Category: Scattered Thoughts Best of 2014

Review: Diego (Endangered Fae #2) by Angel Martinez

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Diego Endangered Fae coverDiego Sandoval’s life changed utterly the day he rescued an ailing Fae under the Brooklyn Bridge.  From dumped lover and struggling author, Diego’s life is now filled with the love of Finn, his Pookie lover and the book Finn inspired has gotten Diego a league of fans and followers.  Now relocated to a remote area of Montana, life is good but change is in the wind once more….

A misunderstanding between Finn and Diego shatters their happy lives when in a fit of jealous rage, Diego’s uncontrolled power rips a hole in the Veil which seals his universe away from the Otherworld.  The Otherworld is the place where all Fae fled in the face of humankind proliferation and despoiling of the Earth.  Pulled unwittingly into the Otherworld, Diego must learn how to use his powers, find Finn and make their way back home.

But so many obstacles stand in their way, including a mysterious disease that is slowly killing all the Fae, a disease that all Fae are sure Diego can cure.  And if that is not enough to contend with, then the appearance of the US Army with its own assumptions might be the biggest problem of all….

When a book and characters are able to pull me into their story to the point that I forget the time and other things I need to be doing then I know that the author has accomplished their mission as a craftsman of tales, a first rate storyteller that would be welcomed at any fire or table around.  That’s how I felt about Diego (Endangered Fae #2) when I finally put down the Kindle and looked at the clock.  I couldn’t believe how late it was or how absorbed I had been in Diego, the second book in the Endangered Fae series by Angel Martinez.  I loved the first story, but this one built on that and became so much better….

This is a complex story with numerous characters, locations and worlds involved. Once again, Martinez pulls from a number of mythologies to build her two universes and multitude of Fae species.  Diego follows months, perhaps a year, after the events of Finn.  They have moved into a cabin in the wilds of Montana,  and Diego has become a successful author based on his first published story about a fictionalized Finn.  But a state of happiness is an unknown territory for both man and Fae and Martinez is wise to include the points of view of both Diego and Finn here to highlight their feelings and insecurities about their relationship and each other.

Finn, while long lived or even immortal, has not had a happy history with relationships, especially his last one which ended in his dismemberment and his lover’s torture and burning.  And lurking underneath a traumatic history with love or because of it, is a case of poor self image and enough insecuritiesto fill a canyon.  He wants to be worthy of Diego, but is not sure exactly how to accomplish that.  He fears that Diego will abandon him even as Diego tries to reinforce the depth of his own feelings towards the Fae.  Diego too has a bad history of romance behind him.  Two insecure new lovers must balance their new relationship with the needs of each other, different species included.  That’s a heavy task that Martinez has placed in front of her two main characters and that is only the beginning as well as the foundation for most of their issues.  A stable, loving relationship is so new to both that neither understands how to communicate their fears or feel secure enough in their love for each other to question the firmness of the foundation upon which they base their feelings.  That an impressive fracture to overcome for any new couple, let alone a human and a Fae.  Plus both have a history with Diego’s prior self, Taliesin and the power that Diego has yet to harness.  More issues still for the couple.  I mean Martinez has these two on such shaky emotional ground (believably so) that its a wonder each gets out of the bed they are so fond of.

But an emotional jealous rage shatters a barrier raised by a Fae Queen and both are drawn into an ancient feud that has dire consequences for all.  Here Martinez delves deep into Fae mythology and comes up with some astonishing characters.  From Dana to Balor, ancient enemies with a common sorrow between them, and Lugh, half kin, ex lover and soldier, such amazing characters of immense gravitas and magic await the reader on the other side of the Veil.  And none of them even remotely come across as human.  This element of the story is incredibly compelling and magnetic in its pull.  I loved Martinez’ ability to continue with her relationship dynamics between Finn and Diego while building on Finn’s history and complex relationships with others in the Otherworld.  This will just add to the problems they face, trust me.

One aspect of this story will be the arrival (I won’t say where) of a top secret US Army detachment.  Their impact upon our beloved characters and story isn’t for the squeamish.  While Martinez is not as graphic as she might have been, my imagination supplied far too many details on top of the ones the author already delivered.  Vivid, traumatic, scary….just what you might expect from such an encounter.  The detachment fills much the same role as the Wendig0 did for the first story.  It shakes everything up, provides a enemy to thwart, and makes the ending of the story that much more satisfactory for all everyone went through to get to the resolution.  Not a easy element to read but so worthwhile once you get to the other side.  Don’t flinch…move smartly forward.  Trust me, its worth it.

So many wonders to be found here in this story and series.  I loved the Fae, all of them, and the Otherworld. I loved that Diego’s cultural identity is as important as Finn’s Fae one, a lovely touch that adds spice to the Endangered Fae melting pot of a series.  I absolutely fell in love over and over again with character after character, no matter the species and how much fun is that?

I am getting ready for the third book in the series, Semper Fae (great title).  It deals with the romance between a soldier who plays a major role in this story and another great chacracter found here too.  No spoilers as yet.  It won’t be out for several months.  Until then, get started on this series.  Start with Finn, and then go on to Diego.  I will meet you back here for Semper Fae.

Consider Diego (and Finn) definite recommendations from ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords.  Such happy findings….I can’t wait to see where Angel Martinez takes us all next….

 

 

Cover art by Winterheart Designs.  Nice  cover, love the models standing in for both characters.

