Book Review of 'Finding Home' by Melanie Rose

Finding Home was written by Melanie Rose and published by Bantam Books. You can purchased it at http://www.amazon.com/  and you can read more about Melanie at http://www.melanierose.co.uk/  

A woman traveling with her cat crashes in a snowstorm. She is rescued by Vincent and awakens with no memory, to his six-year-old daughter, Jadie, telling her that ‘Amber said you’d come.’ Jadie has cystic fibrosis and hasn't spoken since her sister, Amber died and her mother disappeared. ‘Kate’ as they begin to call her, is confused and has a strange attraction to Vincent. Then Adam, a neighbor farmer, shows up with Kate’s cat and Kate meets Colin who is the brother of Jadie’s caretaker. Colin is a hypnotherapist and offers to help Kate regain her memories, but should she trust him? Some strange facts begin to surface and things begin to happen.

This novel was easy to read and I really loved it. The theme to the story was ‘What if a secret in your past is the key to healing a broken family's heart?’ I wondered what this meant myself and as I read more I learned. I was drawn into the book and couldn't put it down. I found myself sad and happy for Kate as she learned more and more about herself. Ms. Rose had written a wonderful story that will make you smile.

I give Finding Home a 5 spider rating and encourage all readers of any age to pick up this book and try it.

T Lane

Book Review of CONCRETE PEARL by Vincent Zandri

We are excited to bring you the September 26th edition of the 'Concrete Pearl Virtual Book Publicity Tour' starring author Vincent Zandri. Below is the book synopsis and our review and we hope you like it.

OUR REVEIW     

                                                               

Concrete Pearl was written by Vincent Zandri and published by StoneGate Ink in May, 2011. You may purchase a copy at http://www.amazon.com/  and you may read more about Vincent Zandri at http://vincentzandri.blogspot.com/  

Ava ‘Spike’ Harrison is a savvy, sexy-smart woman working in a man’s world. She’s the owner of Harrison Construction; a company inherited from her father, but on the brink of closing because of work-site accidents that seem to be happening one after another.

When OSHA steps in on her newest job and shuts it down, accusing her sub-contractor of negligence and exposing 300 kids to asbestos, Spike takes it upon herself to find the man in-charge of the operation, make him admit to his cheating and get her off the hook. But, she quickly finds that the man is missing and hunting him down could cost her more than her company… it could cost her life.

Vincent Zandri has done it again with this tough-as-nails character in this spot-on storyline. Concrete Pearl has all the ingredients of a fast-paced, thriller with one of the coolest lady construction workers ever. His descriptions and settings are precise and the jargon is straight out of ‘Construction 101’. This is a fabulous new action-packed read by the man known for his writing. If you are a Zandri fan (and who isn’t) you will absolutely not want to miss this one… 5 stars for Concrete Pearl.

DJ Weaver

Synopsis for Concrete Pearl

Ava “Spike” Harrison might be a beautiful, classically schooled woman, but the single, 38 year old construction business owner is also plenty ballsy. Her late father taught her long ago how to handle the rough boys in an industry that’s almost entirely filled with hard-boiled men on the make. But now, with “the business dad built” from the ground up failing due to an unusual series of job-site injuries and just plain bad luck, Spike has no choice but to take on one last project she believes can pull the fledgling firm from the depths of almost certain bankruptcy and family shame: The Renovation of Albany PS 20.

Problem is, Spike had no choice but to take the job on the cheap. To make matters worse, she’s not only hired an asbestos removal contractor who, unbeknownst to her, low-balled his price, but she’s advanced him $10Gs from her own dwindling cash account as a “good faith” incentive to beat the project deadline.

Now, when that same asbestos contractor suddenly goes missing and it’s discovered by OSHA officials that he’s cheated on the project exposing more than 300 students to deadly asbestos fibers for months, Spike decides to take matters into her own callused hands and go in search of him. What she discovers along the way however, is a path paved with deception, greed, murder, and eventually, her own ultimate demise.

