The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted here @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on your blog for the week ahead. Join in weekly, bi-weekly or for a monthly wrap up. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme
It’s busy season on the blog from readathons to blog hops. You can now sign up for the Fraterfest Readathon & the Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop. I do hope you’ll join us. If you follow me on social media, you may have seen pictures of the newest addition to our family. On September 4, I adopted the cutest kitten. His name is Winchester and he and I are becoming fast friends. He had his first veterinarian visit yesterday and is adjusting quite nicely. Stay Caffeinated.
Meet Winchester ….
Last Week on the Blog
Thank You For Listening By Julia Whelan (audio review)
I’m The Girl By Courtney Summers (book review)
Beyond The Desert Sands By Tracie Peterson (book review, guest post)
Blog Tour: Grimm Consequences By Kate SeRine (blog tour, giveaway, review)
Rebel Magic By Kim Richardson (audio review)
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop Sign-Up (event)
This Week on the Blog
Sweetwater & The Witch By Jayne Castle (book review)
Devouring Darkness By Chloe Neill (book review)
Back To The Garden By Laurie R. King (book review, guest post)
Signal Moon By Kate Quinn (audio review)
Nonna’s Corner: Eric The Earthworm By Cheryl Bond-Nelms (book review)
New Arrivals at the Caffeinated Cafe
Learn more:
A Wish for Winter by Viola Shipman
The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
The Book Haters’ Club by Gretchen Anthony
Special thanks to Harlequin, Harlequin Audio, Penguin Audio
Around The Blogosphere
Fraterfest 2022 Readathon October 14th-24th
Thankful for Books Giveaway Hop November 21-28th
Save the Date: 2022 #HoHoHoRAT Readathon November 18-30th
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Desert Angels follows a man and his dog who meet a Slavic angel in the desert and are sent off on a mission where the path is unclear, and adventures await them. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I have always been drawn to the concept of angels. I have also lived in different varieties of deserts. The mission feels very much like a journey similar to one I’ve taken in my life.
Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing or did it come out organically as you were writing?
I wrote mostly by the seat of my pants except for the ending which I had in mind through most of the writing.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Exploration of the immortality narrative, self-centeredness vs. selflessness, and the discovery of a gift that was present all along.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I don’t have any plans for another book although that can change. I am in the process of starting a blog-type site.
Author Website: www.PriorToEternity.com
Desert Angels is a thought-provoking adventure that takes place in the New Mexico desert. It is about a man and his dog who encounter unique characters and situations. You may find yourself reading it more than once.
Mystical Force Volume 4: Many are 1, 1 is 0 follows a sorceress who wants to unleash an omnipotent being to take control of the world for her, while a knight tries to prevent this from occuring. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
The character of 0 (Zero), I based him off of ‘Q’ from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was one of my favourite characters from TNG. It’s a classic idea, the omnipotent trickster who uses his powers to meddle in the lives of our heroes for his own amusement. This story was a means to set up 0’s introduction, as he’ll play an important role in the series later on, although it isn’t obvious. 0 is a being with god like power, and like a god, he works in subtle ways that many of us don’t realize. To quote an episode of Futurama, “When you [God] do things right, people won’t be sure you’ve done anything at all.”
What was your favorite character to write for and why?
That would be 0. As I stated, I based him off of ‘Q’ from Star Trek: The Next Generation. 0, like Q, is less of a villain and more of an annoyance to our characters. Like Q, 0’s antics may appear to be nothing more than irritating our protagonists for his own twisted sense of pleasure, but underneath he’s secretly trying to help our heroes. It’s a case of him secretly testing our characters. Because he’s an omnipotent trickster, it was great fun having him troll the others, such as the scene near the end when appears before the Order of the Cross, taking the form of (the Christian depiction) God, and later the Pope. Or how he uses his powers to make two countries go to war over Twinkies. I’ve always liked that Monty Python style of humour, that either makes you laugh or ask “What the hell was this guy high on when he came up with that?!” (for the record, I wasn’t high on anything! I don’t do drugs.)
What was one of the hardest parts in Mystical Force Volume 4: Many are 1, 1 is 0 for you to write?
Near the end when Knightwalker “defeats” 0 and sends him home, undoing all the chaos he’s caused. Everyone except our main characters forgets all his antics. When I got the manuscript back from my editor Tereza (a wonderful editor, who really goes above and beyond to help make this series what it is) she asked why they’re the only one’s who remember. Honestly the only real answer I had was that since 0 would be returning at a later date, I didn’t want to go through the process of introducing him all over again. It’s like that Star Trek TNG episode Hide and Q, Q suspends time when his visits the Enterprise. When time resumes later, only the main characters seem aware of what’s happened. Everyone else seems oblivious to Q’s meddling. That’s why I added the part explaining that 0 allowed them to remember so that when he returns he can enjoy their reactions of “OH NO! Not you again!!” That’s part of his character, he loves trolling others. The idea of being an irritant to ‘lesser’ beings amuses him. Like a mischievous child tormenting insects because he’s bored.
