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CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH KHRISTINA ATKINSON

2/19/2017

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Character Interview with Khristina Atkinson

Character Name: I’m Katherine Hollingsworth-Collins, but my parents shortened my name to Kate when I was a baby.
Role in your story (protagonist, antagonist, side character, etc.): I’m definitely the protagonist. How to Capture Kate follows me from my birth to January, 2016. Obsession of Mine picks up my story where the prequel left off and ends in 2017.
Age: I turned thirty on October 11, 2016.
Description: I’m a former FBI employee and sole heir to my grandfather’s fortune until my children are born. I believe I find my soulmate and one true love with Special Agent Nathan until he’s unfaithful, and our marriage falls apart. I become engaged to Leo Kensington, partially for revenge. He’s the grandson to my grandfather’s best friend. Of course, Grandfather believes Leo’s better suited for me. I eventually reunite with Nathan, but trouble ensues from the beginning of our reconciliation with both of our exes.
Nickname: Nathan began referring to me as Angel before we were even officially a couple. He claimed I remind him of an angel when I’m sleeping. Leo’s nickname for me is Princess. This started out as joke, because I was shocked at the early hour he wanted me to run with him.
Occupation: I quit my job as an intelligence analyst at the FBI to be a stay-at-home mom when I realized I was pregnant. At the time, I falsely believed I’d botched my first field assignment. I hated returning to my desk job. After I left Nathan, my grandfather started training me to be the future CEO of Hollingsworth Enterprises.
Location: My grandfather’s mansion is located in the gated community of Prominence, where only the rich and elite reside, near the town of Jaeger Cove, Connecticut.
Goal in life: I’d like to say a calm existence, free from danger, but I kind of crave excitement.
Motto: I’ll steal this one from Grandfather. “Impossible isn’t a word that exists in the vocabulary of a Hollingsworth.”
Family: My parents, Julia and Travis Collins, were killed in a tragic accident when I was eleven. I had to live with my grandparents, Elizabeth and Edward Hollingsworth, who I’d never met. I lost my dear, sweet grandmother after she suffered a heart attack shortly before I turned eighteen. My oldest son, Julian Travis Reed, is named after my parents. My youngest son, Cameron Thomas Reed, is named after Nathan’s father and grandfather. Elizabeth Violet Reed is my baby daughter, but Nathan isn’t her biological father.
Best friend: I met Clay Carlisle when I accosted him with a kiss in the hallway of a hotel to keep my cover from being blown. I married him to dupe a Russian mobster and protect his life. He’d do anything for me. He was the one I called when I needed a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to listen to me.
Current conflict: Nathan swore there was nothing going on between him and Melanie Wilson again, but I followed them to a hotel.
Favorite Food: Spaghetti and meatballs even though our personal chef, Marcel, prepares the finest meals for my family.
Addictions: Danger, and I have to add Nathan. No matter how hard I try to resist him, he has a way of getting to me.
Pet Peeve: Lies
Favorite Hobby: I still like to keep up with my martial arts training.
What do you do for fun? Spend time on the beach.
Favorite childhood memory: The special dance with my father the evening he died. My mother helped me put on make-up and let me borrow her jewelry, so I’d look pretty for him.
Dream job: I wanted to be a spy after my parents died. Before that, I dreamed of becoming a lawyer. I could present a very compelling case to my parents even as a small child.
Favorite part of your day: Playtime with the kids after dinner that leads up to reading them bedtime stories and tucking them into bed safely.
Pessimist, Optimist, or Realist: I consider myself a pessimist because of the traumatic events in my life. I wanted so badly for my mother to survive after the accident, but she died on me when I needed her the most in my life. My grandmother left me too. Nathan swore he loved me, and then had an affair with another woman while I was having difficulties with the pregnancy of our second child. Bad things always seem to happen to me.
Beverage of choice: Thanks to Nathan’s influence, Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 1999. I’d never tasted alcohol until I met him.
Most annoying person in your life: Nathan’s mother, Meredith Carlisle,
Taken or single? Any love interests? Taken at the moment. I can’t say who he is. I can narrow it down to Nathan Reed, Leo Kensington, or Howard Kensington if that helps.
Pets: None, but I’d love a dog for the kids.
Biggest Fear: Losing another child. I had a miscarriage that greatly affected me when Julian was around five months old.
Guilty Pleasure: Watching old black and white movies with Leo in his home theater, even though I know he’s not the man I truly love. He’s so damned romantic.
Most embarrassing moment: I launched into self-defense mode and threw Nathan to the floor when he tried to kiss me the first time.
Greatest Strength: My courage. I’m not really afraid of anything. My training over the years has enabled me to be capable of handling pretty much any situation.
Greatest Weakness: Love has let me down over the years. I lose the people I love the most, or they betray me.
Who do you most admire? I never believed I’d say this when I moved into his home nineteen years ago, but my grandfather. It took some effort on my part, but I finally found a heart under his gruff exterior. He’s a man of morals and integrity, a pillar of the community, and has never let me down.
Are you keeping any secrets? Yes. I’d tell you, but I’d have to kill you. By the way, that’s a joke.
Where do you see yourself in ten years? I don’t want to ever lose Grandfather, so I’ll say helping him run Hollingsworth Enterprises.
Advice for the reader as they follow you through your journey? Try to keep up. The story of my life is fast-paced. One reader described it as having “so many unexpected twists and turns.”