Buy Links:              MLR Press        Diego: Endangered Fae Series ” title=”Amazon buy link”> Amazon            ARe

Book Details:

book, 3rd, 296 pages
Published June 6th 2014 by MLR Press (first published September 16th 2010)
original titleDiego
ISBN 1608209342 (ISBN13: 9781608209347)
urlhttp://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=AM_DIEGO
seriesEndangered Fae #2
charactersDanu, Finn Shannon, Diego Sandoval, Lugh, Balor
settingMontana (United States)
Otherworld ,Tearman Island

Books in the series include:

Finn (Endangered Fae #1)
Finn’s Christmas (Endangered Fae #1.5) (note: this was folded into Finn as the last chapter in the latest edition)
Diego (Endangered Fae #2)
Semper Fae (Endangered Fae #3)

 

Review: Powerless (The Borders War #3) by S.A. McAuley

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

He was built to be invincible.

Powerless coverMerq Grayson and Armise Darcan return to the States, their mission to assassinate the remaining Committee members unfinished.  Why?  The President of the Revolution is in need of their services to protect the Revolution’s most important proponent for freedom, the President himself.  But all is not stable within the Revolution’s leadership and factions within are looking to supplant the President with another.

When the unthinkable happens and headquarters is breached,  relationships, friendships even old rivals are torn asunder.  In the wake of the devastation, Merq faces the ultimate of challenges and decisions forced on him by the very people he trusted. Armise, Simion and Neveed. And each with a different and explosive impact on Merq and his future with the Revolution.

When everything and everyone around Merq is falling apart or disappearing, it is only one man, Armise Darcan, that he wants at his side.  But Fate or something worse has other plans in store for Merq and Armise. Events are coming that neither man may survive, with or without each other.  What happens when the invincible turn out to be anything but invincible?

 

Powerful, intense and emotionally scorching….these are the words I would use to describe Powerless, the third story in the Borders War series by S.A. McAuley.  The complexity of and relationship between these two genetically modified warriors is only exceeded by the intrigue and deceit that McAuley has built into her elaborately layered plot.  And it all happens on a world that has been defiled, corrupted by three hundred years of war that has turned its seas into acid and its air into toxic clouds.  The author’s powerful world building elements are delivered in slivers of descriptions throughout the stories, that compiled,  present a stunning atmosphere of bleakness and despair in which these men live and operate.

With each story, S.A. McAuley offers up more of Merq and Armise’s back history.  In Powerless. we enter the story in February, Year 2539 Singapore—The Outposts. Merq Grayson is 15 and in the middle of Lim2—Limitation Elimination training needed to become a Peacekeeper.  The trials aren’t just arduous, they are deadly and only the strongest will survive.  And although Merq is a teenager in years, he is far older mentally and emotionally.  Already he is being stripped of his feelings and his humanity and he is aware of it happening.  Powerful stuff indeed because as we watch Merq’s younger self push himself to his physical limits we also see him internalize and hide his conflicting emotions. And as we read we are already aware of what that boy ultimately becomes…an almost invincible dehumanized soldier for the Revolution.

All of McAuley characters are such densely layered constructs, believable and flawed, even with all their genmod strengths and abilities.  They don’t know what they are capable of and neither does the reader.  It’s a gripping process of continual shocks and revelation that flows through all the stories, especially  this one.  What new discoveries are uncovered concerning their genmods?  What new insights into their pasts will surface with each treacherous twist and turn of McAuley’s intricate plot?  Will they be able to keep enough humanity to save each other and the rest of the world? Stellar questions all even as McAuley miserly doles out clues to the answers.

Merq Grayson is such a compelling and contradictory personality.  Although he appears so tough, almost superhuman in the first two stories, Powerless, starts the process of breaking him down into a person who is questioning everything about his life and his role in the  Revolution.  It’s painful and realistic.  And the scenes of Merq shattering (emotionally as well as physically)  are so vivid that McAuley makes his pain and fall almost visceral in its impact.

Armise Darcan is Merq’s equal in every way and he has to be to hold his own as a character and believable partner to such a warrior as Merq.  Armise has had as interesting an upbringing as Merq, although in different ways.  Both are genetically modified and yet Armise has held on to more of his humanity and ability to love than Merq.  How and why that is possible is also slowly coming to the surface in these stories too.

There will be no excerpts here as even the smallest paragraph might point to spoilers.  McAuley’s narrative is as paired down as the men themselves.  At times as stark as the landscape, it is fast paced and explosive as the Borders War reignite with horrible implications for the people we have come to know and the world population that still exists.  Some aspects of this story are absolutely chilling and the dread they conjure up for Merq and Armise as well as the future for all nations will be hard to dispel.

Some readers will ask if this is a romance and I am not sure how to answer them.  The connection and feelings between Merq and Armise are almost cellular in their need for each other. Love, yes, but at a level and intensity that speaks of blood and loss not flowers and hearts.   Romance can’t exist in this world and it doesn’t.  But a hard fought for love?  Even if they can’t say the word or even know if they trust each other? That you will find here at the core of this story and within the men themselves.  The only thing powerless about this book is the title.

One Breath, One Bullet (Borders War #1) and Dominant Predator (Borders War #2) were on my Best of 2013 list.  Now I add Powerless to this year’s list too.  This is an amazing series.  And with each new story, S.A. McAuley’s plot and her plans for Merq and Armise intensify and become more convoluted.  McAuley plans five books for this series.  The fourth book,  Falling One by One (Borders War #4), will be out later this year.  I, for one, can’t wait to see how where this talented author will take this series and these incredible characters next.

