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Friday, January 26, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: The Search for Diego by E. Paul Bergeron #review





Historical Fiction
Date Published: July 10, 2017

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Without food or water, and with a child strapped to his back, William MacLeod searches for a way across the Mohave Desert in search of a route to the land called Alta California. But he is not welcomed by the ruling forces, and when his son is abducted by a fanatical priest, who believes the child’s soul is in danger, MacLeod finds himself confronted at every turn by autocratic officials in his search for his son in this vast empty land.



Across his path are thrown two women, one having been cast from her home by her family, and living in a stick and tule hovel, the other a beautiful young woman taken off the streets of Vera Cruz, who now lives among the elite of Alta California’s society. And standing between MacLeod and the end of his search is a Frenchman, who believes every challenge to his honor must be met by force.



If he is to find his son and return with him to his home in Boston, MacLeod must discover a way to overcome these challenges while staying out of the hands of the authorities.


Review

he story really grabs the readers attention from the get-go. E. Paul Bergeron does a great job being descriptive and allowing the reader to feel like they are immersed in the world and time. 

 I was surprised at how fresh and how many surprises there were in this story. What a wonderful job of keeping the reader invested in the series and its characters! 

A nice treat for Historical fans. 


About the Author

E. Paul Bergeron is the author of historical novels covering the period of American history, between 1821 and 1870 in the Pacific Southwest.  His “Land in Turmoil” series depicts a time of significant change when this part of America went from Spanish rule through Mexican independence and annexation by the United States.

The author was born in the little French Canadian town of Mascouche, Quebec. Some years later they moved to Southern California where he became interested in the string of missions that were built in order to civilize the Indians and develop the country.

The author now lives in Hayden Lake, Idaho.


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Thursday, January 25, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Finding Leda by @GaiaBAmman #bookreview





(The Italian Saga, 5)
Women’s lit, NA, memoir
Date Published: February 6, 2018
Publisher: Kuki Publishing



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Italy, 1998.

What does it take for a woman to be happy? Not a man, like twenty-year-old Leda Balni was raised to believe.

Weary of gender culture, Leda enrolls in Genetic Engineering. Surrounded by new friends, science, and even a sexy genius, she forgets her troubles until her restlessness resurfaces…

In a whirlwind of Vespa adventures, college exams, Italian culture, rock, philosophy, and chemistry—both the inorganic and the sizzling kind—Leda deconstructs happiness and establishes her own rules to the game of life, but is there room for love?

The question becomes urgent when an old acquaintance from her past resurfaces in all his brooding magnetism, but he is bad news, and smart, rational Leda should know better than succumbing to attraction…

If you love strong female characters and heartfelt advice, don’t miss this witty, introspective, feminist novel, part romance, part self-help, but always realistic and inspirational.


** "Finding Leda" is self-standing and directed at an adult audience,though suitable for teens, but it is the fifth book in "The ItalianSaga" and there are references to Leda's previous adventures.  **

** The books are a fictional memoir based on the life of author GB Amman, a novelist and molecular biologist born and raised in Italy.**



Review

Gaia B Amman has great attention to detail and makes everything from the setting, to the characters feel very real. This is a great story in a novel that is a memoir type. 

This novel really highlights a relationship in the past. 
Emotions are very high in this story. The main character is tested and the ups and downs she goes through in trying to navigate that is emotional for the reader.


I have a feeling this novel will stay with me for quite a while. 

About the Author


Gaia B. Amman was born and raised in Italy. She moved to the United States in her twenties to pursue her Ph.D. in molecular biology. She's currently a professor of biology at D'Youville College in Buffalo, New York, where she was voted "the professor of the month" by her students. Her research and commentaries have been published in prestigious, international, peer-reviewed journals, including Nature.

A bookworm from birth, she wrote throughout her childhood and won two short story competitions in Italy in her teens. Gaia is an avid traveler, and many of her adventures are an inspiration for her fiction. Mostly she is passionate about people and the struggles they face to embrace life. Her highest hope is to reach and help as many as she can through her writing and her teaching. She authored the Indie Author Guide, the LGBTQ sci-fi fantasy Linked—Will Empathy Save the United Terrestrial Democracy?, The Italian Saga, a series of four novels that follows Leda’s adventures from childhood through the end of high school, and the Sonder Series, of which you just read volume one. The books, light-hearted and funny at first sight, deal with issues like sexuality, divorce, friendship, abuse, first love, and self discovery.