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INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

2/18/2017

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INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

Alison Golden was born and raised in Bedfordshire, England. She writes cozy mysteries and suspense novels, along with the occasional witty blog post, all of which are designed to entertain, amuse, and calm. Her approach is to combine creative ideas with excellent writing and edit, edit, edit.

Alison is the creator of the Reverend Annabelle Dixon cozy mysteries, a charming, fun series featuring a female vicar ministering in the beautiful county of Cornwall, England. She also produces a Jersey-based detective series featuring Inspector David Graham and the Diana Hunter series, set in Vancouver.

Her books' themes range from the humorous and sweet to harder hitting suspense. They are recommended for readers who like to relax and unwind with their books, who enjoy getting to know the characters, and who prefer the tougher side of life implied.

Alison is based in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and twin sons. She splits her time traveling between London and San Francisco.

To receive three free books, updates about new releases, exclusive promotions, and other insider information, sign up for the Cozy Mysteries Insider mailing list at: http://www.cozymysteries.com.

Welcome to Roxana’s blog!

Q: Tell us a little about yourself and your background.

I am originally from England. I moved to the US in my early thirties to get married. I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my husband and twin sons. I travel to the UK anywhere between two and six times a year. I started writing fiction two years ago and am now obsessed with it. Our boys are now 16 and nearly independent so I get to spend a lot of time on it.

Q: Do you think that your school years have had an impact in your writing career? If so, what were you like at school?

No, in fact I think it delayed it. At 12, I wanted to write stories for magazines. I thought I could do better than the ones I read in my mother’s weeklies. I was a fanatical reader until the age of 13 when I went to high school. Suddenly, I went from being able to read whatever I wanted to having to read assigned texts. They were books I’d never read out of choice! Although I learned a lot, this forced approach killed my love for reading and writing. I forgot all about writing magazines stories or any kind of stories and went into the corporate world when I left school. It wasn’t until three decades later that I finally had had enough good feedback to try my hand at writing stories again.

Q: Were you good at English or like Einstein you excel now in a field that was a nightmare for you as a student?

I was good at English. It came naturally to me. I never worried about being “good enough” in that subject. I simply wrote to a prompt, handed it in and never really thought about it again. Because it came so easily to me, I didn’t value it as a skill. Skills are what you slave over, right? J

Q: What are your future ambitions for your writing career?

To write more and more books, keep pushing my boundaries, and get better at my craft. I want to delight my readers.

Q: So, would you mind telling us what you have written so far?

