspense series involving a group of anchors and producers. When a “Katie Couric-like” anchor is murdered in her pool the night before she was due to start her new job, the Key TV team do their own sleuth work to find the killer. It was good, although the prologue upset me so much that I had to wait a few days before I could pick up the book again. (animal cruelty) It was a good read, with likable characters and an easy-to-follow storyline. After the upsetting prologue, it was unputdownable with a surprise ending. I would’ve liked more about the sister Faith, and a few other plot points seemed to hang without concrete resolution. Overall, a gripping mystery.
Met the fabulously wicked ‘n wonderful Linda Wisdom, author of the “Hex” series by Sourcebooks Casablanca at the author dinner in San Francisco (yes, people, when I get out once a year I’m going to refer to it often). I’ve always been strangely fascinated with tattoos, and I’d nearly forgotten I had any until my dot reminded me: mommy you have your lips and eyeliner tattooed on. (Does that count? It did involve ink and needles!) So when I found out the adorable, petite red-headed author had a demon bunny slipper tattoo on her ankle, I quickly asked for her to send me a photo. Here’s the nice note from Linda accompanying the photo:
Until recently, book trailers were here, there and everywhere on the big WWW. Now, they are housed conveniently at book-trailers.net, sorted by genre.
As a former ad exec and creative director and current brand consultant, I’m not a big fan of about 99.5% of book trailers out there for several reasons. a) Poor (i.e. cheap) production quality b) Length (too damn long) c) Boring Beyond Belief (i.e. zero entertainment value. However, this is the digital age and with more publishing houses starting production departments for digital media to create intereviews and book trailers, they are bound to get better. Won’t they? A/B will search for our favorites and house them on our A/B TV page.
Now, if only I could think of a low budget, high-end look book trailer for my own November release Dating da Vinci. I’ll keep you posted. I am my own worst marketing client. - Malena Lott
First line: “Careening past airline counters toward the security check-in, I’m explaining love and its various forms of failure to Lindsay, my assistant.”
Charmer Artie Shoreman has made a big confession: he’s cheated on Lucy, his much younger wife of four years. Not just once, thrice. Lucy has left him for six months, but upon hearing he’s on his deathbed, she returns to him - not to forgive him, necessarily, but to be there for him in his final days/months of life. But upon finding his Little Black Book, which is filled with x’s and o’s (ending badly, ending on good terms), she drunk dials a few to say they need to take their turn at Artie’s deathbed. To her surprise, they take her up on it. Lucy is joined by Eleanor, an older widow, Elspa, a younger woman who claims Artie saved her life, and then a parade of “sweethearts” of all ages, shapes and sizes. The book has already been optioned as a movie with Julia Roberts to star, and with the unique premise and cast of kooky characters, it will no doubt be a big hit as a chick flick that guys may not mind being dragged to (thanks to Julia.) But I hope readers will read the book first, which is a well-told tale of sadness and the complexities of love - both universal and romantic. In addition to wanting Artie to come to terms with his cheating self, Lucy takes it upon herself to bring Artie’s long-lost son John into Artie’s life and to help Elspa get back her daughter Rose. Lucy finds herself Read the rest of this entry »
Driving Sideways by Jess Riley