Among Amman’s favorite authors are J.K. Rowling, Jandy Nelson, Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk, Kurt Vonnegut, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Antoine de Saint Exupèry.



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Virtual Book Tour: Jane Austen Lied to Me by @JeanetteAWatts #giveaway




Humor / Satire
Date Published: September 2017

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What college girl doesn’t dream of meeting Mr. Darcy? Lizzie was certainly no exception. But when Darcy Fitzwilliam comes into her life, he turns out to be every bit as aggravating as Elizabeth Bennett’s Fitzwilliam Darcy. So what’s a modern girl to do?


Jeanette Watts’ satire pokes loving fun at Jane and all of us who worship the characters who shall forever be our romantic ideals.



About the Author



Jeanette Watts had been writing historic fiction when the inspiration for Jane Austen Lied to Me hit her on the drive home from the Jane Austen Festival. The idea was simply irresistible, and she put aside other writing projects in order to focus on writing a satire, thinking it would be a "mental vacation." It turned out to take every bit as much research to write a modern story as it does to write a historical one.

She has written television commercials, marketing newspapers, stage melodramas, four screenplays, three novels, and a textbook on waltzing.  When she isn’t writing, she teaches social ballroom dances, refinishes various parts of her house, and sews historical costumes. She has just relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina and is loving her new home town.



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Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: When a Stranger Comes by Karen S. Bell #review #fantasy #suspense



Fantasy / Suspense
Date Published: September 17, 2017

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Satisfying one's greed can come at a devilishly high cost.

Achieving what you crave can also bring the terrifying fear of losing it. For Alexa Wainwright, this truth has become her nightmare. Born Gladys Lipschitz, the daughter of an unwed Soviet-era Jewish immigrant, she was beyond thrilled and amazed when her debut novel, A Foregone Conclusion, soared to number one on the bestseller’s list and became an international sensation. The accompanying fame and riches were beyond her expectations. Unfortunately, her subsequent work has yet to achieve the same reception by critics and readers. Yes, they have sold well based on her name recognition, but she dreads the possibility of becoming a mid-list author forgotten and ignored. She vows to do whatever it takes to attain the heady ego-stroking success of her debut. But is she really?

Witnessing an out-of-the-blue lightning bolt whose giant tendrils spread over the blue sky and city streets below her loft window, Alexa doesn’t realize just how this vow will be tested as she’s magically transported to an alternate reality. In this universe, the characters from her books are given the breath of life and she meets publisher, King Blakemore, who just might be the Devil himself. At first, she shrugs off her doubts about this peculiar publisher and very lucrative book deal offer because the temptation of riches and refound fame is too strong. But all too soon, Alexa realizes she’s trapped in an underworld of evil from which she desperately wants to escape. For starters, she finds herself in an iron-clad book contract that changes its wording whenever she thinks of a loophole. Desperate to get her life back, she devises schemes to untether herself from this hellish existence. She’s also aided by the forces for good who attempt to help her. However, King Blakemore is cleverer and more powerful than she can begin to understand. Playfully, he decides to give Alexa a second chance to save herself from eternity with him and to be free. He offers her the prospect of a rewrite, as most authors do as part of the writing process. Given this chance, will Alexa make the same choices and the same mistakes again?


Review

Such a large cast of characters, but I felt like I got to know all of the main ones very well. 

I liked how this Fantasy novel managed to be fresh and exciting and wasn't too overly predictable. I saw a few things coming, but was definitely surprised at points too. 

Definitely a lot of action going on that will have readers flipping pages furiously. 

About the Author


I get so much satisfaction in the writing process. I take care to choose just the right word, to make sure each sentence has the right cadence. I appreciate other writers who respect the craft in this way, and I hope my readers do so with me. Writing is a need, a desire for expression, and springs from well within my subconscious mind. Thoughts rise up, scenes rise up and blend in with the over-arching story. These thoughts emerge whenever they want to and wherever I am and probably not when I am at the computer. The computer is for the craft, the technique. The thoughts come during walks, or while driving the car, or at the grocery store. I am the willing recipient of these thoughts and so they seek me out. It's a mystery this business and art of writing and it keeps me enthralled.


