Interview with Sandy Williams + Giveaway

Please welcome Sandy Williams to Short & Sweet Reviews. Sandy Williams is the author of The Shadow Reader, and her second novel The Shattered Dark just recently released everywhere books are sold. 
 

Hi Sandy! Welcome to Short & Sweet Review, thank you for being here today! :D

Thanks so much for having me, Van!

Can you give a short description of the McKenzie Lewis series for those who haven’t read it yet?

Sure! The Shadow Reader books are about McKenzie Lewis, a human who not only has the ability to see the fae, but she can track them when they fissure (teleport) from place to place by reading the shadows their fissures leave behind. The fae found her when she was sixteen years old, and she’s been working for the fae king for the past ten years. She’s tried to balance her life as shadow reader with her life as a college student, but that’s failing miserably. Then, in THE SHADOW READER, McKenzie is abducted by rebels who are determined to overthrow the king. THE SHATTERED DARK deals with the ramifications from the ending of the first book, and things get tougher for McKenzie when she learns that Paige - her best friend who can't see the fae and doesn't know of their existence - has been pulled into the war.

Was it harder to write the second book, or easier since foundation for the world and characters were already laid down?

Oh, so much harder! It wasn’t the book’s fault. When I wrote The Shadow Reader, I had no distractions at all. I wrote the majority of it in a tiny apartment outside of London because my husband was working over there at the time. Fast forward a couple of years later, though, and not only were we back home in Texas (with laundry and home maintenance and a part time job and all sorts of other responsibilities), but I was pregnant for the first time and with twins! For the first three months of the pregnancy, I was too sick to do anything but lay on the couch. The last three months, due to a condition called PUPPs and another condition called cholestasis, I didn’t sleep more than a couple of scattered hours a night. That’s all right for a week or two, but three months of no sleep is not good. I couldn’t function. So, most of THE SHATTERED DARK was written after I delivered. Writing a book with new born twins wasn’t easy either, but I did it! Hurray!

McKenzie didn’t do a lot of physical fighting in the previous book; will we see her busting-a-move in the Shattered Dark? ;)

McKenzie knows her limitations. She knows that she doesn’t really stand a chance in a fight against a fae, who have spent their whole lives sparring with each other. But she doesn’t back down from a fight if there’s no other way out, or if the people she loves are threatened. She does what needs to be done. That said, she does find herself in more and more situations where she and others are in danger, and while she’ll never be an ace swordswoman, her skills do improve.

Without revealing anything from book 2, what was your favorite scene to write?

Gah. This question is so hard to answer! The second book is pretty action packed, and I love so many of those scenes. I’m also quite fond of the ending, though the ending certainly… complicates things. I guess, at this moment, my favorite scene is in Rhigh. McKenzie is pissed at a certain fae, but she has to have his help to escape the city. There’s some banter, a ridiculous plan, and then there’s the point when that plan goes to hell. It was so much fun to write!

If your series were made into a television show or a movie, who can you see playing McKenzie, Kyol, and Aren?

Okay. Maybe this is the hardest question to answer. LOL. It’s easy to find people who look like McKenzie, Kyol, and Aren, but it’s much more difficult to find people who look and act like them. So, I guess I’ll just answer based on looks.

For McKenzie, Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries.

For Kyol, Bradley Cooper when he’s super serious and sexy. It’s kind of a bad match, though, because he’s not usually serious, and he has a gorgeous smile. And since Kyol isn’t full of smiles, I don’t think Bradley Cooper could actually do a good job playing him. Does that make sense?

For Aren, a slightly older Taylor Kitsch is almost a perfect match.

What is your writing routine like?

When I’m not behind on my deadline (which is, like, never), I write three days a week. I have a part-time nanny watch the boys, then I leave the house around 9:30 and head to my local Target, sit in the Starbucks there, and write until about 3:00pm on a good day. At 3, I force myself to go to the gym so I can be home by 4, take a shower, then watch the boys and cook dinner. Since I’m already behind on book three’s deadline, the nanny comes out four days a week, I oftentimes skip the gym (bad Sandy!), and I work Saturday mornings. This is much better than what I had to do last year when I was so, so far behind on THE SHATTERED DARK. I wrote every day, and at all hours of the day to try to get that book shiny. My husband took off work to watch the boys and my mom and mother in law stayed with me to give us extra help, too. It was craaaaazy!