Cover art by Posh Gosh.  Strong cover, although I would wish for a little more of a science fiction feel to it.

Books in the Borders War series in the order they were written and should be read to understand the men and the universe building:

One Breathe, One Bullet (Borders War #1)
Dominant Predator (The Borders War, #2)
Powerless (The Borders War #3)
Falling One by One (The Borders War #4) to be released later on this year
Fifth Book as yet unnamed.

 Book Details:

ebook, 185 pages
Published March 28th 2014 by Totally Bound
ISBN139780857156839
edition languageEnglish
seriesThe Borders War #3

Buy Links:     Totally Bound Publications       Amazon        ARe

Review: The Race for Second by Chase Potter

Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

The Race for Second Cover smallEthan is about to start off on an adventure he has always dreamsed about, he is going to be spending his sophomore year in college abroad in the university town of Freiburg, Germany.  Leaving behind his first boyfriend at the University of Minnesota and his mom, Ethan is ready to experience new things, meet new friends and even hopefully find new love.  All he has to do is submerse himelf in the German language, figure out the Strassenbahn network of trams, his mode of transportation other than walking. and uncover why one of his new roommates hates him so.  All while carrying a heavy course load and feeling a little isolated to boot.

Of all of Ethan’s roommates, it’s only Daniel who seems to take an instant dislike to Ethan.  True, Ethan is nineteen, much younger than any of the others.  But there seems to be something more behind it, some problem that not even Florian and Paula, his other floormates, can make sense of.  However, there is something so intriguing about Daniel that not even  Daniel’s cold demeanor can stop Ethan from falling in love with his chilly roommate.  When Ethan has an accident, Daniel’s behavior and attitude towards him changes drastically, enough for Ethan to hope that his crush might be returned.

Daniel has many secrets, including the ones that made him reject Ethan to begin with.  He is also very straight.  When all his secrets are revealed, will their friendship still be there in the aftermath or will something more be possible between them.

Coming of age stories are a common rite of passage for many writers.  It is a needful retelling of that first momentous journey from childhood into the footprints of an adult and maturity.  For some authors remembering that benchmark of their lives translates into a remarkable story that stirs up  our own memories of youth and time of transition. Those tales bring forth a wellspring of emotions that speak to the heart of who we are and how we become that person we are  today.  The Race for Second by Chase Potter is one such memorable story.

In addition to conjuring up memories of our own youth,The Race for Second shines the light onto one young man’s first voyage of discovery and growth.  From Ethan’s story we glean the lessons he learned and the price paid for that experience from this rite of passage tale. And those shared elements that we all go through at that stage serves to connect us all together.  In Ethan, Chase Potter gives us a 19 year old young man on the cusp of change, a change he not only welcomes but has created for himself by choosing to spend his sophomore year abroad in Germany.  Ethan is a marvelous character and his journey of one year in Germany will pull you in from the first moment you meet him on board a plane bound for Frankfurt and a year he will never forget.

Ethan is a product of a single parent home.  His father left the family when he was three and his mother has given her all to support them both in a loving but financially straightened environment.  Ethan was also lucky in other ways including a maternal love and acceptance that never changed when Ethan came out. Even in childhood Ethan’s dreams and ambitions have always extended past the trailor park where they live into a much larger, expansive future for himself.  Potter’s descriptions of Ethan’s childhood and mother are interspersed throughout Ethan’s story, giving the reader glimpses of his life in Minnesota and clues to his emotional makeup.

One element of Ethan’s story is the automobile, a specific type of one that is powerful, expensive and beautifully designed. With the ever present Autobahn and its fast flowing river of cars interrupting Ethan’s thoughts and trips out from the university, cars play an important role in Ethan’s life that started in childhood. Ethan uses cars as a metaphor for the vehicle which will carry him away from his mundane, restricted life in the trailer park towards some unknown powerful future.  Here is an excerpt to introduce you to Ethan and his point of view:

Cars were another reason that it would have been great to have a dad— one that stuck around until middle school at least. I love them. In high school, before making dinner so Mom could eat when she got home from work, I’d go out to the road and watch the cars. The speed limit was only forty-five, and I’d sit where I could see every vehicle that passed. It let me see the make and model names inscribed on the back. We didn’t have a computer then, so it was how I learned what was out there.

It was rare that anything cool came along. No one with money had any reason to go near Twin Meadows trailer park. Except one time, the last week of class before the end of tenth grade. It was almost time to go inside and start the spaghetti and meatballs I was planning. But there were still a few more minutes. Maybe a Corvette or Mustang would zoom past, and the wait would be worth it. Wind blasting last year’s dead grass as it rolled up to the road, I lay back, crossing my legs at the ankles and staring up into the clouds. I was kidding myself. That night was just like all the others in that damn place. I stood up to head inside, and then I heard it. A deep purr with a rich timbre, coming up fast.

My head snapped to the point in the road where it would emerge from behind the trees. In a rush of gray and chrome, the enormous sedan erupted around the corner. Its flat nose and massive grille spoke of earlier times, but the flowing lines proclaimed it to be modern. It was easily the largest car I’d ever seen, both in length and girth. The rumble of its engine struck a reserved note that belied its current speed far over the limit. Then it was gone. I didn’t have any idea what the heck it was at the time, other than a really expensive car. In retrospect, it was probably a Rolls Royce or a Bentley. All I knew is that it was beautiful, every part of it. Even the sound felt like the engine was singing to my soul. Okay, sometimes I’m full of shit, but it really was awesome.