I write three series:
The Reverend Annabelle Dixon cozy mystery series about an apparently ditzy, but really rather smart lady vicar from a Cornish village in England.
The Inspector David Graham mysteries about a small group of small town police officers headed up by Inspector Graham on the island of Jersey in the English Channel.
The Diana Hunter mystery series. Diana is an ex-spy who is working as a consultant to Vancouver Police Department. Together with her partner Detective Peter Hopkinson, she solves crimes and hopes to find out who killed her parents.
The first two are cozy mysteries, Diana is more suspense.

Q: Where can we buy or see them?

You can sign up to my mailing list at http://cozymysteries.com and get the first books in each series for free. Subsequent books are at all Amazon stores.

Q: What are you working on at the minute? What’s it about? (*if relevant)

I’m working on Books 4 and 5 in the Diana Hunter series. It is very exciting. I am quite exhausted working on it. I have to limit myself to four hours a day or I’m too beat to do anything else!

Q: What genre are your books and what draws you to this genre?

Annabelle and Graham are cozy mysteries, Diana is suspense.

Q: What was the name of your last book? Give us an insight into your main character. What does he/she do that is so special? What’s it about?

My most recent book was Book 4 in the Inspector Graham series. David Graham is an ex-Metropolitan police detective who relocate to the small island of Jersey after the death of his daughter and the breakdown of his marriage. When he gets there, he finds the team he is in charge of to be a raggle-taggle group of questionable commitment and skill. The series follows them all as they grow as characters and police officers, facing their demons and developing their detective skills.

Q: Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

I like to have 80% of the outline worked out before I start although I actually prefer to just start writing. I don’t have much patience, but I have learned from experience that winging it isn’t the best way to write a book, not a mystery at least.
I do, however, rely a lot on intuition in terms of the pacing of the book. I can tell when a book needs to pop, when it needs to move along quicker or slower and when a character needs more development. I write for my internal reader and that works well for me.

Q: In your opinion, what is the hardest thing about writing?

Plotting, unquestionably. I am always so relieved when it is done. I find it very hard work.

Q: Now, what about the easiest thing about writing?

Doing the very final edits. I’m excited at this point. Also publishing is very, very exciting. I find it addicting.

Website: http://cozymysteries.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cozymysterybks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cozy_mysteries
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/alisongolden

Book Links: (* American, UK, etc.)
Reverend Annabelle Dixon series:
Death at the Café: http://cozymysteries.com/death-at-the-cafe
Death at the Café (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/death-at-the-café-uk
Murder at the Mansion: http://cozymysteries.com/murder-at-the-mansion
Murder at the Mansion (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/murder-at-the-mansion-uk
Body in the Woods: http://cozymysteries.com/body-in-the-woods
Body in the Woods (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/body-in-the-woods-uk
Grave in the Garage: http://cozymysteries.com/grave-in-the-garage
Grave in the Garage (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/grave-in-the-garage-uk

Inspector David Graham series:
The Case of the Screaming Beauty: http://cozymysteries.com/screaming-beauty
The Case of the Screaming Beauty (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/screaming-beauty-uk
The Case of the Hidden Flame: http://cozymysteries.com/hidden-flame
The Case of the Hidden Flame (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/hidden-flame-uk
The Case of the Fallen Hero: http://cozymysteries.com/fallen-hero
The Case of the Fallen Hero (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/hidden-flame-uk
The Case of the Broken Doll: http://cozymysteries.com/broken-doll
The Case of the Broken Doll (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/broken-doll-uk

The Diana Hunter series:
Hunted: http://cozymysteries.com/hunted
Hunted (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/hunted-uk
Snatched: http://cozymysteries.com/snatched
Snatched (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/snatched-uk
Stolen: http://cozymysteries.com/stolen
Stolen (UK): http://cozymysteries.com/stolen-uk

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V-DAY ROMANCE SALE

2/11/2017

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A Romance Book Sale You Don’t Want to Miss!The day is here, lovelies! Feb 11-12, 2017, hop on over to https://romancebooks.blog to load your Kindle or e-reader with lots of FREE and $0.99 romance books!