Armed with a framing hammer as her equalizer instead of a gun, Spike Harrison is one hot, but tough as nails amateur woman sleuth. Cross her, and you just might find yourself buried up to your neck in regret.

Book Review of 'Ghosts of Coronado Bay' by JG Faherty

Ghosts of Coronado Bay was written by JG Faherty and published by JournalStone in May, 2011. You may purchase this book at http://www.amazon.com/  and you may learn more about the author at http://www.jgfaherty.com/  

Maya Blair is a teenager with typical teenager problems. She has a jealous boyfriend who can’t get the idea of “leave me alone” into his head. She has a best friend who is a little loose morally, but fiercely loyal to her and a true friend. She has a dance coming up soon that she wants to go to, but the question is who with? She is a typical teenager with typical teenager issues, except for one. Maya can see, feel, and communicate with ghosts. However, the only one she has ever encountered to date is her Grandmother. No one knows that she has this ability, except for her Grandmother, who visits her regularly and shared her ability when she was alive.

Then, a new display at the local museum is causing quite a stir and the whole town is talking about the opening of the exhibit. Maya is less than enthused about being forced to go to it during a class field trip, but while she is there, she meets an interesting boy who stirs the butterflies in her stomach. A new kid in town, Blake has captured her interest. Soon after she meets Gavin, who equally attracts her.

The odd happenings at the museum and the appearance of two new boys in town have Maya on edge. The two boys couldn’t be more different from each other, but they both have her fumbling over her words and willing to go farther than she would normally allow.

Enjoy this YA story as you go through natural and supernatural struggles with this teenage girl. This book is full of adventure and supernatural happenings and is very entertaining. It is a fast read, and excellent for a teen who is into the paranormal, and even teens who aren’t. This story is the start of many for Maya Blair and it will leave you wanting to see what will happen next. The action and adventure will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, flipping pages faster and faster. This is a great read, and I definitely recommend it.

4 Spiders for Ghosts of Coronado Bay.

SB Price

Book Review of 'Deadly Straits' by R.E. McDermott

DEADLY STRAITS was written by R. E. McDermott and published in 2011. You may purchase it at www.amazon.com You can visit the author here: www.remcdermott.com

When Tom Dugan, shipping consultant and part time investigator, is contacted by the CIA and told that his client and best friend Alex is the prime suspect in a maritime hijacking, Tom is pulled into suspicion by his association with Alex. Tom is forced to go under cover and to investigate Alex’s company in an attempt to prove his and Alex’s innocence.

In his effort to clear himself and his friend, Tom inadvertently increases the suspicion of guilt between them, when one of Alex’s tankers, which Dugan had just inspected, and another ship are attacked by terrorists. When fingers point to Dugan as being responsible, he is desperate for answers and he is convinced that a much bigger attack is on the way. He follows his leads and instincts to Russia where he is further embroiled in an even greater terrorism plot.

R. E. McDermott has kept himself busy in the marine industry for thirty years. His time has been spent as a ship’s officer, a consultant and he’s also been involved with the management end of the industry which includes ship building projects in the U. S. and the Far East. And, he’s still at it! Currently his time is spent in both the United States and Singapore, where he is a consultant and advisor in ship construction, operations and engineering.

It’s no wonder why Mr. McDermott’s writing skills have lain dormant during his very active and busy life but now we can christen this new author and his first novel. He is certainly sea worthy and DEADLY STRAITS is especially worthy of floating to the top of many online book reviews.

DEADLY STRAITS is an action packed, suspenseful thrill ride that will broaden your knowledge of the shipping industry and it will eerily remind you that the next terror attack could very well come to a port near you. This debut novel is at times politically and technologically involved which can add up to a very complicated plot but it’s one book which is well worth the time to read.

I say: Aye Aye, Mr. McDermott- full speed ahead! We’ll be waiting patiently for your next novel to sail into our hands.

