Indie Author Victorine Lieske - Not What She Seems

I picked this ebook up at barnesandnoble.com for the unbeatable price of 99 cents. I love browsing through the self-published ebooks looking for those that catch my eye. Sometimes I rely on titles to interest me, and sometimes I actually rely on the cover. I realize that this isn't good practice for picking out a book, but I do it. I have to admit, it has backfired on me more than once. I've learned to carefully read the description of a book before clicking that purchase button, and I've saved a few bucks on books that turned out to be reviewed pretty poorly. This book, as it turns out, was a well researched purchase that I was happy with.

Emily Grant is on the run. She murdered her husband, William, 5 years ago after enduring years of physical abuse. After leaving town with a long time friend, Richard, Emily finds out that she is pregnant with William's baby.

Through a fateful event, Emily meets Steven Ashton, New Yorker and billionaire, who just happens to be interested in her. Steven has escaped the big city and is pretending to be Ethan, your average guy living in rural America. Richard discovers Ethan's true identity and is convinced that Emily can scam him for money. Emily and Richard devise a plan to swindle Steven for 100,000 dollars.

Emily sees a different opportunity, however. She wants to get away from Richard, and Steven is her ticket out. Her plan is to get just enough money to run away without leaving a trail for Richard to follow.

Plans start to unwind as Emily gets to know Steven and spends more time with him. She begins to fall in love with him despite her attempts to block out any feelings. This, however, doesn't stop her from taking his money and running. She is convinced that she is doing what is best for her and her 4 year old son, Connor.

Steven finds Emily just as Richard is also catching up with her. This is where the action beings. After some digging by Steven, Emily ends up facing her past and together they uncover and solve a mystery. Who really killed William?

This book was surprisingly compelling to read. I found myself reading later at night than I intended. I'm a sucker for a love story, danger and a good mystery. This book has all three. Steven Ashton is a perfect gentleman throughout the entire book, and I found myself wondering what I would have done in Emily's shoes. I think I would have made decisions leading me closer to the man I was falling for, especially one who could protect me. I'm a true romantic and I love a damsel in distress.

The author, Victorine Lieske, does an excellent job foreshadowing throughout the book, and I was left guessing who the true killer was. On more than one occasion I wondered if Emily wasn't in fact the killer and simply feigning ignorance about the circumstances surrounding her husband's death. All of this foreshadowing left me feeling inadequately informed, which is exactly what you should feel like in the midst of a mystery.

The most disappointing thing about this book was that the author sometimes carried a scene or conversation on just past the point where it should have ended. Characters would speak with intensity closing a subject, however, the story would continue with a non-character making a joke or with an extra description of what was happening. These things didn't add any information to the story and left the scene's importance feeling diminished.

I found that the ending of the book was weak and wrapped up too quickly. Emily finds out who the killer is, and bam, confession. End of story. I want a little more drama, a little more flash and glitter. I need closure at the end of a book.

After finishing the book there were some loose ends that bothered me. One was that Richard didn't seem to have a motive other than finding Emily after she ran. He was willing to do whatever it took to get her back and keep her safe. This seems like a motive, but I want to know why he wanted her so badly. There is never the feeling that he loves her or even lusts after her. Perhaps he was just crazy, but I would have liked to know his motivation.

Overall, this book was a really decent read. I would recommend it to someone who likes this kind of story, but I don't think its strong enough to break a hard core action or sci-fi fan into a new genre.

Vampires....Fantasy-Lite?

"Ugh, another vampire novel?"  This is the response I got when telling someone about the book that I'm currently reading.  My first reaction was to defend myself and the book that I had chosen out of thousands of other books.  My second thought was better, however.  You could respond this way to any book.  "Ugh, another romance (science fiction, crime thriller, mystery, serial killer) book?"  The list could go on forever.

People write books because they have a story to tell.  Yes, the main character in this book is a vampire, yes, vampires are "teh new hottness" but that is because they work.  People like them.  I chimed in on a discussion in a forum about why people love vampires.  Here is what I had to say:

I think that vampires became popular, so everyone with a story wrote it and it worked for them, so viola, more vampires.

I think readers became so interested in vampires because they are so human-like, that the characters in stories can pretend to be human and interact with the human world without the author having to necessarily drawn in "weird" or "strange" creatures that would require descriptions that may turn some readers off. It would also be difficult to create romance between humans and a non-human like group, so again, vampires work better here as well.

I also think that vampires are a good fantasy story for those of us who aren't usually fantasy novel readers. I admit that I've read a fair share of vampire books. I'm reading one right now, as a matter of fact. Think of vampires as Fantasy-Lite.