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REVIEW - ORDER OF SUCCESSION BY BILL THOMPSON

2/7/2017

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Order of Succession by Bill Thompson
4 stars out of 5

This book impressed me: it took a lot of work to write it. I can say that the author managed to build a detailed and quite believable plot because he offers just enough details and clear research of situations, locations and procedures to sound genuine. It is clear that something similar might happen at any time.
The author opened the story with a few shocking events: first the vice-president’s plane disappears and, as if that hadn’t been enough, shortly after, the president’s plane vanishes. One event of the kind would be enough to shock a country but two such events would paralyze it, at least for a while. The disappearance of two planes flying a couple of the world’s most powerful men can’t be a coincidence and the implications are serious, both political and financial. Mr. Thompson succeeded in creating a good political thriller presenting some warning scenarios about the current global economy and businesses.
The novel is mostly fast-paced, and especially in the first part of the book. What might confuse in the beginning is the introduction of a plethora of new characters in a short period of time. It is a little difficult to keep up and remember everyone but I appreciated the brief review of some characters’ future at the end of the book.
There are some jarring expressions that detract from the fluidity of the narrative and there are a little too many clichés for my taste, however the story is there and I’m sure no one can deny it. The characters are well developed.
I also noticed some biased opinions concerning the females’ and males’ behavior. It appears that the author inclines to believe that women are slightly hysterical in certain situations while men can keep their calm and clear minds. From experience I can say that such behavioral characteristics have nothing to do with the gender.
All in all, I think this is a good story and I recommended to readers enjoying political thrillers and conspiracies.

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REVIEW - CYNTHIA HAS A SECRET BY P.D. WORKMAN

2/6/2017

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Cynthia has a Secret by P.D. Workman
4 stars out of 5

This novel says the story of a smart young girl, Carmina, who finds herself in the situation of taking care of herself after the arrest of her overprotective parents. The narrative follows Carmina’s journey, her evolution from a smart but uninformed teenager to a state of wakening awareness.
The story is balanced. The author doesn’t rush through the scenes and the suspense is preserved almost up to the end.
The characters are interesting enough and in continuous evolution. Both Carmina and Neil, the FBI agent, grow and influence each other. I think the author does a very good job in fleshing out not only these two characters but also the secondary ones.
There are enough twists in the story to keep the reader’s curiosity high. There are a few things that are a little too hard to believe and that is why I couldn’t give the story five stars. However, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in mysteries, especially to teenagers and young adults.

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REVIEW - SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC BY JUDY PENZ SHELUK

2/3/2017

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Skeletons in the Attic (A Marketville Mystery)
(Volume 1)
by Judy Penz Sheluk

5 stars out of 5

Well, this is one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. Not because of the action, although the plot is interesting enough and with lots of twists, but because of the characters. The author helped them cross the border between likable and unlikable and between positive and negative with a refined art.
The action is not fast-paced or slow-paced, but paced just enough and the narrative, which evolves through the eyes and perspective of the heroine is well built and presents surprises that will make the reader to keep reading.
I never present synopsis for the books I read and review but I want to mention that in this novel nothing is what it seems to be, either situation or character. You cannot be sure of anything or, better said, you can be sure that what you have just read would change in a few pages.
At the end, I had the feeling that something was missing or wasn’t quite right, however, I can definitely recommend this book, either to people interested in mystery and suspense or in psychology.

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INTERVIEW & REVIEWS: CARRIE CROSS

2/1/2017

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As per her Amazon page: Carrie Cross is an avid reader who fell in love with books as a little girl after reading Goodnight Moon. She wrote her first “book” at age four: Blackie the Little Black Dog and the Flying Washing Machine. Carrie discovered her love of mysteries reading Nancy Drew books and The Happy Hollisters series, and after writing THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS, she continues to look for clues in unexpected places to this day. Carrie Cross’s influences include Judy Blume, Deb Caletti, Sarah Dessen, and Lee Child. In addition to writing Skylar Robbins mysteries and reading, Carrie loves to cook, hike at the beach, go boating, and travel. During a recent interview she was asked, “Where do you get your inspiration?” “When I was six years old, my parents decided we needed to buy a bigger house. We looked at a creepy two-story in Santa Monica Canyon, and I played hide-and-seek with the little girl who lived there. There were closets and secret hiding places with doors that opened into other rooms. Later, I wondered, “What if there was a clue hidden in one of those closets?” And the idea for the Skylar Robbins mystery series was born. Skylar’s adventures continue in THE MYSTERY OF THE HIDDEN JEWELS. After she solves her second big case, the Skylar Robbins Detective Agency tackles THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING HEIRESS. Carrie Cross is currently at work on her fourth Skylar Robbins novel, THE CURSE OF KOMA ISLAND. Follow Carrie on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teendetectiveskylar and at www.carrie-cross.com.