 

And there’s Ethan, that wonderful, singular American voice that narrates  The Race for Second.  It’s through his curious, adventurous eyes that we explore the town of Frieburg and its history. Or head out to Marseilles and beyond.  As Ethan wanders and explores, so does the reader. Over the cobblestones and through the old parts of town, into shoppes and market places.  Potter’s descriptions bring us immediately into the location and settings as well as Ethan’s thoughts about it all.  And never does it come across as a travelogue instead of the personal journey of one young man. Through Ethan we get both an American viewpoint as well as that of someone on the brink of self discovery and adulthood.  Trust me you are going to fall in love with this character and his year in Germany.

Along with fine tuning his German and coping with a heavy curriculum, Ethan must adjust to the German lifestyle and the situation of being alone and uncertain.  The story abounds with German phrases and information about the language.  We learn as Ethan does.  It’s a useful concept that makes Ethan’s problems accessible and easy to relate to.  But at the center is Ethan’s perception of and relationship with his roommate Daniel.  Daniel is a bit of an enigma through most of the first half of the story.  His rationale for his dislike of Ethan, his change in outlook and finally his friendship occupy Ethan’s thoughts and emotions throughout the story.  There’s more than one mystery here, both of which are buried in the past.  And its into the past Ethan must first look for answers before he can grow and accept certain things for himself.

The Race for Second abounds with lively, multidimensional characters as does the locations and settings they find themselves in.  Potter brings Freiburg and the university alive for the reader.  We are immersed in the campus life and the ancient town that surrounds the university as Potter weaves its history and its people into the tapestry of life abroad he has created for Ethan and the reader.  It is a journey fraught with disappointments and emotional outbursts, filled with moments of incredible joy and personal discoveries.  The reader will be able to laugh along with those that Ethan has gathered together for his recreation of an American Thanksgiving in his dorm and cry along with Ethan with the exposure of the harsh and painful truths that life offers up to go along with the joys.

Is this a romance? Not really, but love does play into it in many forms. And although it might not work out the way you had thought it would or had hoped for,  it is still enough to make you happy and able to go forward with Ethan and his travels into adulthood.  Chase Potter had a wonderful story to tell and in The Race for Second he has absolutely achieved that goal.

I loved The Race for Second and Ethan.  It was a remarkable journey that Potter sends Ethan and the reader on and it was one I was sorry to see end.  But Chase Potter has said that he intends to continue Ethan’s story.  The story here is somewhat open ended so I welcome the information that a sequel will be in the works.  I can’t wait to see what happens to Ethan after Germany as he is a hard character to let go.

I have been luck to find two new authors through their coming of age stories.  Both tales of young men at the start of something remarkable in their lives and each so uniquely different in character and story.  For Chase Potter, The Race for Second is his first book and I can’t recommend it highly enough.  It’s beautifully told, full of textures,vivid descriptions and of course, characters that pour from the page and into your heart.   Grab it up today and start y0ur journey with Ethan as he discovers the wonders and pitfalls of life abroad in Germany and the personal growth that important life experiences bring.

Book Details:

The Race for Second by Chase Potter
Paperback, 250 pages
Published May 1st 2014 by Chase Potter Books
ISBN 0615982603 (ISBN13: 9780615982601)
edition languageEnglish
other editions (1)
The Race for Second Copyright © 2014 Chase Potter
Buy Link: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Review: Queens of the Apocalypse by Rob Rosen

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Queens of the Apocalypse coverFabulous drag queens Destiny St. James, Kit Kat, and Blondella Bombshell were making preparations for their first show of the evening when all hell broke loose and life on earth was forever changed.  Protected by the steel walls of their dressing room, formerly a meat locker in a converted old restaurant, the drag queens never saw the solar flares that reduced most of the earth’s population to zombies.  But once outside, the direness of their situation is soon made all too clear.  Zombies are everywhere and only a message left on Blondella’s cell phone indicates that other people might have made it through alive, including her boyfriend in New York City.

What ensues is no less than apocalyptic road trip across American, one that would include the remnants of the US Army, Cher and an armload of Bob Mackie costumes, a few bedazzlers and strangely enough, true love for all three.  Not even the destruction of civilization as we know is enough to keep these girls out of their Jimmy Choos (knockoffs) and red nail polish!  Watch out, zombies, the Queens of the Apocalypse are headed your way!

I love, LOVE Queens of the Apocalypse!  Just when I think I am all “zombied out” by all the zombie books, undead tv shows and movies, along comes this fabulous (what other word could possibly fit) novel by Rob Rosen and I am back in the zombie fan club.  Of course, no other zombie story that I am aware of has such flamboyant, totally impossible and outrageously lovable stars  like Destiny, Kit and Blondella!  Nothing gets these girls down, including world annihilation and solar flares.

