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Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Good Man - E-book Giveaway



Vanessa Morgan has graciously provided an e-copy of her latest book, A Good Man, to one of GrandmaToTwinsPlusOne's readers. You can read my review of it here.

Louis Caron is a good man – vegetarian, he feeds the homeless, takes care of animals and is concerned with the ecological future of the planet. But his altruism has a sinister edge – he's a vampire – and local detective Taglioni is becoming increasingly suspicious. Louis' attempt to escape the police will take him on a journey into his own private hell where he is not only forced to confront his worst fears, but also to destroy the lives of those he cares about most. 

All are optional; however, with each entry you must leave your email address so I know how to contact you in case you win. Leave a separate comment for each entry.
Follow Vanessa via twitter. (1 entry)
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Subscribe to GrandmaToTwinsPlusOne by email, on right sidebar.  (1entry)

This giveaway will end at midnight CST May 29.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Interview with Vanessa Morgan

I'd like to welcome Vanessa Morgan, author of A Good Man. You probably remember the review I did of A Good Man; which, you can find here.

How do you select your book covers and do you use the same designer for each?

I have been using the same cover designer for The Strangers Outside and A Good Man. His
name is Allan Beurms and he is definitely one of the most talented people in the industry. I have
tried other cover designers before, but they have never been so fast and so professional as Allan.
For those of you who love comic books and cats, I’m currently also developing a comic book
project with him starring my cat Avalon. You can have a look at some of the try-outs at
http://avalon-lion.blogspot.com.

At what age did writing 'grab' you?

Rather late, actually. I think I must have been 23 or 24 when I started to write. I think it’s all
about confidence really. I have always loved movies and books, but it took me a while before I
realized I was able to make them myself.

What genres do you enjoy reading?

I mainly read non-fiction, biographies, romance and drama; but, when it comes to movies, I’m
definitely into horror.

How do you decide on the story line?

It always starts with a vague idea that becomes more complex and multi-layered with each new
draft. For Drowned Sorrow it was the look of the village and a lake with ghosts crawling out of
it and The Strangers Outside started with the idea that dark humanoid figures would suddenly
show up all over the planet and bring with them a sense of impending doom. The development
of A Good Man was different because I wrote it for the production company that is now making
the movie. All I knew was that it had to be about a vampire and that the vampire was going to be
played by the 50 year old actor Pierre Lekeux. I observed the actor during his daily activities and
imagined what challenges he would face if he were a vampire.

Vanessa's Bio

Screenwriter and novelist Vanessa Morgan is known as the 'female version of Stephen King'.
You can find out more about Vanessa Morgan and her work by going to her personal blog http://
vanessa-morgan.blogspot.com.

Books by Vanessa Morgan

A Good Man
Do you like Dexter and American Psycho? Then chances are you will love A Good Man.

Louis Caron is a good man – he's a vegetarian, feeds homeless people, takes care of animals and
is converned with the ecological well-being of the planet. But his altruism has a sinister edge
– he's a vampire and local detective Taglioni becomes increasingly suspicious of him. Louis'
attempt to escape the police will take him on a journey into his own private hell where he is not
only forced to confront his worst fears, but where he will also destroy the lives of those he cares
about.

The Strangers Outside
Two sisters, Jennifer and Louise, return to their remote holiday cottage after a day at the seaside.
But little do they know they're being surrounded. Soon after their arrival, the girls will come face
to face with the strangers outside. When the assailants make their intentions known, things take
a shockingly terrible turn and an intense battle for survival will begin.