Character Interview

Character Name: Skylar Robbins
Role in your story (protagonist, antagonist, side character, etc.): protagonist
Age: 13
Description: Funny, quirky, vulnerable teen sleuth
Nickname: Teen Detective Skylar
Occupation: amateur sleuth
Location: Santa Monica, CA
Goal in life: to become a private detective like my grandfather and to open my own detective agency
Motto: Never give up!
Family: Only child of intelligent mom (teacher at UCLA) and dad (scientist/chemist)
Best friend: BFF Alexa O’Reilly: dyslexic, intelligent assistant detective
Current conflict: taking dangerous chances while trying to solve my next mystery
Favorite Food: Peanut butter on Graham crackers, and sushi (not at the same time!)
Addictions: hunting for clues
Pet Peeve: bullies and liars
Favorite Hobby: decoding secret messages
What do you do for fun? Explore new neighborhoods on my bike with my BFF, Alexa.

Favorite childhood memory:
My grandfather’s face popped into my mind, and within seconds I was longing to see him again. Grandpa had taught me all sorts of important skills for finding clues, investigating mysteries, and solving cases. I remembered how he taught me to lift fingerprints like it was yesterday:
Grandpa treated me to a blue-eyed smile. Then he winked at me and held out his hand with a Kleenex covering his palm. “Let’s see that juice box.” I put the box of Juicy-Juice I’d just finished on the tissue. He moved it onto the table in front of him, careful not to touch the surfaces of the box with his fingers. “This is fingerprinting powder,” he explained, holding up what looked like a jar of dark ash. “Watch,” my grandfather said, sprinkling some of the powder onto the side of the juice box. Then he took a big soft brush and whisked most of the powder onto a napkin.
I leaned closer. A crisp, gray copy of my fingerprint stuck to the side of the waxy box like a decal on the back of my bike.
“Now we lift the print.” Grandpa removed a clear, sticky piece of tape from a roll. He pressed it down on top of my fingerprint, and then very slowly peeled the tape off of the box. “See?” he said, showing it to me. My fingerprint made a perfect picture on the clear tape. “Now let’s mount this on a Case Solution card.” He took a card off the stack he had in his detective kit, and pressed the tape down onto the card, trapping my print. I watched him fill in the case line. Since there was no case number he just wrote, SKYLAR ROBBINS’S FINGERPRINT.

Grandpa handed me the card. “It’s yours to keep. Next weekend we’ll print someone else and I’ll teach you how to compare fingerprints to see if you can find a match.”
“OK,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. “Let’s print Mom.”
“Let’s,” he agreed, his eyes full of fun.

Dream job: Secret Agent
Favorite part of your day: Getting to school before first period, hoping a cute boy will sit next to me in class.
Pessimist, Optimist, or Realist: Optimist
Beverage of choice: iced tea
Most annoying person in your life: Pat Whitehead, school bully
Taken or single? Single. Any love interests? Dustin Coles and Daniel Gannon
Pets: none right now…
Biggest Fear: failing to solve a mystery
Guilty Pleasure: Telling secrets in sign language with Alexa
Most embarrassing moment: Squirting Ketchup on my pink pants and smearing it into a big stain before going to class with Daniel.
Greatest Strength: Using the tools in my detective kit to find clues and solve mysteries
Greatest Weakness: I feel bad when I take dangerous chances and hide it from my parents.
Who do you most admire? My grandfather: a retired police officer.
Are you keeping any secrets? I take my Porta-detective kit to school in my backpack in case I need to dust for fingerprints or examine something using my Mini-Mag glass.
Where do you see yourself in ten years? As a secret agent, traveling the world on top secret missions.
Advice for the reader as they follow you through your journey? Learn to solve riddles and decipher clues using my detective skills. Crime scenes are three-dimensional: look for clues on the floor, all for walls, and the ceiling. Palm a compact to spy on people behind you. Learn sign language and Morse code so you can communicate without talking or when solving a mystery underwater.