Rob Rosen made me believe in and fall in love with these drag queens from the very start when we meet them in the process of getting made up for their evening show at the club.  The dialog between the girls in the dressing room is affectionately snarky and hilarious, while remaining down to earth and totally real.  Making notes as I read became impossible as the story and those fabulous girls kept me enthralled in their journey across country and life and death situations they encounter.  It’s that old ‘laughing through the tears” storyline, but mostly laughing even as the living dead surround them and their circumstance often seems hopeless.  But Rob is not interested in stereotypes, although some of the situations and scenes can be downright campy.  No, Rosen has delivered some confident, intelligent, and resilient individuals who persevere no matter how high the odds or zombies that are stacked against them.  Destiny, our narrator, Kit and Blondella just keep rising to the occasion when presented with new obtacles or surprises, like an undead Drag Queen friend of theirs, Creature and a wealth of SuperSoakers as artillery!  With wigs askew, makeup running, and cracked nails, these wonderful characters demonstrate compassion, and a largesse of heart that keeps this story poignant as well as comedic.  Because even with all the death and mayhem surrounding them, there are such great comedic episodes that will have you laughing till your cheeks hurt. And there are still those quiet moments of reflection and despair, often at night, where the frightening reality of exactly how slim their chances are of making it is driven home for them and for the reader.  This is such an amazing story.

Rob Rosen’s tightly told and layered narrative never falters or bogs down. Instead we and the Queens are moved along at a fast pace, just barely (and sometimes not at all) keeping ahead of the zombie hoards now roaming the city streets and countryside.  Voracious, stiff and groaning, the zombies here are both heartbreaking and scary.  And they never stop coming.  Rosen’s plan for them was as surprising a twist as all the other elements found here.  I loved it.  And Queen Creature too.  Because for all the quips and bon mots Destiny, Kit, Blondella throw out, underneath all that bravado is the heart-rending reality of a world forever traumatically changed. It’s a new reality where all everyone they knew has died and returned as zombies. Vanished as well is all the support and social structure people count on, that of the United States of America as most probably all other countries too.

And even though Rosen has created some wonderful companions/love interests for our heroines, the sad fact is none of our merry band of survivors can be sure that there are more like them out there.  So struggle on they do, with hope, love, and a great deal of attitude, they are drag queens after all.  But yes, love interests arrive and they are as interesting a lot as the drag queens they fall in love with.  There aren’t many characters here (as you can well imagine) but those still talking and walking are as layered and realistic a group as the main characters.

Queens of the Apocalypse is one novel that has it all.  It has humor, suspense, horror, romance, and an absolutely outstanding ending.  Its as if Rosen went through the literary pantry pulling everything off the shelves and tossing them into his author mixing bowl.  And what he came up with is a smashing fictional dish that satisfies everyones palate.  A goodly dose of guffaws is balanced with a bouquet of tears, a pinch of spice and snark to go with the softness and surprise of love found amongst the ruins of society.  Really I can’t wait to go back and read it all over again.

I highly recommend you put this on the top of your TBR stack if you aren’t already reading it now.  It is one of ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords Best of 2014!

Cover art by Wilde City Press.  I certainly wish I knew the name of the artist behind this fabulous cover.  It’s utter perfection and almost too big in attitude to be reduced to the size of a cover.  I love this!

Book Details:

Published January 29th 2014 by Wilde City Press
ISBN139781925031775
edition languageEnglish
Buy Link:  Wilde City Press

Surprise Author Spotlight:Rob Rosen, author of Queens of the Apocalypse (contest)

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So for a great unexpected author guest post, Rob Rosen is stopping by today to talk about his latest release, the fabulous Queens of the Apocalypse!  My review follows Rob’s guest post, but I will tell you up front I adored this story.  And that incredible cover too! Rob is giving away one eBook copy of this terrific story.  To be entered to win, leave a comment and an email address in the body of the comment.  Contest closes 4/29!

Now, welcome Rob Roseon to ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords!

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spotlight on booksQueens of the Apocalypse cover

Hey, how come there are no drag queens vs. zombies novels out there, you ask? Well, you probably didn’t ask, but I did and realized that, lo and behold, I’d discovered a new sub-genre—um, maybe sub-sub and a little off to the left. In any case, I’m a fan of both zombies and drag queens, having written about both of them in a slew of my novels and short stories, so why not combine the two and see what happens? Hence Queens of the Apocalypse!

In fact, all my novels, the six prior to this one, have a drag queen minor character or two, but this is the first time I’ve ever made them the stars of my work. See, a drag queen can say or do anything and pretty much get away with it. Heck, they can say or do practically anything and get tipped for it. Now, add a whole bunch of drag queens, all of them fighting to save their padded asses, not to mention all of humanity, and one hell of a hysterically funny novel is born—or at least undead.

As for zombies, they’re so in the public eye these days, so vastly popular, that it was an easy decision to make them the bad guys. Bad and slow, in fact, though with mine, with the potential for humanity, which makes them different than most. Plus, I was able to create what I can only assume is the very first literary drag queen zombie heroine, and that’s really saying something special, for a writer I mean. In fact, I believe that with this novel I’ve created a whole zany bunch of unique characters, all of them dazzling and witty and certainly the type you don’t want to mess with—and live, or unlive, to tell about it. Add a little pathos, a ton of romance, a lesson learned or two, plus a surprise guest and a billion menacing zombies, and, voila, you have what amounts to my favorite work to date, Okay, so you can take that with a grain of salt, seeing as I say that about all my novels, but still. And then, to top it all off, I’ve included a spectacular foreword by none other than Sister Roma, as a sort of Drag Queen 101, just in case you needed a little refresher course.

So that’s my latest in a coffin-shaped nutshell. I hope you’re able to pick up a copy. Enjoy!