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Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Pure Healing by @megami771 #interview #paranormal




Paranormal, Fantasy Romance
Date Published: November 8, 2017 (paperback); May 4, 2012 (kindle)

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Enter the world of Pure Ones, a race of immortal, supernaturally powerful beings who protect humankind, where sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s Eternal Mate leads to a slow, painful death within thirty days.

The Healer of the race, Rain, is the only exception to this rule. She must take a Consort once every ten years and draw strength from his blood and body. Valerius, Protector of the race, is the strongest candidate.

Despite their instant attraction, Valerius has staunchly avoided applying to be the Healer’s Consort. The brutality and violence he suffered as a Roman sex slave in his human life ate away at his soul, leaving a dark abyss of torment and self-doubt.

Now, as Rain’s strength drains with every healing act, Valerius cannot escape the fact that he may be the only one who can save her, and in so doing, afford his people greater hope for the future as battles intensify.



Interview


What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Finding the time! With two boys under the age of 5, a full-time job in Corporate America that requires frequent travel across multiple projects, it’s hard to stay on top of everything.
The second hardest part is my writing approach. I love the writing process because it’s about 50% planned, 50% unplanned for me, and it organically evolves as I write. It’s extremely enjoyable in that sense because I—as the writer—am also breathless with anticipation over what happens next—the characters and plot sometimes take a life of their own. On the other hand, when there are many threads to weave together into a coherent, well-designed tapestry, wrangling all the pieces together can take some extra creativity at times.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I listen to a variety of songs from different cultures, usually all pop songs, many of which inspire my writing, character and “mood” development. I like US and British pop, some Chinese, a lot of Korean pop, Latin, etc.
When I think about my stories, it’s like watching a movie unfolding. As with any movie, there’s a soundtrack. And characters in my novels might be closely associated with certain songs. Here are some of the songs that go through my head when the movie reel of my stories play out in my imagination.
  1. Enigma – “Sadeness”: Classic and haunting. I think of this when I envision the “ancient ones” during the Akkadian empire, before the time of the Great War.
  2. Linkin Park – “In the End”: Almost any song by Linkin Park and Evanescence conjures fighting scenes for me. Gothic, dark, slick and kick-ass.
  3. Nine Inch Nails – "Closer”: This is, for me, Ere’s theme song J I’ll leave it at that.
  4. Hoobastank – “The Reason”: This song reminds me of Dalair. We get hints in Book 1, Pure Healing, that he might have done something regrettable or was in a difficult situation in the past, and it might be related to a woman he loved/s. This song might get at his POV a little.
  5. Jason Chen – "Time Machine" (the version that’s remixed at a lower octave): It’s less about the words and more about the voice (lower octave version) and the melody that reminds me of Ryu Takamura (Book 3). See the video of the actor from whom I modeled Ryu in a fan-made music video compilation from one of his dramas. See him walk (you’ll understand why I’m obsessed with his walk in Book 3). And hear his voice (also part of the obsession).


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

For Pure Healing I did have a fellow author critique partner, who was very helpful in her feedback. For example, one suggestion was to let the world building unfold through the eyes and voices of the characters, rather than launch into pages-long descriptions about background and context. In some sense, my series, the Pure/Dark Ones, is paranormal fantasy romance. There’s a lot of world building that epic fantasy readers are familiar with and appreciate, but it’s not every paranormal reader’s cup of tea. In striking the balance between the two, I might not be able to please both. But it’s a balance I continuously try to strike.

What book are you reading now?
I pre-order just about anything from Julie Anne Long, Tessa Dare and Mary Balogh. I love Regency/Victorian romances. I’m also a huge fan of J.R. Ward.