The Mystery of Shadow Hills (The Skylar Robbins Mysteries) by Carrie Cross
4 stars out of 5

Of course, I am not part of the intended audience for this book, so my view might be a bit skewed by my age. Despite my age band, I was able to read it, and that in itself says something, considering the fact that I’m – unfortunately – a very picky reader and I get bored easily.
That being said, I definitely recommend this book to teenagers. The tone of the narrative is light enough to encourage them to continue reading and the plot is interesting enough for a twelve or thirteen-year old. It really made me remember some of the books I read when I was that age.
The protagonist is Skylar Robbins who wants nothing else in life but to be a Private Investigator like her late grandpa. The writer did a good job in presenting this young girl. It is believable and well anchored in the reality of the respective age. She has all the confidence and doubts characteristic to someone of her age and a young reader could identify themselves with her. The character is well developed and I think that the narrative in first person might have contributed seriously to that.
I always try to avoid writing a synopsis of the books I review and I will do the same here. Keeping in mind that the novel is for a young audience, I would say that the author succeeded in her task. Either she remembers how it felt and how one thought at that age or she is a good psychologist. Anyway, she did an amazing job in her incursion in the young psyche.
One thing might detract from the quality of the book (again, I repeat, I am trying to see the book through the eyes of a young reader): too detailed descriptions. I, for one, liked them, however, a young reader might not have the patience to read them.
On the whole, this is a good book for the intended audience. I would recommend it.

The Mystery of Hidden Jewels (The Skylar Robbins Mysteries) by Carrie Cross
5 stars out of 5

I read this second book of the series the same day as the first and probably that’s why the impact is so strong. If the first book in the series seemed good enough for a teenager, this second book was good enough for an adult, even though the protagonists kept being the same teenager as in the first one.
This novel is a real surprise. Authors evolve in time. Their writing gets better and better – if the writer is good to begin with, of course. However, it is surprising to see so much development in a second book. The fluidity of the story mesmerizes and simply catches you in: you can’t put the book down. I read it in one sitting.
The main character was developed in the first book, but here there’s much more substance. The author surprises the teenager’s evolution and if the first book Skylar was just a curious girl, tattering on the brink of evolution, now she becomes really interesting: there are some doubts but not so definite. She has the courage to stand for her convictions and thus the story becomes catchier.
I recommended the first book – mostly to children between 10 and 13. This one goes beyond that age band. If someone likes a good mystery, a fluid plot, catchy dialogue, then, they should read this book.

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ROXANA NASTASE'S BLOG

CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH KHRISTINA ATKINSON

INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

V-DAY ROMANCE SALE

REVIEW - ORDER OF SUCCESSION BY BILL THOMPSON

REVIEW - CYNTHIA HAS A SECRET BY P.D. WORKMAN

REVIEW - SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC BY JUDY PENZ SHELUK

INTERVIEW & REVIEWS: CARRIE CROSS

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ROXANA NASTASE'S BLOG

CHARACTER INTERVIEW WITH KHRISTINA ATKINSON

INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

​INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN

V-DAY ROMANCE SALE

REVIEW - ORDER OF SUCCESSION BY BILL THOMPSON

REVIEW - CYNTHIA HAS A SECRET BY P.D. WORKMAN

REVIEW - SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC BY JUDY PENZ SHELUK

INTERVIEW & REVIEWS: CARRIE CROSS

ROXANA NASTASE

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INTERVIEW WITH ALISON GOLDEN