Drowned Sorrow
Megan Blackwood has just lost her son in a terrible accident. Now she has come to Moonlight
Creek with her teenage daughter Jenna, hoping that a change of scenery might help to put her
life back together. But something odd is going on in Moonlight Creek. When rain falls over the
village, the inhabitants commit grisly murders, leaving the village deserted with the first rays
of sunshine. Beneath the lake's surface, an eerie presence watches... and waits... Waits to reveal
a tragic past drowned in mystery and fear. One that doesn't bode well for visitors. By the time
Megan realizes that her daughter is in danger, it might already be too late.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

After All - Book Review


by Deborah Raney

Description:
Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband, David, and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she’s finally beginning to heal.
But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave.
A secret that changes everything she thought their marriage had been.
For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?
Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—because her dearest friend was someone else’s husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls’ fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters
who lost their lives that awful November night.
Can he ever shake the feeling that he should have somehow prevented the tragedy?
As he tries to rebuild the team at Clemens County’s Station 2, it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.

My thoughts:
I loved this book. The only thing is, I haven't read the first two books; so, I've got to get them! Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. I'd love to see another book with Susan and Peter, maybe later. In After All there were lots of twists and turns and you never knew what was going to happen next. The ending was different than I expected.


Disclosure: Many thanks to Howard Books for the opportunity to review Darkroom. I received a complimentary copy of this book for purposes of facilitating this review. 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

A Good Man by Vanessa Morgan


I'm very happy to be part of the book tour for A Good Man by Vanessa Morgan.The book was released April 15, in French and English. At this time, it's being turned into a French film by Radowski Films.


About A Good Man: Loved Dexter and American Psycho? Then you'll love A Good Man. Louis Caron is a good man – vegetarian, he feeds the homeless, takes care of animals and is concerned with the ecological future of the planet. But his altruism has a sinister edge – he's a vampire – and local detective Taglioni is becoming increasingly suspicious. Louis' attempt to escape the police will take him on a journey into his own private hell where he is not only forced to confront his worst fears, but also to destroy the lives of those he cares about most.


About her previous books, Drowned Sorrow (novel) and The Strangers Outside (short story): Drowned Sorrow is the story of a remote New England town where water has become a supernatural element that can think and kill. And in The Strangers Outside, two sisters return to their remote holiday cottage near the seaside. But little do they know they're being surrounded. Soon after their arrival, the girls find themselves face to face with 'the strangers outside'. When the assailants make their intentions known, things take a shockingly terrible turn and an intense battle for survival will begin.


A Good Man sounds like a book I'll have to pick up.


Here's where to find Vanessa:
Twitter
Facebook

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Summer Is Here!!

With hot weather comes fun time: boating, camping, and jet-skiing. We've had reservations for Memorial Weekend at the lake for over a month. It's been a month that hasn't gone by fast enough. When the reservations were made we were expecting my sister-in-law and her family to join us; however, three weeks ago we found out they can't make it for the weekend, just for Monday!!

I've had co-workers and friends to ask, "Are you still going?" My reply, "Yes, them not going won't stop us from going camping and enjoying the weekend and the water."

With the 4th of July being on Wednesday, it messes up our usual plans. Between the 4th and the weekend, we usually take one or two days extra and go to the lake for a long weekend. We decided to try taking Tuesday and Thursday off and going to Mt. Nebo for something different. Well, that didn't work out as they are full; so, we're back to looking at the lake. Our plans aren't finalized yet.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

EdenFantasys - Shiny Hair and More

This post is for mature audiences only. It contains links to EdenFantasys and is not appropriate for little ones. Thank you.

I recently received my order for the dry shampoo, from EdenFantasys. The reason I decided to try it is for when we go camping. There are days when I just don't feel like tramping down to the showers, standing in line for maybe 20 minutes, and then finding out the water in the lake is warmer than the shower water!! UGH!!! After a day of jetskiing and boating that's not on my list of relaxing things to do. At this time, it's on sale for $14.99. I've used it once and so far it's okay; however, I'm not sure I used enough. The shampoo did add some shimmer to my hair and when I rubbed a little on my arms, they had a shimmer also.

The Brown Sugar Lip Scrub sounds like it would be good to have in both summer and winter. At $5.99, the price is not bad.
Brown sugar lip scrub - Scrub
They are lots of sex toys to choose from. There are a few that have caught my eye!

Disclosure: I will receive a gift card in exchange for writing this post. However, the views and opinions are mine and are in no way influenced by that.