How did you start your writing career?
Writing as a lifetime passion and love probably started when I learned how to write. My father made me write a story in my journal every day from the age of six, which he would come home to grade at the end of each week. I’ve won every writing contest my teachers entered me in all through primary, secondary education and college, but my family is extremely “practical” and forbade me to pursue any type of creative or artistic career (art is my other passion). To feed the writing demon inside, I just wrote for the pleasure of it. My first novel was written by age thirteen; I finished 5 novels within the next 5 years. I can’t say now that they were any good, but one literary agent told me there was a lot of potential.
I didn’t get much sleep as a teenager. It would take many years after that to pick it up again, as I built a safety net of “practicality.”



Dark Longing is the second book in the Pure/Dark Ones series, told from the POV of the “vampires.” The first one in the series, Pure Healing sets up the world of the Pure Ones and you get their POV about the vampires. Both books can be read separately, though it might be more fun to read in order. In fact, I recently read backwards from Book 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 and liked that approach just as well.
Dark Longing is ultimately about star-crossed lovers who triumph over seemingly impossible odds, including a few millennia’s worth of time and distance! If you’re dying to believe in True Love, this book will definitely provide the inspiration.
There are new and ongoing side stories, all part of the larger world building, mysteries to be solved, a baddie you can’t help but root for, and lots of really HOT sex scenes. J
On a personal note, I started writing Dark Longing immediately after Pure Healing, but my mother passed away from cancer as I was about a fourth of the way in. Some of the events around her last days fed into the book itself, and after she passed, my inspiration dried up for about 5 years, which was why it took so long to come out with Book 2 when Book 1 was published in 2012.
When I picked it back up, the story completely changed in my head—for the better.
So I hope you all like it!
As for Pure Healing, the book that started it all, it’s still one of my favorites. At the center is the love story between Valerius and Rain, both with terrible pasts and emotional obstacles to overcome, which of course they do! True Love will always win the day!

Here’s the book description:

Enter the world of Pure Ones, a race of immortal, supernaturally powerful beings who protect humankind, where sexual intercourse with anyone other than one’s Eternal Mate leads to a slow, painful death within thirty days. 

The Healer of the race, Rain, is the only exception to this rule. To harness and accumulate enough energy to heal severe wounds, especially as the war between her people and the vampire hordes accelerates, she must take a Consort once every ten years and draw strength from his blood and body. But as the war wears on, few Pure-males who are strong enough to serve as her Consort remain. Valerius, Protector of the race, is the strongest candidate.

Despite their instant attraction ten years ago when they first met, Valerius has staunchly avoided applying to be the Healer’s Consort. The brutality and violence he suffered as a Roman sex slave in his human life ate away at his soul, leaving a dark abyss of torment and self-doubt.

Now, as Rain’s strength drains with every healing act, Valerius cannot escape the fact that he may be the only one who can save her, and in so doing, afford his people greater hope for the future as battles intensify. 

Will Rain and Valerius find their way to each other as the struggles between good and evil evolve?



About the Author

Aja has been writing stories since the age of six, and novels since the age of thirteen. While she'd be the first to admit that those early efforts weren't particularly good, she sure loved putting them down on paper!

The best part of writing, according to Aja, is that it’s completely organic, the way the stories develop. When the inspiration hits, she writes just so she herself can learn where the characters are headed because oftentimes, they take her by surprise! It is her ultimate dream to share her stories with as many readers as she possibly can.

Her other loves include art, cooking, old movies (anything with Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, and all the song and dance numbers because she can’t watch them and not be happy!)

She adores taking long walks with her husband and running after her two rambunctious kids. She has traveled extensively (all seven continents except Antarctica) and has a multi-cultural upbringing. She speaks two and a half languages and binge watch TV shows when the mood strikes.

Aja has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Comparative Literature and Economics and two Master’s degrees, one of which is in East Asian Studies.


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Monday, January 22, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Searching for Gertrude by @dehaggerty #review #giveaway



Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
Date Published: January 22, 2018

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While growing up in Germany in the 1930s, Rudolf falls in love with the girl next door, Gertrude. He doesn’t care what religion Gertrude practices but the Nazis do. When the first antisemitic laws are enacted by the Nazi government, Gertrude’s father loses his job at the local university. Unable to find employment in Germany, he accepts a position at Istanbul University and moves the family to Turkey. Rudolf, desperate to follow Gertrude, takes a position working at the consulate in Istanbul with the very government which caused her exile. With Rudolf finally living in the same city as Gertrude, their reunion should be inevitable, but he can’t find her. During his search for Gertrude, he stumbles upon Rosalyn, an American Jew working as a nanny in the city. Upon hearing his heartbreaking story, she immediately agrees to help him search for his lost love. Willing to do anything in their search for Gertrude, they agree to work for a British intelligence officer who promises his assistance, but his demands endanger Rudolf and Rosalyn. As the danger increases and the search for Gertrude stretches on, Rudolf and Rosalyn grow close, but Rudolf gave his heart away long ago. 