What is the next book in the series about and when will it be available?
First let me just add, that I’m also working on a new series set in the same universe called Liberator: the People’s Guard, which should be out very soon (or depending on when this is posted, it may already be out). But in regards to Mystical Force volume 5, I’m currently finishing up the manuscript. Hopefully that one will be out sometime next spring. (I’ll be alternating between Liberator and Mystical Force for the duration of those series). Now what will volume 5 be about? Back in volumes 2 & 3 I teased that Scarlet Knightwalker came from the future because in that time Shi-ria trained an apprentice, died and her apprentice (along with Mystic and Sister Rose) turned evil and took over the world ruling it as a totalitarian dictatorship. Hence why Knightwalker came back to change history. Volume 2 ends with Shi-ria seeing this as a possible future along with one where she lives and her apprentice becomes a Taman Knight. Volume 5 introduces this apprentice. A teenage girl named Chiyoko, who comes from a broken home. A girl Shi-ria takes under her wing as she sees a bit of herself in this girl, a reminder of how she used to be before becoming a Taman Knight. We also get a sneak peek at the “descendant of the darkness”, a young man with shadow based ninja powers. I suppose you could say this is where the main plot of the series really beings.
Shi-ria tries to stop Dead-Eye from stealing a magic scroll, only to learn it was Zolida who hired her. Why does Zolida want this scroll? Unfortunately, neither Shi-ria nor Scarlet Knightwalker have time to figure that out. When Shi-ria is badly injured fighting Zolida, Scarlet Knightwalker is forced to turn to someone she doesn’t fully trust, Mystic, in order to save Shi-ria’s life.
Meanwhile, Aanjay and Jimomaru are once again determined to destroy Sister Rose as revenge for the Order of the Cross persecuting them. Aanjay and Jimomaru soon find themselves getting some unexpected help from Zolida, who uses the stolen scroll to bring some help of her own. Help in the form of a new being named 0, a being from another dimension. A member of a species called the 1, 0 is an omnipotent entity with the powers of a god and the personality of a bratty child, tormenting insects because he’s bored.
Zolida tries to get 0’s help in punishing humanity. However, things quickly spiral out of control. First 0 uses his powers to turn Tokijin into a human and then turn Rose into a demon. Before long he’s turning all humans into demons, knocking planets out of orbit and causing all manner of chaos for his own entertainment. It seems no one, not even Zolida, is able to stop him. Is there anyone powerful enough to control this mad god? Or is the world doomed to an eternity of insanity at the hands of this omnipotent prankster who sees reality as a game and all living beings as little playthings for his own amusement?
Life Between Moments is a collection of short stories that turns the lives of everyday people into a compelling drama through the use of sharp writing. What was the inspiration for the idea behind this book?
I wanted to write a collection of different stories that, when read all together, conveyed a sense of the dynamic, tragic and beautiful city. But the book is extremely focused on individual characters, because great cities I find are driven by everyday people trying to get by. In my view, the most interesting stories are usually those that happen in snapshots of everyday life. Those are the most relatable.
My favorite story from this collection is ‘To End a Tragedy’. Do you have a story from this book that stands out to you?
“To End a Tragedy” is my favorite, because I feel like the two main characters resonate with my own life. The challenge of finding happiness and meaning in work, the discovery of enjoyment in day to day, and the realization that there’s no such thing as “one size fits all” when it comes to choosing a path in life.
The story “Society Debut” also stands out to me because I do think it is unique because it’s written in second-person. I aimed to really put the reader in the story as the main character, to immerse them in a role within the story.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I do my best to use my fiction to explore how ordinary people can find happiness in their lives and meaning in work. Those are two of the biggest challenges we all face, and I see these stories as an attempt to pin down those themes, based on how the characters navigate the same obstacles you and I and everyone face.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Not sure yet on this one! It will be a novel, but at least a couple years away.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Website
Bestselling author and Business Insider senior reporter Phil Rosen delivers a stylish debut work of fiction. A Manhattan writer discovers a miracle in a slaughterhouse. A never-ending night unfolds in a jazz club. The best doctor in the world wants to forgo everything to pursue obscurity. A broken marriage realizes its vulnerabilities.