I give this novel 4.5 spiders.
T Riddell

Book Review of 'The Judging' by Ellen C. Maze

The Judging was written by Ellen C. Maze and published by TreasureLine Publishing in 2010. This book may be purchased through www.amazon.com and you can visit her web site at http://www.ellencmaze.com

In 1640, in a small Hungarian village, priest Mark Corescu is transformed into a vampire. Four centuries later, Dr. Mark Corescu believes he is serving God as he judges evil doers or those that have sinned by taking their lives in a ritual he calls the Judging.

Until he meets young widower, Hope Brannen, who he believes God has sent to be his love. Hope immediately falls for him, but she knows he is not an agent of God and enlists the help of Anthony Agricola, who is attending seminary. Tony helps Mark remember his past and he begins question truth, and all that he has done in the name of faith.

I didn't think this book would be something that I’d be interested in, but I kept reading and I’m glad I did. I really liked the idea that Mark was a doctor by day and a vampire by night, killing evil in God’s name. This story contained biblical quotes at the beginning of each chapter and had a spiritual based that made you think. Ms. Maze took an age-old theme and turned it into a solid, exciting story that will interest any reader of the genre. Great story with great characters and a great premise.

This is a book for anyone and I give it a 5 spider rating.
T Lane

A Couple's Tale of Going Indie by Collin Moshman & Katie Dozier, authors of 'The Superuser'

We used to think of self-publishing as a method of last resort. After Collin released three non-fiction books with a conventional publisher, however, we made the decision to self-publish our fourth. EBooks and eReaders are no longer the future; they’re the present. Just ask Borders.
The biggest functions of a conventional publisher are getting your books in stores, and promoting you. Since anyone can now put up a book on the Kindle store, an author willing to invest time in marketing has a very viable option in self-publishing.
Here was the full process that we went through with our recent self-published thriller.

Writing: While this step is of course the same no matter how you publish, here are two pieces of advice. First, it’s very important to thoroughly outline each of your characters, and the entire plot, before starting the first chapter. Second, write about something you know if at all possible. In our case, we’re both poker players. When there was a major Superuser scandal in poker, which we felt held strong themes of greed, violence, redemption, and power, we were inspired to reflect these in a fast-paced thriller.

Editing: A number of independently-published books have significantly more typos than their conventionally-published counterparts. In our case, it greatly helped to have two sets of eyes going over the book. If you’re writing alone, it may be a very worthwhile investment to hire an editor. Typos are a fast way to lose an audience and generate negative reviews.

Title/Description: The one nuance to titling for eBooks is that you want to have at least a couple of words that people will naturally search for. Give your audience every chance of finding your work. One simple way of accomplishing this is to put the genre in parentheses after the title.
And remember, the description is probably the most important 100 words you’ll write. It should leave the reader wanting to see more. Here’s what we came up with:

When a punk poker superstar loses millions in a mysterious game, he hires disgraced champion and ex-cop Grisham Stark to investigate. As Stark confronts cold-blooded players in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, he realizes his one shot at redemption is to catch the most dangerous poker cheat of all time: the Superuser.

Behind the scenes, a politician is hijacking the scandal to wage a legislative battle in Washington. A beautiful female player is blackmailed into hiding a deadly secret that threatens to unravel the entire deception, and the ruthless Superuser is killing anyone who dares stand in his way.

Grisham Stark will ultimately face a terrifying question: Is the Superuser’s final goal far more than money?

Pricing: For us, one huge benefit to self-publishing is that you can charge just $2.99 for your book, and still receive almost as high a royalty as you would for a conventionally-published title. This $2.99 price point also still qualifies for the 70% royalty rate on the Kindle store. While many go higher (and some lower), we feel that most indie books should not be priced much above $4.99. There’s no paper or shelf space involved, after all!