Tell us three interesting things about yourself that can’t be found in your biography section.

1. I was a Star Wars junkie in junior high and early high school. I even skipped school to watch The Phantom Menace when it came out. Sadly, the prequels kind of ruined the movies for me. I still love the story and many of the books that came out afterward (the Heir to the Empire trilogy was great!), but I can’t get that damn Jar Jar Binks out of my head.

2. I used to show horses when I was in junior high. I did showmanship, English pleasure, western pleasure, and had just started a tiny bit of jumping when I sort of grew out of that phase.

3. Rolos are my favorite candy. :-)

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?

I’m dying to finish the science fiction romance I have halfway written. I love that story so much! Think of it as an urban fantasy set in space with lots of flirtation and kissing and things blowing up. It’s going to be great!

Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?

Read. Reading my favorite authors taught me everything I know about writing.

Finish this statement: You’ll enjoy The Shattered Dark if you like…

You’ll enjoy The Shattered Dark if you like stories that are packed with action, deceit, and an excruciating romance.

**Lighting Questions**

Facebook or Twitter?

Facebook!

All time favorite movie?

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Coke or Pepsi?

Diet Coke!

Favorite Paranormal Creature?

Vampires!

E-reader or physical book?

E-reader

Favorite Holiday?

4th of July

 

 |AUTHOR'S BIO|

Sandy graduated from Texas A&M University with a double major in political science and history. She thought about attending law school. Fortunately, before handing over her life’s savings, she realized case studies weren’t nearly as interesting as novels and decided to get an MA in Library Science instead. She worked as a librarian until her husband whisked her off to London on an extended business trip. She’s now back home in Texas, writing full-time, raising newborn twin boys, and squeezing in time to play geeky board and card games like Settlers of Catan, Dominion, and Runebound.

|TWITTER|WEBSITE|FACEBOOK|

Must be a follower of this blog. US ONLY.

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Shadows Before the Sun by Kelly Gay

Title: Shadows Before the Sun
Author: Kelly Gay
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Charlie Madigan #4

Mass Market Paperback, 335 Pages
Publication: July 31st 2012 by Pocket Books

Buy the book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Bought for myself

|SUMMARY|
After filling out mountains of paperwork, Detective Charlie Madigan sets out for a death-defying trip into heavenly Elysia to rescue her partner Hank and bring the siren home. Of course, she doesn’t expect to leave behind an all out siren revolution or return home to find that jinn crime boss, Grigori Tennin, has begun a massive search for the divine being, Ahkneri. Tennin’s tactics set off a chain reaction that puts Charlie in the crosshairs of the shadowy creature known as Death and awakens Ahkneri from her long sleep. And when Vengeance rises, Atlanta will never be the same.

|REVIEW|   

Shadows before the Sun is the fourth installment in the Charlie Madigan series by Kelly Gay. The book starts out with a murder in the Druid King’s territory, one of his enforcer was apparently murdered by a Jinn, or so he thinks. Charlie combs the crime scene but eventually passes it over to another detective, as she prepares to leave to Elysia to retrieve her partner Hank. Hank was taken back to Elysia as a traitor to the government for escaping (the grid) when he was younger. The day before Charlie is to leave to Elysia, she gets word that Hank been executed. Charlie doesn’t believe it for a second and sets out to find the truth and bring Hank home.

You guys know that feeling when you been on a trip for days and right when you get home you’re fill with joy, so relax and comfortable being back in your own house? That’s what it feels like jumping back into the Charlie Madigan series. Even though it’s been a year or more since I read the last book in the series, once I open the book and immerse myself in the world and characters that Mrs. Gay created…it felt so good like I never left. I postponed reading the book right when it came out because I heard many of the original characters didn’t have much page time as previous books. Although, I was bummed about not seeing more of Hank, Rex, Emma, Brimstone, and Pen, readers got to know more about Sandra the Oracle. The majority of the book involved the Oracle tagging along with Charlie on her mission to save Hank, saying that her fate is intertwined with the two of them. I really enjoy the budding friendship between Sandra and Charlie. 

