Featured Author - Stephany Simmons Voodoo Dues

Stephany Simmons author of Voodoo Dues, available now, graciously granted 

an interview with me. Ms. Simmons, thank you for stopping by and letting us get to know you a little bit.

How did the idea for Voodoo Dues come about?

 I think the starting point was setting the story in my home town, in my neighborhood. It just made the story flow easier. The rest just fell into place from there.

Who do you read? Any favorite book or authors?

Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Christopher Moore, Janet Evanovich (while not UF, she makes me lol.)

From your book, who are the characters most like each of you or who is your favorite?

I think personality wise, I’m most like Lian. Figg is a sort of mashup of my two female best friends. I have to say that Carl quickly grew on me. He’s certainly a fan favorite!

When you enter a room, what theme song is playing?

I’d like to think that it’s the old Wonder Woman tv theme song, but in reality, it’s probably something quite different.

My brother-in-law says that it is the Imperial March from Star Wars (Darth Vader's theme) lol. Oddly enough, I think is just as freaking awesome as the Wonder Woman theme.

People are strange, so finish this sentence:  People think I am strange because…

 I can happily go for spans of weeks without any outside human contact. Usually until a friend accuses me of being a hermit, then I’ll make myself rejoin the real world.

What type of writing atmosphere do you prefer?

My brain is generally a mass of clutter, so In order to make myself focus, I need quiet without too much ouside stimulus.

What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Ben and Jerry’s Pistachio Pistachio ice cream

What  are you reading now?  

Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

Tell us about any upcoming books?

The second installment of the Lian and Figg series should be available sometime this fall.

Where can people find you? (Blogs, websites, book signings )

http://stephanysimmons.com

Ten for the fast round

Dogs or Cats? dogs

Beach or mountains? mountains

Coffee, tea or soda? Coffee (strong and sweet)

Cake or pie? pie

Movie or book? book

Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt? Either one as long as they were playing something really nerdy like a physicist.

Museum or zoo? Museum

Phone call or text? Definitely text. I despise talking on the phone.

Computer games or board games? Computer games

E-reader or real book? E-reader

Voodoo Dues by Stephany Simmons

Ms Simmons is a new author for me. I got this book when the author requested a review. This is no way influenced my review. This is an honest and true review of the book.

Book Synopsis:

As an Anthropologist, Lian Cairn specialized in the study of others, the not so totally human races that exist in the shadows around us. After a life changing event, he decided to leave that career behind to become a bar owner. Settled firmly in his new life, he’s looking forward to the mundane, but finds that his old life isn’t going to disappear as he’d hoped. 

When the local Voodoo Queen’s Grandson is murdered outside his bar, and she comes to Lian for help, he and his quirky bartender Figg, are sucked back into the world he’d hoped to leave behind. 

Voodoo Dues introduces us to a new series – The Lian and Figg series. The book starts a little slow but soon I was hooked. Since this is the start of a new series, I liked that it was a slow beginning as it gave me time to get to know the main characters. The characters of Lian and Figg were developed enough to allow you to form a relationship with them and yet mysterious enough to allow for future discoveries. In a series I really like that as it is like a friendship – I still discover ‘new’ things about my friends even after 20+ years. The balance is a hard one to achieve.  Ms Simmons was able to strike that balance. All of her characters are developed enough for you to relate and care for them. My favorite is Carl. I certainly hope to see him in future books. Ms Simmons pays a lot of attention to details and is very good with description. I was able to easily picture the book in my mind as I was reading it. I thought Ms Simmons also portrayed the religion of Voodoo well. She has a mix of truth and also addresses the myths of it in a real way. Over all I found Voodoo Dues to be a suspenseful, fun, fast read. I give it 5 stars. I can’t wait for the next book in the series. Ms Simmons is an author to watch! 

You may find out more from this author on her website http://stephanysimmons.com 

Book available on Amazon  http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Dues-Lian-Figg-ebook/dp/B005E8F77Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1311491816&sr=8-2  

Companion Book (an expanded steamy love scene between Lian and Figg) http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Dues-Companion-Lian-ebook/dp/B005EAMB44/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311491816&sr=8-1

Teaser Tuesdays- Stephany Simmons, Jeni Decker & Kat Nove

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here are the rules for participating in this meme..
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine are (sorry just like I am having trouble with only 2 sentences - I also read more than 1 book at a time.):

VooDoo Dues by Stephany Simmons

"Evil is targeting my family." She kept walking, just ahead of us. "Pierre's death is only the latest harm done. We are cursed and I do not know who is responsible."