This collection of striking, atmospheric stories is populated by people that grapple with the fears and uncertainties that define everyday life. In sketches ranging from the grandest heights of society to the anonymous city streets, characters discover their demons, confront heartbreak, and stumble through life in dreamy, oppressive New York.
As you turn through pages of spare prose and smart dialogue, these stories will give you a fresh glimpse into an old city, and remind you why tales of the Big Apple have resonated for centuries.
An Erotic Phenotype answers some interesting questions about Romantic Love and human reproduction. What was the idea, or spark, that first set off the need to write this informative book?
I am an avid reader, more notably in all the sciences. I was reading Darwin’s Black Box because it claimed that it found flaws in Darwin’s theory of natural selection. That was on the molecular level, false as they were. I noticed that everywhere there were claims that some traits could not possibly be selected for without a creator or intelligent design: language, “the soul” or “spirit” was a big one, emotions… I was also quick to notice that some of these arguments contained answers to their own questions. Ignorance! I began looking at life and science in complete ignorance to see how far natural processes could carry an incident of biology. I.e. how an incident of sight can become an incident of beauty, evoking an incident emotion. That sparked the idea! The need to write this book was created by another book I wrote: Moral Indignation, which due to available topic space, I was forced to omit the natural course of events leading to love.
What research did you do for this novel to get it right?
I read everything I could get my hands on, in every science, every mythology, including scientific papers, books, and articles. I must point out that my father was a woman hater to the core! Mentally dealing with his absurdities helped me recognize how really amazing women truly are! It is not possible to know enough, or even learn enough, to cover every topic in complete detail. I tried to learn as much as possible. I read a few books on female same-sex erotica in an attempt to gain some mental/emotional concept of the same-sex female brain, thinking it might be close to a cisgender male brain. Also, I find that the best teacher is life. I watched people interacting with other people.
What is one thing that people point out after reading your book that surprises you?
The book is a new release and as far as I know only a few family members and friends have read it. That said, I am questioned about the topic a lot. The word “Erotic” makes people think about erotica, which it is not. The joking stops when they understand it is about “eros”. Honestly, I have not asked anyone I know that did read it what they thought. Maybe I should.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
That is a beautiful question. There are so many topics that are not fully understood. There are still so many claims of intelligent design which need to be addressed. I am currently working on two books, both untitled. With all the current conspiracy theories and false news claims, I think it is important to explore how humans were selected for having the ability to analyze our world. We need to see how our two innate instincts, “belief” and “reason”, in that order, play havoc with one another. I am hopeful that I can publish by 2024.
Author Links: Amazon | Twitter | Website
What does the female capacity of having multiple orgasms have to do with reproduction? What part does hidden ovulation play in the formation of erotic relationships? Does natural selection create pleasure—make sex fun—to trick us into reproducing? Being in love requires you to be physical. It requires you to be emotional. It requires you to be mindful. To exist as an erotic phenotype. Eros, commonly called Romantic Love, is more than just emotion. We have an entangled ménage à trois of sensations happening in our bodies and brains. It is the total of our entangled sensations that drive us to this insanity—that thing we call love.
Welcome Home, Pearl is a story about Jacob, who is anxiously awaiting the arrival of his baby sister Pearl. As with the arrival of any new baby into a family, things can be difficult, and there may be concerns about the baby’s health, development, and how everyone interacts with the new addition. When Jacob’s baby sister arrives, he quickly learns that she will require lots of special medical care, and as her big brother, he must focus on the positive. Jacob is proud to call Pearl his sister, and he becomes aware of the stress and challenges that lie ahead for his parents, himself, and Pearl.
Children with disabilities and their families face many challenges, and the author does a great job of expressing the fears and anxiety experienced by not only the parents but the siblings as well. Pere takes a serious situation and explains it well so that it is clear to understand young readers. Jacob’s character is a positive force of support throughout the story, despite how worried his parents become during such a distressing time. This difficult subject beautifully opens communication and discussion about how to talk about children with special needs and ongoing medical treatments so that children and adults can express their emotions and concerns while providing a powerful, supporting role during the process.
I really enjoyed how brilliantly the author approached this challenging subject, as well as the charming and warm illustrations by Catty Flores. Author Tuula Pere creates a wonderful portrayal of how the love and support of family mean everything when faced with challenges and how Jacob’s positivity shining through can make a big difference. I recommend Welcome Home, Pearl for its excellent writing and serving as a great reminder to look at things from a different perspective, with love, patience, and understanding.
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Thank You For Listening By Julia Whelan (audio review)