The book is told from Charlie’s point-of-view, but there were occasionally snippets of Hank’s third person point-of-view scattered throughout the book. I thought this was interesting, but I prefer only one pov. This was an awesome addition to the series, and each book just gets better and better. This book had me laughing and crying from start to finish. This is one of my favorite UF series around, with one of the best world-building and characters ever written. I always look forward to a Charlie Madigan book, and hope that there will be more to come. This was truly an AMAZING-emotional novel; I can’t wait to see where Mrs. Gay will take Charlie and the gang in the next book. 

I highly recommend everyone to pick up this series, you won’t regret it. If you enjoy the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep, Kate Daniel series by Ilona  Andrews, Horngate Witches series by Diana P. Francis, or the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire…then you’ll definitely enjoy this series! 

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel
Author: Gennifer Albin
Genre: Dystopian, Young-Adult
Series: Crewel World #1

Hardcover, 368 pages
Published on October 16, 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Publisher

|SUMMARY|
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.

Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

|REVIEW| 

Adelice was always taught to keep a low profile, and keep her special ability hidden from the government. At the age of sixteen, all young ladies such as Adelice are required to take a test to see if they have what it takes to be a Spinster. Spinsters serves the city of Arras, they’re able to determine the fate of the people by manipulating the thread of time/life on a loom. Adelice was supposed to fail the test but slipped, exceeding people’s expectations of how girls initially do during testing. Adelice gets ushered off to be trained as a spinsters, living the ‘’glamorous life’’ that her parents tried so hard to keep her from.  It is during the training that she learns the process of weaving, the governments true intentions and that her ability is far more powerful than just a spinster.  

The beginning started out strong, Adelice didn’t let the government take her without a fight. Once she arrives at The Guild, Adelice and the other girls are to be trained and those that pass with move on to be a spinster while others work menial jobs for Arras.  I really like Adelice’s character at the beginning but as the story progressed, I liked her less and less. Towards the middle/end Adelice said she probably wouldn’t have fought so hard against The Guild if it wasn’t for her parents. Are you serious? Her parents tried to save their daughter from the corruption of the Spinster life, and she had the nerve to say that? If she really felt that way, she shouldn’t of did all the crap she did in the first place *sigh*. There was also the typical YA love triangle, kind of-. I didn’t like the fact they she kissed one dude one day then another guy the next day…another reason why I started liking her less.  

I never fully understood how the weaving works, or why the government was the way it was. The world had the same feel as other dystopian novels, government trying to control everything, girl trying to break free from the rules etc etc. Once I got to the end and certain things were revealed…I was like What did I just read? I was completely lost and dumbfounded by the last couple of chapters. The small revelation regarding the two guys in Adelice life was odd, I didn’t see why that tidbit was important or at least I didn’t care much for it. 

Crewel is the first book of a planned series, and I’m not sure If I’ll pick up the next book. It was a a so-so book, I really enjoyed the beginning of the book but everything started to go downhill towards the end. I like the weaving concept but everything else was the usual dystopian that I’ve read about (government and one dimensional villains and secondary characters).

  

FTC disclaimer:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux  provided me with a copy of Crewel, and in return I provide an honest review.

Shadow Heir by Richelle Mead

Title: Shadow Heir
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Series: Dark Swan #4 (Final book)

Mass Market Paperback, 390 pages
Published December 27th 2011 by Zebra

Buy the Book
|AMAZON|BOOK DEPO|

Source: Bought it for myself

|SUMMARY| 
Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld. . .

The spell-driven source of the blight isn't the only challenge to Eugenie's instincts. Fairy king Dorian is sacrificing everything to help, but Eugenie can't trust the synergy drawing them back together. The uneasy truce between her and her shape shifter ex-lover Kiyo is endangered by secrets he can't—or won't—reveal. And as a formidable force rises to also threaten the human world, Eugenie must use her own cursed fate as a weapon—and risk the ultimate sacrifice. . .

|REVIEW|

The Dark Swan series is one of my favorite series, and I was pretty sad when the author said Shadow Heir would be the final book. I’ve been putting off finishing the series for awhile because I didn’t want it to be the end end and was hesitant because so many readers were upset about how the book ended. After reading Shadow Heir, I’m one of those disappointed readers. I’ve invested time in this series, and really loved all the characters (minus the stupid fox and queen Maiwenn) and for the book to end as it did was a load of crap. 

