Waiting on Wednesday - A Dangerous Liaison With Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which highlights upcoming release we are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis by Jillian Stone.

A Dangerous Liaison with Detective Lewis (The Gentlemen of Scotland Yard, Book 2) 

by Jillian Stone

Release Date: August 28, 2012

The fates had been perversely mischievous of late—case in point, Raphael Lewis. . . .

When Fanny Greyville-Nugent’s father suffers a gruesome death in the clutches of his own machine, mourning his loss is not the beautiful heiress’s only heartbreak. Scotland Yard is convinced he was targeted in a plot to halt the rise of industry, and Fanny’s former fiancé, dashing and dubious detective Raphael “Rafe” Lewis, has been assigned to the case.

For the estranged ex-lovers, bringing the notorious assassins to justice proves as tumultuous as quelling pent-up desires. Fighting peril and passion at every turn of a dangerous journey from Edinburgh to London, they are pursued by an anarchist group hell-bent on destroying her father’s mysterious entry into the London Industrial Exposition.

When an astonishing discovery about the couple’s failed engagement surfaces, the sleuthing duo realize they can trust no one. Rafe confesses new details about his infidelity and Fanny risks all to avenge her father’s murder. But will Rafe and Fanny triumph over the pain of their past?

Why I'm waiting on this release:

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, An Affair with Mr. Kennedy, and this is another interesting venture into steampunk romance.  Plus, I really like the cover.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to play along?  Just post your Wow entry on your blog and leave your link at Breaking the Spine and below.

Want to order your copy?  

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - The Eden Prophecy by Graham Brown

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Gilion at Rose City Reader. To play along, please do the following:

• Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments below.
• Be sure to share the name of the book and the author so we know what you are currently reading.
• Feel free to share your first impressions with us based on the first line.
• Link your post at Rose City Reader, or if you don't have a blog, leave it in the comments below. 

I'm currently reading The Eden Prophecy by Graham Brown.  This is from the beginning:

Southern Iran, 1979

The desert wind cried like a beast in mortal pain. Ahmad Bashir listened to it as he crouched in the shelter of a hastily erected tent. As the wind howled outside, the tent’s thin walls flapped and strained against the poles and stakes that held them in place. The storm was getting worse, not better.

My Thoughts:

Already this doesn't sound like a place I want to visit and I sure as heck would not want to be stuck in the middle of a sand storm.  I don't know if I would be able to last in this kind of environment - even for national security.

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice. To play along:

• Grab the book closest to you, any book will do.
• Turn to page 56.
• Choose the fifth (5th) sentence or a few more (just don't spoil it too much).
• Post it on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, post it in the comments below.
• Link your post to Freda's Voice.

My Friday 56 is also from The Eden Prophecy:

     He would do all that the Master requested, because it was his purpose.  

     Today he waited at the end of the boulevard in a dilapidated shelter that had once been a bus stop and watched as a young man in ratty jeans, boots, and an oversized hoodie walked the trash-littered sidewalk toward him.

My thoughts:  I don't think the Master is a benevolent leader and I can already tell by this person's attitude that he's not one of the good guys.  


About The Eden Prophecy:


The wisdom of faith. The power of science. The evil of man.
In the U.N. building in New York City, a U.S. Ambassador contracts an unknown virus after opening a threatening letter. In a slum near Paris, a rogue geneticist is found dead, tortured and defiled. His last message, a desperate plea for help, was sent to an old friend and fellow outcast, the ex-CIA agent and former mercenary named Hawker. His final legacy appears to be the fingerprints he left all over the letter to the Ambassador.

Consumed by thoughts of revenge but fighting to see the truth, Hawker teams up with NRI operative Danielle Laidlaw on a quest to find the killers and track down the secrets his dead friend may have lost or sold.

From the streets of Paris to an underground auction in the catacombs of Beirut to the merciless deserts of Iran, Hawker and Danielle find themselves hunting a murderous cult leader whose scientific arsenal could lead humanity to a new Eden—or unleash hell on the Earth itself.

So what are you Friday Book Beginnings and Friday 56? Please play along and if you decide to follow my blog, let me know in the comments and I'll return the favor.

Waiting on Wednesday - The Inn At Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine which highlights upcoming release we are eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is The Inn at Rose Harbor (Rose Harbor Inn #1)  by Debbie Macomber.

Title: The Inn At Rose Harbor 

Author: Debbie Macomber

Expected Release Date: August 14, 2012

About The Inn at Rose Harbor:

Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a sense of peace and a fresh start. Coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly christened Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Yet the inn holds more surprises than Jo Marie can imagine.

Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. But a long-lost acquaintance from Joshua’s high school days proves to him that forgiveness is never out of reach and love can bloom even where it’s least expected.

The other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories from her past. And while Abby reconnects with family and old friends, she realizes she can only move on if she truly allows herself to let go. 

Why I'm waiting for this book:  

Debbie Macomber is a tried and true author who I consider a "comfort read".  I always know I'm going to get a story which involves family, some kind of trouble and usually a second chance at love.  There is always a happy ending and the secondary characters help ensure that.  Her books evoke a feeling of "community" which I think most people no longer get to experience and which I consider lost in most suburban and large cities - which is why I'm drawn to stories about small town life.

What's your "waiting on" pick this week?

Want to play along? Just post your WoW entry on your blog and leave your link at Breaking the Spine and below.

Virtual Blog Tour and Contest - Song in the Wrong Key by Simon Lipson

Please join me in welcoming Simon Lipson on his Virtual Book Tour for his book Song in the Wrong Key.  Simon was kind enough to answer some questions for me.  Simon's tour will feature interviews, excerpts and reviews.  You can follow it here.

Interview:



Me: Most of the writing you've done is tied to your stand-up comedic routine. What prompted you to turn to writing full length novels? Did you always plan to write fiction?

Simon: I always fancied myself as a novelist, but could never quite muster the confidence to actually plan, plot and finish a book. It seemed so daunting. Eventually, I decided to give it a go and started writing Losing It, a psychological thriller, about 18 years ago when I was only just starting out in comedy and reading a lot of heavy books. I wrote about 50 pages, realised it was rubbish and forgot about it for 10 years until I finally got round to trying again. I think the book was ok, but I knew that if I ever wrote another, it would be within my natural genre of comedy. Hence, Song In The Wrong Key. 
 

Me: You have self published both of your books, Losing It and Song in the Wrong Key. Can you tell us what prompted you to self publish? How have your experiences been with book sellers as a self published author?


Simon: I could have taken the traditional publishing route had I been more prepared to play the game. J K Rowling’s agent was very keen on representing me off the back of Losing It, but I got a little prissy about some suggested amendments – artistic integrity and all that – and walked away. What an idiot. I decided to self-publish some years later simply because it was sitting in a drawer doing nothing and I couldn’t be bothered starting again through the traditional route. It’s very time-consuming and rejections are hugely depressing. Song In The Wrong Key also earned me an agent. Sadly, he wasn’t up to the job and we parted company. A few other agents passed on it, figuring my ex-agent had covered all the bases. He hadn’t, but that’s another story. So I stuck it on Kindle to gauge reaction, rather than try again with agents. I subsequently published a paperback version through my own company and engaged a PR person. It has now been downloaded around 2000 times and been very well reviewed. This, in turn, has prompted the interest of another agent, so I may yet go traditional. That would be my preference, in all honesty.


Me: Can you tell us who or what inspired you to write "Song in the Wrong Key" and make the hero of the story, Michael Kenton, a middle aged married man whose life is literally falling apart?


Simon: I’m very drawn to stories about Ordinary Joes who, late in life, suddenly rise to prominence through the arts. Like Mike, I was a thwarted musician who might have made music my career had I been less focused on doing something ‘sensible’. I became a lawyer – sorry – but managed to break free. Mike is a plodder, though, professionally unfulfilled but unambitious with it. I was lucky to find a means of expressing my ‘creative’ side through comedy, which I only took up when I was 34. Mike’s opportunity comes about at 42 as an indirect result of his marriage crumbling. Like Mike, I have two daughters (and Mike’s are based on mine as kids) but my marriage is very happy (Note to self: don’t get too smug). So the book has some parallels with my life, but it’s certainly not a mirror. I just wanted to write something funny, something real and something with heart.


Me: In "Song in the Wrong Key" Michael is trying to revive his frustrated and discarded musical career. Do you yourself play any musical instruments?


Simon: I’m a desperately average guitarist. I’d like to say my voice is my instrument, but that would be pretentious and somewhat at odds with the sound it makes!


Me: Is the Eurovision Song Contest a real event? If so have you ever attended?