Marketing: You put out the book. It’s an amazing text, easily rivaling War and Peace. Unfortunately, only your friends and family see it, and you end up selling 10 copies.
Marketing will definitely be one of your toughest challenges since a conventional publisher would normally be doing most of the work. For instance, while we feel we wrote a great thriller, at the moment it’s sitting at about 11,000 in the Kindle store – definitely not terrible, but still miles away from the bestsellers. Only time will tell what will happen, but for now we’re working hard to get that number to drop!
Pricing, title, and description are without doubt the first steps in getting your book read. After that, you should actively market your book so that your audience knows it’s out there. Here are the steps we’ve begun taking now that our book is available.

Facebook and Twitter: Katie put up a website for the book, Facebook fan page, and an active Twitter account. Social networking is a great free marketing tool.

Forum Posts: There are many book/eBook related forums and communities discussing great reads in your genre, such as Goodreads, Kindleboards, and Mobilereads. We both became much more active in these communities. While you should focus on providing helpful/interesting content, rather than aggressively or inappropriately self-promoting, you can increase your audience through networking, marketing your book in the appropriate forums, and passive self-promotion through having a signature and/or profile providing information about your book.
Blogs/Reviewers. Contact bloggers and reviewers who read in your genre, and politely ask if you can send a complimentary review copy. Some authors do larger giveaways, which is also a good option.

Advertising: As an optional last step, you can directly pay for advertising. Sites like Kindle Nation Daily, Goodreads, or even Facebook are good candidates for this.

Thanks for reading this guest post. And if you read our thriller, The Superuser, please let us know what you think!

Book Review of 'Darkness & Light' by J.A. Belfield

Darkness & Light was written by J.A. Belfield and published by J. Taylor Publishing in 2011. You may purchase this book at www.amazon.com and you may find out more about Ms. Belfield at www.jabelfield.com

Jem is married to Peter; in a relationship that he is very satisfied with, but she is not. She has a good life, but must bow to his wishes and wants and does not always feel as if she is in control of anything in her life. Then the dreams start… Dreams that are strange, but at times wonderful, and full of Sean. But who is Sean and what does he want from Jem? She is not sure but when the dreams become overwhelming, she must find out why. Jem is thrown into a relationship and situations that she is not sure she can handle and is introduced to a group of gentlemen with a terrifying, yet liberating secret.
Darkness & Light is the first novel in the Holloway Pack Stories and hopefully, there will be more to follow. Ms. Belfield’s take on the old werewolf story is fresh and interesting and her writing is well thought out and exciting. The characters are described in a manner that enables the reader see them and their surroundings during the changes which helps keep the action moving right along. With just enough romance to keep things exciting, Darkness & Light is well worth your reading time. I recommend it to any reader of paranormal romance.
I’m giving Darkness & Light a 5 spider rating and anticipating Ms. Belfield’s next novel in the series.
DJ Weaver

Book Review of 'Dark Echo' by F.G. Cottam

Dark Echo was written by F.G. Cottam and published by Thomas Dunne Books in 2008. You may purchase it at www.amazon.com
This story is about a possessed boat, and the father and son duo who intend to sail her. Magnus Stannard is a rich and powerful business man by the time he buys a dilapidated boat called Dark Echo. He had seen it in a book as a child, and to the then poor boy, it represented greatness and wealth and freedom. Magnus wants to restore the enchanting boat and sail her on a trans-Atlantic route to America with his only son, Martin. This is to be his retirement.
But Martin gets an uneasy feeling about the boat, and about its original master, Harry Spaulding. Spaulding was a rich American with a dark past. To say the man, and the boat, had a dark and sometimes unlucky association, was putting it mildly. Magnus, however, didn’t share the concern. To him, there may have been unlucky owners, but a thing such as a boat was benign in nature, and certainly not cursed. Would their voyage be successful and without incident or would something much more sinister happen? The mind can play tricks on you, can’t it?
I love a good ghost story and I’m very much intrigued by the paranormal so this book was a no-brainer for me. It grabbed me from the very first page, and wouldn’t let me go right up until the very last page. I was oohing and aahing the entire time I was reading this work. Dark Echo is a fantastic book about the paranormal, and how the past can interfere with the present. It involves the demonic, and the holy. It involves all kinds of haunts, residual and intelligent, not only having to do with the boat, but the character’s encounters with other ghosts as well. If you are curious about the paranormal, you MUST read this book! Mr. Cottam has written a truly gripping, edge-of-your-seat story with Dark Echo. His knack for detail works to his advantage by scaring the ever-loving Hell out of you! And for you romantics, there is a bit of that also. A true love that shines through all the scary parts. What wouldn’t you do for the one you loved?