There were multiple revelations in the last two to three chapters that had me going “WTF! Are you serious?!” It was shocking, and not the good kind. I think the way the author ended it, or why she chose the way for things to play out was because she was too busy putting the time to work in her YA/Spinoff series…and this series ended up suffering.  There wasn’t a lot of action in this book (I think Eugenie did one or two spells that it , no war or big fight) either like the previous books because Eugenie was pregnant with the twins and the book consisted mostly of her hiding till the baby came. When Eugenie did give birth, she was back in the otherworld dealing with a horrible blizzard and finding out the source of problem.   

Overall a well written book, and had the usual Mead writing style, but the storyline wasn’t exciting. The only two things that I enjoyed in the entire book was learning more about Eugenie’s minion Volusion and whenever King Dorian had page time. Volusion, man I love that guy! Readers got to see more of Volusion in this book, and learn more about his past/how he came the way that he was (heart-breaking story!). He totally rocked/Save the day when it came to the ‘’problem” Eugenie had to fix, or actually he fixed it LOL. As for Dorian, I think he’s everyone favorite character, everything he says was funny/charming. The book’s stupid shocking cliff-hanger ending really sucked…and all I can think is poor Dorian. Although Mrs. Mead said this was the last book in the series, I hope she gives this series another book. NO, this series deserves another book, a BETTER-REAL ENDING!

 

Shadow Heir was definitely not my favorite book. The majority of the book I would consider it an okay read, but it has one of the worst ending I have ever read.

Interview with Sharon Fisher + Giveaway

Please welcome Sharon Fisher to Short & Sweet Reviews. Sharon Fisher’s debut novel, Ghost Planet, a Science Fiction novel will be published next week on October 30, 2012.

Hi Sharon! Welcome to Short & Sweet Reviews blog, thanks for being here today.

Thanks so much for having me! I love the way you’ve decorated the place – very mysterious and otherworldly.

Can you give readers the elevator pitch for Ghost Planet?

This never got used in an elevator, but came in handy for queries (and blog interviews J)…

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole is about to discover three facts that will change her forever: She died en route to her new job. She’s been reincarnated as an alien. She’s symbiotically bound to a man who believes she’s his enemy. 

Where did you get the inspiration/idea for Ghost Planet?

The title is what came to me first. It made me ask, “What would be the story behind a world called “ghost planet”?

Then I had the idea of a symbiotic bond between two people -- a man and woman who had not chosen each other, yet could not get away from each other. As a writer drawn to speculative worlds, romance, and science, that idea was fascinating to me.

Finally, I saw the film Sunshine. I loved the slow-building tension in that film, and the focus on the psychology of the characters’ motivations. Also the physicist hero, played by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, inspired GHOST PLANET’s hero, Dr. Grayson Murphy. 

Is Ghost planet a stand-alone or a start to a new series?

I didn’t write it with the intention of writing a series, and currently I’m working on something unrelated. But I do have ideas for a short story and a second novel based on the GHOST PLANET world.

What is your writing routine like?

This varies so much from day to day, it’s probable I don’t HAVE a true routine. There are a couple reasons for this – (1) I have a young child. (2) These days my writing is frequently interrupted by promotional activities, finding/reading reviews, and keeping up on social media. (In addition to being necessary activities, they also make really awesome distractions when you reach a stuck spot in your book.) So I may write very little one day and crank out 15 pages the next.

 

What type of research did you have to do to create the world and characters of Ghost Planet?

Most of my research focused on symbiosis – specifically, the work biologist Lynn Margulis did on symbiogenesis and Gaia theory. This research was critical to my world-building and character development. When I say “character,” I include the planet itself, because I feel it has a character-like presence in the story. 

Besides that there was therapy. J Seriously, seeing a therapist is great research, whether or not you’re writing about therapists.

Tell us three interesting things about yourself that can’t be found in your biography section.