How far would you go to find the woman you love?

Review

Do you like to be swept off to a different time and place? If yes, this is definitely a great choice. I loved the way that Jeanette really sets the scene for novel. I was completely immersed in the year and it felt real to me. Kudos to her for doing her research. 

The characters were probably my favorite part. I really enjoyed each of their stories. I didn't feel like anyone was out of place or didn't fit. 

The plot was smooth and I liked the way it flowed from chapter to chapter. A quick and easy read and overall great Historical Novel.

About the Author


I grew-up reading everything I could get my grubby hands on, from my mom's Harlequin romances, to Nancy Drew, to Little Women. When I wasn't flipping pages in a library book, I was penning horrendous poems, writing songs no one should ever sing, or drafting stories which have thankfully been destroyed. College and a stint in the U.S. Army came along, robbing me of free time to write and read, although on the odd occasion I did manage to sneak a book into my rucksack between rolled up socks, MRIs, t-shirts, and cold weather gear. After surviving the army experience, I went back to school and got my law degree. I jumped ship and joined the hubby in the Netherlands before the graduation ceremony could even begin. A few years into my legal career, I was exhausted, fed up, and just plain done. I quit my job and sat down to write a manuscript, which I promptly hid in the attic after returning to the law. But being a lawyer really wasn’t my thing, so I quit (again!) and went off to Germany to start a B&B. Turns out being a B&B owner wasn’t my thing either. I polished off that manuscript languishing in the attic before following the husband to Istanbul where I decided to give the whole writer-thing a go. But ten years was too many to stay away from my adopted home. I packed up again and moved to The Hague where I’m currently working on my next book. I hope I’ll always be working on my next book.

Searching for Gertrude is my twelfth book.




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Tuesday, January 16, 2018

Virtual Book Tour: Dark Longing by @megami771 #paranormal #fantasy #romance #interview

Paranormal / Fantasy Romance
Date Published: January 18, 2018

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Dark Longing’s central characters are Inanna and Gabriel. She is a vampire warrior, one of Queen Jade Cicada’s Chosen guard, and has lived for several millennia. She is also one of the few remaining True Bloods in the world, vampires who are born, not made. He is a human, a widower and father who would sacrifice all for those he loves. Unbeknownst to Gabriel, he also possesses a Pure soul and has an ancient past, as well as a future destiny, that is inextricably entwined with Inanna.

Fate (and a helping hand from Gabriel’s dying wife) has thrown them together in this present age as joint guardians of Benjamin, the son of Gabriel’s heart if not his body. An avalanche of expenses and debts compel Gabriel to enter a deadly network of fight clubs to earn some quick cash, but pulling out of the club is not as easy, as he quickly becomes the spectator favorite.

Meanwhile, the Chosen has been working to eradicate the masterminds behind the fight clubs, which not only result in an increasing number of gory human deaths, but also threaten to expose the Dark Ones to the world at large. In a rare concerted effort, the vampires and their nemesis – the Pure Ones – come together to pursue a common enemy.

To protect Benji from harm, Gabriel risks his life once more in the fight clubs and is almost killed by an unknown vampire assassin. In order to save him, Inanna breaks the sacred laws of her Kind, including turning a human and taking him as her Blooded Mate. What’s worse, they discover after the fact that Gabriel has a Pure soul. A union between Dark and Pure Ones has been strictly forbidden since the dawn of time for reasons no one fully knew.