Rob

Contest Giveway:  Leave a comment with an email address in the body of the comment where we can get in touch with you.  Winner chosen by mysterious means will get an ebook copy of the fabulous Queens of the Apocalypse!  Contest ends 4/29.

Author Bio:

Rob Rosen is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, “Sparkle: The Queerest Book You’ll Ever Love”, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated “Divas Las Vegas”, which was the winner of the 2010 TLA Gaybies for Best Gay Fiction, “Hot Lava”, “Southern Fried”, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated “Queerwolf”, “Vamp”, and “Queens of the Apocalypse”. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can find 20 of them in his erotic romance anthology, “Good & Hot”. He is also the editor of “Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages”.

You can contact/follow Rob Rosen at:

Queens of the Apocalypse coverBook Details:

Published January 29th 2014 by Wilde City Press ISBN139781925031775 edition languageEnglish url http://www.wildecity.com/books/gay-mainstream/queens-of-the-apocalypse/#.UvLM9fldWSo

Buy Links:  Wilde City Press  ARe

Review: Message of Love by Jim Provenzano

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Message of Love coverFebruary 1980. Philadelphia, PA.  Reid Conniff and Everett Forrester are enrolled at Temple University and have started to adjust to life as college students and life away from home.  But further challenges have to be faced by these two young men.  In addition to being out and gay, Everett Forester is still learning how to live  with his disability.  Going to class, navigating around campus in a pre Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) world presents Everett with some huge hurdles to overcome, including those of intimacy with his lover, Reid.

But Everett’s demanding mother has other plans for her son and they don’t include Everett graduating from Temple University.  After much pressure from his mother, Everett gives in and transfers to the University of Pennsylvania.  Now Everett and Reid must juggle school work and the daily struggle to be together as they attend different schools and a variety of commitments.  The solution? An apartment in the city that is perfect for them both and a landlady more friend than landlord.

As the 1980’s progress, Reid and Everett face many events and issues that will test their love and commitment to each other.  The rise of a strange disease that seems to target gay men, student protests, and the further exploration of their sexuality.  But it’s a mysterious Polaroid of Everett taken shortly before they met that may bring the most danger to Everett and Reid’s life together.  Who took the provocative photos of Everett? That answer will forever change Everett and Reid’s life together.

Message of Love opens June 1983 as Reid and Everett are attending a benefit dinner for handicapped kids in Pittsburgh.  The affair for a local non profit was organized by Everett’s mother who has moved to Pittsburgh to be closer to her son.  We get a glimpse into their present day relationship and a few remembrances of the past before we flashback to February 1980 the starting time for the majority of Message of Love.

There are so many  great elements of Message of Love, the first being the time period of the story.  The 80’s are well represented here and the in-depth research done by Jim Provenzano shows.  The story is full of 80’s cultural notations, from the ever present video stores and Sony Walkman’s to the Rocky Mountain Horror Picture Show where audience participation is starting to spread out from NYC where it started.  We get Spandau Ballet’s “True”, The Spinner’s “Working My Way Back to You” and of course The Pretenders’ “Message of Love”.  Provenzano gets the feel of the times just right. Reid and Everett’s homosexuality is somewhat more accepted by their peers and families and the protests of the 60’s and 70’s has for the most part changed from anti war demonstrations to anti-nuclear protests after the accident at Three Mile Island in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1979.  Such notable events are mentioned throughout the narrative helping to further establish the time frame and setting.

Of utmost importance to Reid and Everett’s story is Everett’s disability as it impacts every aspect of their life together.  Lumbar fracture, partial paralysis.  Four life changing words.  And it is here that Provenzano does some of his best work.  Starting in Every Time I Think of You and continuing into Message of Love, the reader is pulled first hand into Everett’s hard won adjustment to his disability, his mental and emotional state directly after his accident as viewed by Reid.  Reid not only sees the struggles that Everett goes through but also Reid’s adjustment of his long term goals in order to help support his lover in every way possible.  One of the things I loved about the first story is that they still acted like the 17 year olds dealing with all the uncertainty and pain that happens for Everett to accept his disability and go forward and for Reid to accept the change in Everett.

Now at college and away from home for the first time (the exception being Everett’s rehabilitation), they start to experience all the new freedoms and personal growth that change brings.  For Everett, it is the everyday challenge of getting around campus, dorm life, and transportation.  Reid and Everett both mention the relative ease of traveling around Temple University because of its wide sidewalks and flat ground.  Also because Temple had a Students with Disabilities Dorm.

Both stories take place prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 which “prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities”.  So we watch as Everett has to work hard to get around such hurdles as a lack of ramps, too many stairs and other hardships for the disabled made easier by the handicapped accessibility we see today.  Then we get a deeper, more uncomfortable look into Everett’s daily life as Reid watches people overlook Everett and talk only to Reid when they are together.  We see the cloak of invisibility that seems to fall over people in wheelchairs as those more able to navigate pass them by without notice or equal treatment.  Or Reid’s frustration as he acknowledges that some of the people/students regard Reid as some sort of “guide dog” for Everett instead of seeing him as Everett’s boyfriend.