This is about 23% into the book.

Available on Amazon for $2.99:  http://www.amazon.com/Voodoo-Dues-Lian-Figg-ebook/dp/B005E8F77Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1311589575&sr=1-1

A Fit of Hissy: a Schlockumentary by Jeni Decker and Kat Nove

Since discovering these ladies, ( Twitter was never so wonderful), I have had to buy more undies. I find myself needing to shower and change them more often. I should buy Depends but I am not feeling like admitting I might need them to get through these books. I said might. Really.  Anyway, here is the teaser:

"Yes, I am. I wanted to memorize my copy of 'How to Please your Man in 20 Simple Steps, All of Them Involving Inconvenience and Discomfort to You', but I used it to club my ex-husband to death and the police confiscated it."

"That's a shame. It sounds like the type of book that would be helpful to you. Now go fetch me some coffee, and don't put any of those frilly girly things in it like cream and sugar."

Located about 4% into the book.

It truly sounds like breakfast at my house.  

Available on Amazon for 99 cents:  http://www.amazon.com/Fit-Hissy-schlockumentary-ebook/dp/B0052F3PQE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311589399&sr=8-1

Hope you enjoyed my teasers. Please leave a comment with either where we can find yours or ,(if you are not participating in the blog hop), a teaser from whatever book you are reading. I love finding out about books I haven't found on my own. So please, however you got here, leave a comment and let me know what you are reading!

Musing Mondays

Hosted @ Should Be Reading

Do you need to have your owned books out where you can see them, or are you okay with them being stored away?

I would love to have them out in the open, neatly stored on shelves where all can peruse them. Okay, so I just want to own a bookstore. Space is an issue as I have a lot of books. So they are everywhere. In Rubbermaid containers, on shelves, on tables, on counters and of course on my Kindle. I would love them out but have to be okay with stored, (at least until I have the joy of owning a bookstore).

On a different note: 

I was visiting at http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/. Arlie Bird had an interesting post about Blog Derivatives that got me thinking,(a sign of a really good blog in my opinion). I am new to blogging and still tweaking mine. I have joined up with some meme that I found fun but still want to keep what I started blogging for. I love to read. I love talking about books. I read many different genres.  In participating in the memes I have noticed that there is a popular genre out there - I love that one too. I have thought about staying in that genre for the memes but rejected the idea. I know that all of my picks are not going to be "popular" or even known - I love Indie Writers. I go to blogs to see what people read, what they like or didn't like and with the hope of finding new books in any genre. I am hoping that is what others do the memes for too. So I will keep reading in genres i love, like or don't know much about. I will continue to review them honestly, and while I would never one star a book, I hope I judge them fairly. You may ask why I would not one star a book. The reason is all books have value to someone - even if it is only to the author and his/her loved ones. Someone worked hard on the book, (even those who I desperately wish chose a good editor). To give a one star review, in my opinion, is as lazy as not editing. Especially if the only reason, (and I have seen this in reviews), is "I couldn't get into this book".  Maybe you couldn't but someone who is reading your review might be able to. If you give a low star review I feel you should state why you did so, just as you would for a high rating one. Did the author not have engaging characters, was the plot dragging or confusing, was it the editing? I think writing is something you constantly hone. Even if the author does not read your review you may help another author who did read it. Since starting my blog I have not had to give a low rating yet. I have gone out of my comfort zone on a couple of books and was pleasantly surprised. I know the day will come when I do have to choose a low rating. I hope I will be able to give a constructive review of the book. I am not out to destroy anyone. I hope to help with my reviews, both the high rated and the low rated ones. I hope you understand no why my books in the memes may seem a bit different and why I am all over the place on book reviews. We all have our favorite things and our passions. Two of mine are Alaska and Autism. I have picture pages dedicated to both of them. I will be reviewing books by Alaskan authors in the future. My grandson on the autism spectrum will make appearances reviewing his book picks. Reading is something he loves too. I may occasionally write something about autism. I hope you find something to enjoy while you are here. I hope you find a new author to investigate or a book you think you will enjoy. Maybe you will decide to visit Alaska. Maybe you will understand something about autism.  I hope you leave a comment and I hope you come by every now and then. Thanks for reading!