While the Chosen makes progress with slowing down the expansion of the fight clubs, they uncover new information that points to a traitor in their own midst. Gabriel has a rough adjustment to his new state of being as a vampire, at the same time struggling to make sense of his relationship with Inanna, with whom he’s felt an instant and irresistible connection from the first moment they met. Inanna, on the other hand, devotes her heart and soul totally to love her Mate, just as she had loved his previous incarnation in her youth many millennia ago. To save her from pain, Gabriel’s ancient self, Alad, had her memories erased of him until he could find her again in another life.

Through her newly-forged friendship with the Pure Ones, including their young queen Sophia, Inanna discovers that not only is she a True Blood, but that her mother was a Dark Princess and her father was a Pure warrior and the leader of the Rebellion that led to the destruction of the Dark empire. She is the offspring from this union, and she has a twin brother who all the records say had died. Inanna also finds clues that at least her father might still be alive, and perhaps her mother as well.

By now Gabriel has fully accepted his new lease on life and is determined to help in the war against vampire rogues and their human conspirators any way he can. He has also accepted Inanna fully into his heart, having fallen for her all over again in his present incarnation. But the vampire assassin who threatened them before reveals herself again to challenge Inanna for the right to claim Gabriel as her Blood Slave and takes him prisoner to use against Inanna in the final death match.

Inanna goes with eyes wide open to the site of the challenge and fights the vampire who used to be her comrade. To distract her, the vampire holds Gabriel captive and deals him mortal wounds for every wound Inanna deals her. The ploy works, and Inanna loses concentration, suffering a mortal wound herself.

Inanna and Gabriel’s deaths trigger their Awakening, a process by which those with Pure souls embrace their past lives with all their memories and gifts. When they regain consciousness, they rejoin the battle already waging between the vampire assassins and the Chosen and Pure allies. They win this battle, and together, Inanna and Gabriel execute the traitor who plotted to usurp the Dark Queen.

But the war is not won. The battle between the vampires, humans and Pure Ones was recorded and uploaded onto the Internet to spur the growth of new fight clubs and potentially hastening the widespread exposure of the immortal races to humans. Meanwhile, Inanna and Gabriel rediscover each other with full knowledge of their ancient past. They plan to search for Inanna’s father with the aid of the Pure Ones.

The future is not yet written. Inanna and Gabriel would face the unknown together. Forevermore.


Interview

What is the hardest part of writing your books?

Finding the time! With two boys under the age of 5, a full-time job in Corporate America that requires frequent travel across multiple projects, it’s hard to stay on top of everything.
The second hardest part is my writing approach. I love the writing process because it’s about 50% planned, 50% unplanned for me, and it organically evolves as I write. It’s extremely enjoyable in that sense because I—as the writer—am also breathless with anticipation over what happens next—the characters and plot sometimes take a life of their own. On the other hand, when there are many threads to weave together into a coherent, well-designed tapestry, wrangling all the pieces together can take some extra creativity at times.


What songs are most played on your Ipod?

I listen to a variety of songs from different cultures, usually all pop songs, many of which inspire my writing, character and “mood” development. I like US and British pop, some Chinese, a lot of Korean pop, Latin, etc.
When I think about my stories, it’s like watching a movie unfolding. As with any movie, there’s a soundtrack. And characters in my novels might be closely associated with certain songs. Here are some of the songs that go through my head when the movie reel of my stories play out in my imagination.
  1. Enigma – “Sadeness”: Classic and haunting. I think of this when I envision the “ancient ones” during the Akkadian empire, before the time of the Great War.
  2. Linkin Park – “In the End”: Almost any song by Linkin Park and Evanescence conjures fighting scenes for me. Gothic, dark, slick and kick-ass.
  3. Nine Inch Nails – "Closer”: This is, for me, Ere’s theme song J I’ll leave it at that.
  4. Hoobastank – “The Reason”: This song reminds me of Dalair. We get hints in Book 1, Pure Healing, that he might have done something regrettable or was in a difficult situation in the past, and it might be related to a woman he loved/s. This song might get at his POV a little.
  5. Jason Chen – "Time Machine" (the version that’s remixed at a lower octave): It’s less about the words and more about the voice (lower octave version) and the melody that reminds me of Ryu Takamura (Book 3). See the video of the actor from whom I modeled Ryu in a fan-made music video compilation from one of his dramas. See him walk (you’ll understand why I’m obsessed with his walk in Book 3). And hear his voice (also part of the obsession).