Well of course I put all the interesting bits in my bio! Okay, I can do this.

1) I have little premonitions. I sometimes dream about things that happen the next day. They are always very mundane things. Nothing useful, like winning lottery numbers. For example, recently I dreamed I was walking down the street and saw a crocodile. I wasn’t at all scared of it. The next day I walked into a restaurant bathroom (a restaurant I was visiting for the first time), and there was an old freestanding tub with a big plastic crocodile in it.

2) I grew up in Oklahoma City, but was very close to a cousin who lived in a rural area in the southeastern part of the state. His dad once killed and cooked a rattlesnake and served it to me for dinner, telling me it was fish. It tasted all right but boy was it tough.

3) I should have been born Irish. I love Irish tea. Irish bread. Irish accents. Irish humor. Irish films. Irish pubs. Irish rock bands. IreLAND. And Cillian Murphy.

If you were shipwrecked on a desert island, what 3 books would you want with you?

JANE EYRE, the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy (it’s not cheating! they were meant to be one book, right?), and OUTLANDER.

Having said that, I might want one of the three to be a book I’ve never read. Or perhaps something that has to do with, oh, you know, surviving on a desert island.

Who are some of your favorite writers or books?

In addition to the above, Richard Adams (especially WATERSHIP DOWN), Anthony Trollope, Jane Austen, HP Lovecraft, Samuel Richardson, JK Rowling. As a child I read A WRINKLE IN TIME more than a dozen times. I absolutely love this little book called PLAINSONG (Kent Haruf), and this collection of stories by Irish writer Claire Keegan, WALK THE BLUE FIELDS. I’m currently really enjoying WOOL by Hugh Howey. This is a pretty stream-of-consciousness list -- there are many more.

What other projects can we look forward to reading from you in the future?

My second book for Tor, working title THE OPHELIA PROPHECY, post-apocalyptic bio-punk romance. A twisty tale with lots of color and texture, science, politics, and adventure.

Hopefully a short or two in the interim -- a story set in the earliest days of colonization on Ardagh 1 (the “ghost planet”), and this unrelated zombie romance thing I’ve had simmering.

I also have another RWA Golden Heart finalist manuscript (ECHO 8) that I’d like to polish up and submit in the near future. It’s a sci-fi/paranormal blend about an energy "vampire" from an alternate Earth, the FBI agent intent on destroying him, and the parapsychologist caught in between.

Do you have any advice to aspiring writers?

Anyone seen Galaxy Quest? “Never give up. Never surrender.” Giving up is the only thing you can do that will ensure it never happens. You have to hold onto that dream for dear life, no matter what.

Finish this statement: You’ll enjoy Ghost Planet if you like…

Mystery, science, romance, sex, and adventure all rolled up together in a tight and twisty plot.

**Lighting Questions**

Facebook or Twitter?

I didn’t think I had a choice! Facebook.  

Favorite junk food?

Those fried, electric-orange, processed cheese food thingies. I will leave out brand names since I at least try to get the all-natural ones.

Coke or Pepsi?

I don’t really drink soda, but on a sunny beach south of the border nothing tastes better than a classic Coke with REAL sugar.

Favorite Paranormal Creature?

Fairies. Not the cartoony ones. The mess-with-us-and-we’ll-make-you-sorry Celtic variety.

E-reader or physical book?

E-reader. New convert. I really miss books, but it feels like magic that I can have this whole library riding around in my purse. Even if I forget my reader, it’s right there on my phone.

Favorite season?

September. I know, not a season. But it’s the most glorious four weeks in Seattle, sort of a summer/fall hybrid.  

Star Wars or Alien?

Aw hell. Star Wars. (Sorry, Ripley)

Thanks for being here Sharon! 

Thank YOU, it’s been great fun!

|AUTHOR BIO| 

SHARON LYNN FISHER is the author of GHOST PLANET, coming from Tor Books on Oct. 30. The book -- a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist -- is a sci-fi/romance blend that offers a "fresh and fascinating take on the human-alien problem" (says author Linnea Sinclair). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where she is hard at work on her next novel and battles writerly angst with baked goods, Irish tea, and champagne. You can visit her online at SharonLynnFisher.com.

GIVEAWAY 

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