Simon: Oh yes! It’s huge. Some 200m people tune in annually. Over the years, it’s gone from being a genuine contest based on the quality of the songs to a tacky, glittery kitsch-fest dominated by the Baltic and Balkan countries who have swarmed all over it since they were granted entry after the Wall came down. I have never attended and rarely watch it on TV now. The songs are generally lowest-common-denominator rubbish and the voting has become political, which seems silly for something so frivolous.


Me: For those of us that are non-British, can you explain the term Euro-tack?


Simon: I guess I’ve answered that above.


Me: Can you tell us what you are currently reading? 
 

Simon: I’ve just finished Jubilee by Shelley Harris, a brilliant account of Britain in the late 1970s as well as an intriguing mystery. I’m reading Charlotte Street by a romcom by a young British writer/comedian called Danny Wallace. I’m champing at the bit awaiting Tom Wolfe’s next book. 
 


Me: Are you currently working on another book?


Simon: I actually finished it a while back, but decided to adapt it into a TV sitcom rather than publish. A couple of production companies are currently interested, but I now intend to publish the novel anyway after I’ve done a serious edit, hopefully in the Autumn (Fall?). It’s called Standing Up and is about a lawyer who gets into stand-up comedy in order to revive his relationship with an old flame. Similar themes in many ways to Song In The Wrong Key.


Quick 5 Get to Know You:

Me: Favorite Football team (Yes the British kind we call soccer):

Simon: Tottenham Hotspur (perennial under-achievers)

Me: Favorite Color:

Simon: Green. Don’t know why and I never wear it. I think I used to say ‘green’ when I was a kid because no-one else did - and I never grew out of it.

Me: Favorite Food:

Simon: Easy! Chocolate. 

Me: Favorite Comic, who is not you:

Simon: US: Jerry Seinfeld/Larry David/Louis CK. UK: Michael McIntyre

Me: Favorite Movie


Simon: Difficult question. I see so many. Of recent films I’ve seen, The King’s Speech was pretty good. 

 

Song In The Wrong Key by Simon Lipson

Blurb:

Michael Kenton is a middle-aged man living in middle-class comfort with wife Lisa and daughters Millie and Katia. Drifting complacently towards retirement, Mike's world is turned upside-down when he is thrown unexpectedly onto the career scrapheap.

While Lisa's career sky-rockets, Mike slobs around in his track suit playing guitar, rekindling his teenage love affair with pop music. Knowing Lisa wouldn't approve, he plots a secret 'comeback' at a grimy Crouch End bistro where music executive Ben, desperate and out of time, asks if he can enter one of Mike's songs into the Eurovision Song Contest. With nothing to lose, Mike focuses on Eurovision but quickly finds himself staring down the barrel of low level fame. His crumbling marriage now page five news, he must choose between his musical dream and mending his broken family, a task complicated by the re-appearance of ex-love of his life Faye.

A laugh-out-loud comedy about love, family, friendship and Euro- tack by acclaimed stand-up and comedy writer Simon Lipson. 

 

Simon Lipson Bio:

Simon Lipson was born in London and took a law degree at the LSE. After a spell as a lawyer, he co-founded legal recruitment company Lipson Lloyd-Jones in 1987. In 1993, Simon took his first tentative steps onto the comedy circuit and has since become an in-demand stand-up and impressionist across the UK, as well as a regular TV and radio performer/writer. His broadcasting credits include Week Ending, Dead Ringers, Loose Ends and Fordham & Lipson (co-wrote and performed own 4 part sketch series) on Radio 4; Interesting...Very Interesting and Simon Lipson's Xmas Box on Radio 5 and And This Is Them on Radio 2. He is also an experienced voice artiste who has voiced hundreds of advertisements as well as cartoons and documentaries. His first novel, Losing It, a thriller, was published by Matador in 2008. Simon is a columnist for Gridlock Magazine ( www.gridlockmagazine.com).His next novel, Standing Up, will be published by Lane & Hart in Autumn 2012.

www.songinthewrongkey.com

www.simonlipson.com

www.simonlipson.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/simon.lipson.3

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Song-In-The-Wrong-Key-Simon-Lipson/140280092721031;

Twitter: @SimonLipson

www.simonlipson.blogspot.co.uk


Buy links – paperback and Kindle:


Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/xaosKp

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/yo7bpY



My show, The Accidental Impressionist, is on at the Camden Fringe 20 – 23 August @ 8pm. Everyone welcome! Details and tickets here: http://j.mp/JDPBnu

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I want to thank Simon for being my guest.  I will be giving away one (1) Kindle copy of Song in the Wrong Key to a random commenter below.  Don't forget to follow his tour here.