Do you have critique partners or beta readers?

For the first book in the series I did have a fellow author critique partner, who was very helpful in her feedback. For example, one suggestion was to let the world building unfold through the eyes and voices of the characters, rather than launch into pages-long descriptions about background and context. In some sense, my series, the Pure/Dark Ones, is paranormal fantasy romance. There’s a lot of world building that epic fantasy readers are familiar with and appreciate, but it’s not every paranormal reader’s cup of tea. In striking the balance between the two, I might not be able to please both. But it’s a balance I continuously try to strike.

What book are you reading now?
I pre-order just about anything from Julie Anne Long, Tessa Dare and Mary Balogh. I love Regency/Victorian romances. I’m also a huge fan of J.R. Ward.

How did you start your writing career?
Writing as a lifetime passion and love probably started when I learned how to write. My father made me write a story in my journal every day from the age of six, which he would come home to grade at the end of each week. I’ve won every writing contest my teachers entered me in all through primary, secondary education and college, but my family is extremely “practical” and forbade me to pursue any type of creative or artistic career (art is my other passion). To feed the writing demon inside, I just wrote for the pleasure of it. My first novel was written by age thirteen; I finished 5 novels within the next 5 years. I can’t say now that they were any good, but one literary agent told me there was a lot of potential.
I didn’t get much sleep as a teenager. It would take many years after that to pick it up again, as I built a safety net of “practicality.”



Dark Longing is the second book in the Pure/Dark Ones series, told from the POV of the “vampires.” The first one in the series, Pure Healing sets up the world of the Pure Ones and you get their POV about the vampires. Both books can be read separately, though it might be more fun to read in order. In fact, I recently read backwards from Book 4 to 3 to 2 to 1 and liked that approach just as well.
Dark Longing is ultimately about star-crossed lovers who triumph over seemingly impossible odds, including a few millennia’s worth of time and distance! If you’re dying to believe in True Love, this book will definitely provide the inspiration.
There are new and ongoing side stories, all part of the larger world building, mysteries to be solved, a baddie you can’t help but root for, and lots of really HOT sex scenes. J
On a personal note, I started writing Dark Longing immediately after Pure Healing, but my mother passed away from cancer as I was about a fourth of the way in. Some of the events around her last days fed into the book itself, and after she passed, my inspiration dried up for about 5 years, which was why it took so long to come out with Book 2 when Book 1 was published in 2012.
When I picked it back up, the story completely changed in my head—for the better.
So I hope you all like it!

Here’s the book description:

“Every story has more than one side, like a crystal that captures and reflects different colors of light. Do not take for granted what you think you know, for until you hold the entire jewel in your palm, the temptation is to fall prey to illusion and deception.” 
 
This is a story of the Dark Ones…

Inanna: the vampire warrior

Known as the Angel of Death among her kind, she has lived millennia alone, one of the remaining True Bloods in existence, unconsciously longing for the one male she could never have.

Gabriel: the forbidden human

His soul recognizes hers from the first encounter. With the first touch, he is awakened. Though he does not know it, he has been searching for her across the ages.

But even as they are finally reunited, their love faces seemingly impossible odds. Will history repeat itself or will they break all the rules and chart a new course together?





About the Author

Aja has been writing stories since the age of six, and novels since the age of thirteen. While she'd be the first to admit that those early efforts weren't particularly good, she sure loved putting them down on paper! 

The best part of writing, according to Aja, is that it’s completely organic, the way the stories develop. When the inspiration hits, she writes just so she herself can learn where the characters are headed because oftentimes, they take her by surprise! It is her ultimate dream to share her stories with as many readers as she possibly can.

Her other loves include art, cooking, old movies (anything with Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Redford, Vivien Leigh, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, and all the song and dance numbers because she can’t watch them and not be happy!)

She adores taking long walks with her husband and running after her two rambunctious kids. She has traveled extensively (all seven continents except Antarctica) and has a multi-cultural upbringing. She speaks two and a half languages and binge watch TV shows when the mood strikes.

Aja has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Comparative Literature and Economics and two Master’s degrees, one of which is in East Asian Studies.


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