Provenzano describes with great sensitivity the impact of Everett’s disability on their relationship, from living arrangements to their ability to have sex.  There are moments in their relationship that just ring with authenticity where Reid is prone to be overprotective and as a result Everett needs to reinforce his own need for independence and assistance on his own terms.  That’s an honest relationship, warts and all. We see them argue and listen to their internal insecurities.  We also get a factual look at sex and the sex act between Everett and Reid.  For some readers, this aspect of the story might be more raw and factual then is wanted.  Because, honestly, the author realistically lays out the physical limitations and logistics for both Reid and the reader as to what Everett can feel, his life with catheters, and what ablutions are required in order for them to have sexual relations. Sometimes frustrations and miscommunication ensue. Spontaneity is out, planning is in. And that includes defecation.  Too much information?  Perhaps.  But it conveys to the reader exactly what Everett’s life is like and makes it and Everett real.

Jim Provenzano includes positive elements as well in Everett’s adjustment to life with a disability. It’s the joys of relating to children like Everett from the summer camp for special needs children where Everett and Reid act as counselors to the rough and tumble sports team that Everett plays on.  Bringing all these extra layers and facts into Reid and Everett’s life together helps to connect the reader intimately to their romance and growing commitment to each other.

Message of Love chillingly brings in the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic and the beginnings of public awareness.  Its introduction in the story is subtle but grows steadily throughout until it will have a major impact on the main characters and those around them. First a small mention in the newspaper, then an article that their landlady brings to Reid’s attention, and our knowledge of the times and the disease just ramps up our anxiety and concerns for characters we have come to love through two stories.And always at the center is the love and romance between Reid and Everett, painstaking in its growth and so satisfying in its depth of feeling and commitment that we never once question their love for each other.  I fell in love with these two young men in Every Time I Think of You and that love affair continues here in Message of Love.

The narrative moved at a slower rate than in the previous novel which is to be expected as it lacks the dramatic impact of Everett’s accident.  The details of the reality of Everett’s daily regimen and physical bodily functions sometimes slowed the tale’s momentum down to a much more leisurely pace than most readers might want.  Perhaps if you looked at it as less a total romance and more of a journey of two young men coming of age and growing together into adulthood and a loving commitment, then the richness of its details and the complexities of its characters will make this a story to remember.

If you are new to Reid and Everett’s story, then begin with Every Time I Think of You.  If you are familiar with that novel, then Message of Love is a story not to be missed.  No matter, this is a wonderfully satisfying and uplifting novel, certainly one of Scattered Thoughts Best of 2014.

 

Every Time I Think of You by Jim Provenzano
Message of You (sequel) by Jim Provenzano

Cover Art; Getty Images. Used with permission. Cover Design: Kurt Thomas

Book Details:

Paperback, first, 372 pages
Published March 15th 2014 by Myrmidude Press
ISBN 0615669247 (ISBN13: 9780615669243)
edition languageEnglish

In the Author Spotlight: Jim Provenzano

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spotlight on booksMessage of Love cover

ScatteredThoughtsandRogueWords is happy to host Jim Provenzano today, talking about his latest release, Message of Love, the sequel to the Lambda Literary Award winning, Every Time I Think of You.

Giveaway:  Jim has brought with him a Kindle ebook copy of Every Time I Think of You to give away today along with a copy of Message of Love to a 2nd winner.  To enter to win, leave a comment below as well as your email address so you can be contacted. We would also appreciate it if you left your Amazon email address in the body of the comment to make it easier to send the book to you as it is a Kindle edition.  Contest closes 4/19. Thanks.

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Getting It Right, the Second Time Around

by Jim Provenzano

When I started writing my fourth novel Every Time I Think of You, the first few chapters came to me in a dream in January 2011. I’d already had a few other novels nearly completed, but the story of Reid and Everett basically took over my life.Every Time I Think Of You

After finishing it in early December of that year, I agreed with the almost unanimous suggestion of friends who had read early drafts, and cut an epilogue where Reid and Everett are living ‘happily ever after’ as college roommates in Philadelphia. I realized that the last chapter was actually a draft treatment for a sequel. What happens after the rush of romance concludes with the blossoming of love? Well, a lot happens.

In the sequel, Message of Love, Reid and Everett attend separate universities in Philadelphia. While Everett’s studies focus on politics and world affairs, Reid remains devoted to his Forestry studies. And while the symbolic aspect of the City of Brotherly Love offers new adventures for them, the urban environs tests their relationship, and in particular, Reid’s once heartfelt passion for nature.

I prepared for my new novel, Message of Love, with funds generated from a small yet successful 2012 Kickstarter project. The week before attending the Lambda Literary Awards in New York City, where Every Time I Think of You won the Lammy for Gay Romance, I spent a week in Philadelphia. Combining my journalism experience with a bit of adventurous tourism, I researched the campuses, the city and Fairmont Park, where most scenes are set.

I also spent several days in the archives at both Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and at the Philadelphia Public Library, where I scanned issues of the Philadelphia Gay News, converting page after page into saved PDFs. I even found a house where the fictional version of an apartment would become their home.

Numerous personal interviews with current and former Philadelphia and Greensburg residents, and graduates of Penn and Temple, led to an insightful perspective on the novel’s setting. Sometimes a single detail or correction would lead to an entire chapter revision. But what surprised me were how often real-life events aligned with the story I had already outlined.

I spent months researching the disability issues relating to Everett’s experience, both from the perspective of a paraplegic and someone who loves him. Personal interviews with wheelchair users led to new insights into their daily lives.

As a former professional dancer, one of the most inspirational aspects came from other dancers. Like my first novel, PINS, about high school wrestlers, I took my own physical experience as a sort of muscle memory. By watching and talking with a wonderfully talented dancer and a choreographer from the Oakland, California AXIS Dance Company, I was able to feel and visualize the practicality and athleticism of a young active paraplegic.