If I were to be asked, "Do you like fantasy novels?"  I would reply with a simple no.  I suppose this isn't the truth though.  Vampires are fantasy, but because in novels they tend to live in the human world and act human I just don't seem to classify them with fantasy.  I think they add a dimension of danger to a story that couldn't be incorporated otherwise.  People, including myself, like that danger.

Here is what I don't like in a fantasy novel.  Far away lands where the inhabitants of the world are certainly not human, strange creatures, foreign (not of this world) languages, and descriptions that I am unable to picture because the world exists only the the creator's mind.  I guess you could call those things alternate realities, but that doesn't seem to fully express what I mean.

This is why vampires are great for non-fantasy readers.  They are here, in our world, doing things that we do so that we are able to relate to them.  On the other side, vampires are great for authors because they can turn their vampires into anything that they want.  Some shape change, burn in the sun, have superhuman powers and heightened senses.  Some kill humans with a single bite while other drink just a little, some sustain themselves on fake blood and others on animal blood while still others can buy blood from butcher shops or blood banks.  The list is endless, and new authors are creating new stories and spins constantly.

My philosophy is this:  If you enjoy writing it, then write it.  If you enjoy reading it, the read it.  

eFiction Magazine

This month's eFiction magazine is now officially available on the Kindle store.  I know what you're saying...I don't have a Kindle...well, neither do I.  But I do sport an Android tablet and phone and there is a Kindle app for Android...and iphone, ipad, PC and Mac.  So, if you are sitting in front of a computer reading this, you are now out of excuses for not checking out this magazine.  Click on the link to the right and it will take you to the eFiction page at Amazon.

There is also no need for a special device or app at this point.  You can check out the website here.  Of course, make sure to bookmark the site since an issue is released monthly.  You can also check out their facebook page.

There are a number of great short stories in the magazine each month, and beginning in this month there are book reviews, two of which are written by yours truly.  The reviews have been published on my blog, but they have been touched up and added to, so you haven't actually seen them at their best (I hate admitting that).

eFiction "prints" stories from all types of writers in all stages of their writing ability, so if writing is something that you are into, check out the submit a story section of the website.  If you like writing book reviews, submit a review to the editor (on a side note, he is a really great guy, nothing to be scared of!  I'll admit, I was terrified submitting my first review, and second...third and fourth, but I shouldn't have been).  If you just want to have something available as a collection of quick reads, it honestly doesn't get better than this, you get a ten or so stories each month PLUS reviews on what novels to read (or not read).

I know it sounds like I'm selling, and that isn't like me, but this is something that I have found that is truly worthwhile.  There are a lot of excellent authors out there, and eFiction is giving them a voice, now all we have to do is listen.

The Abbey - Chris Culver

This is one of those books that starts out on a really hard note and sucks you into its confusion.  I started reading this book on a Friday night after a marathon cookie making session for a church function.  I finished the cookies about 30 minutes after midnight and went to bed, except I didn't fall asleep, I started The Abbey.  I don't think I stopped until after 2 a.m. when my husband came to bed and made me stop reading.

Ashraf Rashid is a detective with the IMPD.  I assume that since the story takes place in Indianapolis, this stands for Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.  Ash is a dark character who tries desperately to shine only light on his family while still doing his job as a detective.

The book opens with Ash delivering a next of kin notification despite being permanently assigned to the District Prosecutor's Office.  Ash has signed up for this particular task after his teenage niece was discovered dead at the home of her boyfriend.  Throughout the beginning pages of the book, the help that Ash provides the homicide unit is welcomed and he teams up with his former parter, Olivia.

When a new lead detective takes over the case after another child turns up dead, Ash's help is no longer welcome.  Ash continually goes behind the lead detective's back and eventually finds himself mixed up with drug dealers, top city gangsters, scientists, a club where the patrons think they are vampires, and things that he can't seem to make sense of.

I struggle to write a coherent review of this book because I was confused throughout the entire story, never having enough information to understand the motives of the characters.  The only reason that this seems to be okay is that Ash doesn't have any of the missing information either, so the reader is left as confused as the main character.  Part of my compulsion to read this story was to lift the foggy confusion from my brain.

I really thought that the author, Chris Culver, had read one too many vampire stories and felt the need to get in on the action.  This does not seem to be his intention however.  He seems to be using the vampire theme in small doses to bring current popular culture to his story while also seemingly poking fun at groups who act like and perhaps even believe they are vampires.

There were a few minor errors in the books editing that made the story read not quite as smoothly as it should have, at least for someone who takes note of these things.  Missing periods came up a few times, commas in the wrong spots, and even a typo that read smell instead of small.  Nothing so bad that it made the book unreadable, it just needs to be edited paying closer attention to details.

According to Culver, he plans on having another Ash Rashid story out in the fall of this year and its one that I am planning on purchasing.