4 spiders for this one.
SB Price

Guest Post and Signed Book Giveaway by Author Wally Wood

Why write a fiction? It’s a question I ask myself whenever the writing goes badly. There’s no money in it. The world doesn’t need another book. My story is banal, the characters cardboard, the setting hackneyed, and what’s more I never learned to use the comma properly. So why do it?
The reasons must be as varied as individual writers. I do it because it helps me impose meaning and structure on experience. It helps me to live what I consider to be a full and productive life.
I knew I was a writer when, in junior high school, I wrote a humorous sketch for an English assignment. The teacher praised it and read it to the class, which laughed when it was supposed to. The piece even seemed to entertain the adults who read it. I realized that my words, my creations, could entertain and, as a result, people—including girls—would pay attention to me.
In high school, I wrote stories, plays, and poetry. In the army, I wrote reviews and stories. In college, I wrote a column for the school newspaper and an unpublished (and unpublishable) novel. I found a job as a writer on a trade magazine and spent 25 years as a reporter and writer, raised a family, but always continued to write poetry, plays, and another unpublished (and unpublishable) novel. I went back to college and earned an MA in creative writing. I became a ghostwriter and have now published 19 business books, but never stopped writing fiction and have now published Getting Oriented: A Novel About Japan.
I believe my earlier novels are unpublishable because, while I found the central character fascinating (he should be; he was me), no reader found his concerns, his wants, or his problems very engaging. While fiction has no unbreakable rules, a good general maxim is this: If readers don’t care what happens to your main character they’re not going to read your book. Ideally you want an interesting character in an interesting situation so that readers want to know what’s going to happen next. Occasionally a writer will put cardboard characters in an extraordinary situation and sell a million books (The Di Vinci Code) but that’s unusual.
The novels I enjoy reading tell me something about the world and the human condition. Ideally, they tell me something new. It’s why I prefer a police procedural mystery to, say, Agatha Christie. For that reason, the books I want to write, ideally tell readers something about the world and how it works.
Between the US Army, my undergraduate college experience, and regular practice ever since, I speak enough Japanese to have been hired to lead tours in Japan. It occurred to me that a tour would be an interesting situation to fictionalize…a diverse group of Americans…a foreign culture…an inexperienced guide…many opportunities for tension and conflict. And the thought became the seed that grew into the 240 pages of Getting Oriented.
While I did not consciously set out to do so, I find that I tend to put my imaginary characters in real places. I do not care for books that are set in an imaginary place (Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct mysteries) or are coy about identifying their real setting. Someone who wanted could replicate the tour in Getting Oriented, although, again, the tour in the book is neither the tour I led nor are the characters in the book portraits of people on my tours. The tour guide is not me. Like most fiction characters, these are composites of many people I’ve known. And although I think they live and breathe on the page (because they live and breathe in my imagination), readers will have to tell me whether they do or not.
I am sometimes asked about the relationship between my non-fiction ghostwriting and novel writing. With a business book, I have a wealth of material to work from. I spend as much time as I can with the author to immerse myself in that world. I went to one author’s day-long seminars then spent almost another day and a half interviewing him before I began his book. If the author has speeches, white papers, presentations, whatever, I want them all.
The author and I meet regularly throughout the writing process, although today that meeting may be via phone or e-mail. For one recent book, I did not meet the California-based author in person until after she published the book. I send the author every chapter as I write to ask for feedback, and some authors are far more hands-on than others, editing what I have written.
While I use fictional techniques to great effect in non-fiction (description, scene-setting, dialogue), I have no limits—beyond plausibility—in fiction. In a novel, I can tell you what a character is thinking and feeling. In non-fiction I can tell you only what I’ve been told or learned through research and experience.
Non-fiction is usually very clear about its natural audience: marketing executives, salesmen, general managers, advertising managers, whatever. Every article in the trade magazine for which I worked had to tell readers either how to make money or how to save money. A clear test.
Genre fiction is also clear: mystery, romance, thriller, paranormal, chick-lit, sci-fi, with subcategories under the major groups. With a book labeled, a bookstore knows where to shelve it. With a book that is not easily labeled—and I’m afraid Getting Oriented: A Novel About Japan is just such a book—publishers and bookstores have a much more difficult time.
Nevertheless, I was brought up to believe that if a book were good enough, it would eventually find an audience. Writing Getting Oriented was immense work, but it also gave me enormous pleasure. I can only hope that the readers who find it receive half as much enjoyment reading it as I had creating it.
Wally Wood
http://www.gettingorientednovel.blogspot.com