But with a specific time frame, thirty years ago, I didn’t have the advantage of relying on contemporary aspects of disability. I bought several books from that era, specific to the limitations of the early 1980s, before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, and before most sidewalks and buildings were made accessible.

As with Every Time I Think of You, the story is written from Reid’s point of view and his attempts to comprehend and understand Everett’s challenges. Despite being a pair of romance novels, I worked within the popular genre while crafting a decidedly new approach. I also read many gay and straight romance books with disabled characters. Some of them were touching and sweet. Some were uninformed and misguided.

But at the same time, while I endeavored to ‘get it right’ about such a relationship, I kept asking myself, ‘Is this a Romance?’ Reid and Everett are already boyfriends. The quest of finding love has been achieved. Their new challenge is to sustain their love through some separation. Veering from the standard romance, they live together for most of the story.

With the advantage of having already established the love between Reid and Everett, I faced new challenges with an historic time and urban setting, placed against the encroaching threat of a plague.

Many contemporary romances quickly dispense with AIDS and other difficult issues, and that’s fine. That is the decision of other authors, to make a fun, sexy escapist story. But having set this sequel after the ‘halcyon’ days of the late 1970s, when being gay wasn’t a big problem in some communities, the sequel would have to deal with realities of the era in which I came of age; infidelity, identity, and the growing, then unnamed, epidemic.

A major symbol, a small evergreen tree, served as an actual gift in Every Time I Think of You. For Message of Love, a single ivy leaf, used on the book’s cover, becomes a significant gift of apology in a crucial moment when Everett and Reid’s relationship is at its most fragile. Yet Everett’s life as a paraplegic is not a mere metaphor, but a realistic aspect of his life that’s given a thorough focus.

In the first book, the two young men’s time together is sporadic and passionate. In the sequel, their extended time together offers a new perspective on moving beyond the initial rush of first love, and growing toward a stronger form based on trust.

This four-year ‘distraction’ has led to creating two of the most endearing characters I’ve created. I really grew to love these guys, and I hope readers will, too.
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Author Bio:

Jim Provenzano is the author of the novels PINS, Monkey Suits, Cyclizen, the 2012 Lambda Literary Award-winning Every Time I Think of You, its sequel Message of Love, and the stage adaptation of PINS.

A journalist in LGBT media for two decades, and the guest curator of Sporting Life, the world’s first gay athletics exhibit, he also wrote the syndicated Sports Complex column for ten years. Currently the Assistant Arts Editor at the Bay Area Reporter, he also edits its weekly BARtab nightlife section.

For more information on Jim Provenzano’s books, visit

Watch the book trailer, which features a performance of Dudley Saunders singing “Message of Love,” the title song (by The Pretenders), and enjoy the companion video playlists for Message of Love, Every Time I Think of You and PINS on Jim Provenzano’s YouTube channel:

 

 

 

 

 

March 2014 – Summary of Reviews and Best Covers

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March 2014 Review Summary

*Key:march1
S series
C contemporary
F-fantasy
SF-science fiction
PN-paranormal
SP-supernatural
H-historical
HR-horror
N-Nonfiction
YA-young adult

Rating Scale: 1 to 5, 5 stars is outstanding

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5 Star Rating:

Blown Away (Whispering Winds #1) by Havan Fellows (PF2014) C

4 to 4.75 Star Rating:

Ball & Chain (Cut & Run #8) by Abigail Roux, (4.5) C, S
Come To Me by Megan Derr (4), F, S
Convergence by Talya Andor (4 stars) SP
Every Inch of the Way (The Professor’s Rule #4) by Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley (4.5) C, S
Firestorm (Fighting Fire #1) by Laura Harner (4.5)PF2014, C
Free Falling (Extreme Escapes, LLD) by S.E. Jakes (4.75) C, S
Higher Ground (Earthquake #1) by T.A. Webb (4.75) PF2014, C
Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson (4.5) C
Song of the Spring Moon Waning by E.E. Ottoman (4.75) F,H
The Oracle’s Hatchling (The Oracle #2) by Mell Eight (4), F, S
To the Very Last Inch (The Professor’s Rule #5) by Heidi Belleau and Amelia C. Gormley (4.5) C,S
3 to 3.75 Star Rating:

Angel’s Hero (Angel #1) by Liz Borino (3.25) C, S
Artist’s Touch (Guild #1) by Kerry Adrienne (3.75 stars) C, S
King of Dublin by Lisa Henry and Heidi Belleau (3.75) SF
Riding Tall (The Fall #2) by Kate Sherwood (3.75)
The Oracle’s Flame (The Oracle #1) by Mell Eight (3.75) F, S

2 to 2.75 Star Rating:

Hunter by Blood by Robin White (2.75) SN

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Best Covers of March 2014

???????????????????????????????????????FreeFalling_500x750Song of the Spring Moon Waning coverTo The Very Last InchBlown Away cover

Higher Ground coverCold SnapFirestorm by Laura Harner

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  • Ball & Chain, cover art by LC Chase
  • Free Falling, cover art by Croco Designs
  • Song of the Spring Moon Waning, artist Aisha Akeju
  • Know Not Why, artist unknown
  • To the Very Last Inch, cover artist LC Chase
  • Blown Away standing in for all the Pulp Friction 2014 covers by Laura Harner