Meet Me at the Tiki Goddess

Jill Marie Landis has written a winner with Mai Tai One On, the first book of the new Tiki Goddess series.  Put on your puka shell necklace, grab a mai tai and get ready for a Hawaiin vacation! This book has all the ingredients for a summer fun read or a cold, "I wish I were in Hawaii", winter read. There is the exotic location, suspense with a couple of murders and kidnappings to solve, romance and the laugh out loud antics of, my favorite dancers, The Hula Maidens. Reading the final chapter I couldn't help but wish the second book was already available. I love this book!

Book 1 of The Tiki Goddess Series 

Six months ago, if anyone would have told Em Johnson she'd end up divorced, broke, and running the dilapidated Tiki Goddess Bar on the magical North Shore of Kauai she would have told them to shove a swizzle stick up their okole.

As if all that isn't bad enough, when an obnoxious neighbor with a grudge is found dead in the Goddess luau pit, suspicion falls on Em and the rest of the Goddess staff. With the help of a quirky dance troupe of over-the-hill Hula Maidens, Em and the cast of characters must ban together to find the killer and solve the mystery before the next pupu party.

Please see http://thetikigoddess.com/ for more on this sizzling new series!

Follow My Blog Friday

RULES To join the fun and make new book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

1. (Required) Follow the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts {Parajunkee & Alison Can Read}
2. (Required) Follow our Featured Bloggers - We Fancy Books& Unrequited Desire
3. Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
4. Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say "hi" in your comments and that they are now following you.
5. Follow Follow Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "HI"
6. If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love...and the followers
7. If you're new to the follow friday hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

Name 3 authors that you would love to sit down and spend an hour or a meal with just talking about either their books or get advice on writing from?

Wow! This is a tough one. There are so many amazing writers out there.

 I would choose: 

1. J R Rain. I like his books a lot. He has a nice variety of genres he writes in and does them all well.

2. Lara Adrian. I love her Midnight Breed Series.

3. Kat Nove and Jeni Decker. I know that is two but they wrote the book, Waiting for Karl Rove, An Utterly Improbable Road Trip Memoir, together. They are very kind and funny ladies. I know I would have a blast, (and maybe end up tasered before the evening ended).

Thanks for stopping by. 

First Lines Friday

     First Lines Friday is a new bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews.   Here is how to play:

     Grab your current read(s).

     Share the first line(s).

     Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the       book to their TBR Lists.

A Bloody London Sunset by Jaz Primo

Caleb Taylor's heartbeat thundered in his ears as he raced down the hallway. Have to help Katrina! Speeding through the living area into the dining room and wielding the polished sword over his head with both hands, he closed on the unprotected back of the hideous-faced vampire, Chimalma, who was battling the woman he loved. 

Fangs For Nothing by Adrianne Ambrose

"Do you want to see the vampire?" the old man hissed. I was wandering around Chinatown by myself because my friends were lame and wanted to go dancing instead of actually trying to see something of the city. The answer to the old guy's question was yes, damn straight I wanted to see the vampire. I mean, if there was one available for viewing.

Thanks for visiting today. Leave a comment with your first lines. I love knowing what everyone is reading! You hear of so many different and interesting books.  :D

Weston Kincade Giveaway

I am very pleased to announce that Weston Kincade is giving away this ultra-fabulous book. AWESOME. But you have to act fast. The coupon code is only good until the end of July 2011. All forms of digital copies are free on Smashwords. Just use coupon code NH89W. 
If you grab this one why not return the favor and post a review of the book on Smashwords, B&N, Amazon, Goodreads or wherever you like. It is not required - I'm just saying an honest review posted would be nice. And no I am not related to the author nor do I personally know him.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61283



My review:
A Life of Death by Weston Kincade is a coming of age type book with a paranormal twist. This story opens with a vision Alex is having of how is father died - killed by a drunk driver. Jamie, Alex's son is doing a paper for school. He tells his father,"Dad, I need to know about the most important thing that ever happened to you. Was there ever something that changed your life that much?" What follows is a recanting of a horrifying few weeks of Alex's life. A few years after Alex's father is killed his mother remarries, ironically to a violent drunk. And so we hear a tale of horrible abuse, murder, guilt, fear, the voices of the dead, love, understanding and hope. Mr Kincade did a wonderful job telling this story. The characters are well developed and easy to relate to. They are people you know and some you hope to never know. It is intense at times, it will move you and it is realistic. Mr Kincade has written a story you will get lost in. Time will fall away while you are glued to reading it. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.