Now for the fun part. Go to the 'Comments' section below this post and leave a comment about Mr. Wood's guest post. We will pick a winner from the comments left and give away a signed copy of Mr. Wood's fabulous book to one reader. It could be you so go ahead and leave your comments and we'll pick a winner tomorrow. We'll announce here, so be sure to check back on Thursday evening. If you win, you'll be given an email address to reply to with your mailing information. It's that simple! Don't miss out on this opportunity to receive this fabulous book signed by the author.

Book Review of 'Fervor' by Chantal Boudreau

Fervor was written by Chantal Boudreau and published by May December Publications LLC, in 2011. You may purchase the book at http://www.amazon.com/
Left on a small island, Sam awakes to screams of other children. They are all on the island with the absence of any adults. The children wake with different abilities and new powers, but with some changes to their normal abilities.
Then, a boy named Francis, who has all the answers, leads Sam to a gathering of the other children on the island were he learns he will be living in a new house and with a group of other kids. Why has this happened and who is to blame? Where did these powers come from and why can the children now communicate with their minds?
This sci-fi/fantasy novel found me wondering why and turning pages to find the truth. I found it hard to believe the adults would just leave the kids on this island and the plot was exciting and kept me on the edge wondering what was going to happen next. I read Fervor slowly because there was so much detail and information that I didn't want to miss. The character descriptions are in-depth and make you feel like you know these children personally. Chantal Boudreau has a way of putting together a great read than will keep you wondering until the end.
I recommend this book to any age reader who likes sci-fi or fantasy and I’m giving Fervor a 4 spider rating.
T Lane

Something New Is Coming To WebbWeaver

WebbWeaver is about to start something new! Because of the fact that we have been inundated with review request and can’t possible get to everyone, we set out to devise a new way to feature more authors and their work on our site. To that end, we have decided to add guest posts, giveaways and book features to our review site. We will have authors here giving away their books in contests so that our readers can get their hands on some new reads. We will have authors write posts about many different subjects that readers and writers can laugh at, be interested in or use in their own writing. We will feature new books on our site along with a synopsis of those books so that our readers can get a look and find new authors to love.
WebbWeaver will feature some of these guest posts, giveaways and book features in tandem with the TWISTED WEBB ( http://twistedwebb.blogspot.com/ ) blog site, which is already featuring some of these very items on their site. We will post more information and guidelines under our ‘Review Policy’ tab for those interested in participating and in some instances will give those requesting a review, the option of posting one of these type of features instead.
We hope you will enjoy these new features and we hope we will be able to bring more authors and their work, to the attention of our readers.

The WebbWeaver Duo