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Author: Deb

Review: The Dead Room

Review: The Dead Room

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The Dead Room by Heather Graham Publisher: Mira, 379 pages Format: hardcover Source: Pleasanton library What it’s about: An explosion in the historic Hastings House of Manhattan has robbed Leslie MacIntyre of the love of her life, Matt Connolly. Leslie and Matt were attending a gala when the fire bomb erupted. As Leslie recovers from her injuries, she discovers her near death experience has left her with the ability to see dead people. This ability comes in handy in Leslie’s…

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Dreaming of Cash Giveaway

Dreaming of Cash Giveaway

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Dreaming of a little cash? What would you do with a little cash? Let’s rephrase that: How many books could you buy with a little cash? Try your hand at the generous giveaway sponsored by Kathy at I Am A Reader along with some of her favorite authors and bloggers. Below is the Sponsor List. Take a peek at the Rafflecopter image at the end of the post to see how you can participate. Who knows? You might discover some…

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Fear the Satirist: Why Satire Matters to You

Fear the Satirist: Why Satire Matters to You

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Satire in art: why do we care? Today I’m excited to be guest posting at Beryl Belsky’s The Writer’s Drawer. Join me here where I’m discussing the recent upheaval over the movie The Interview and the role of satire in books and movies and in our lives. Please join me there! What is your view of satire? Is it dangerous? Please leave a comment at The Writer’s Drawer and take a few minutes to navigate Beryl’s wonderful site. She is…

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Ghost Novel Review: Help for the Haunted

Ghost Novel Review: Help for the Haunted

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Help for the Haunted by John Searles Publisher: William Morrow, 368 pages Format: hardcover Source: Guest review The premise of this novel attracted me right away: A married couple counsels people tormented by ghosts. This couple never knows when someone will call with an urgent need for help–often these calls come in the middle of the night. Imagine being the teen daughter of parents such as these. Help for the Haunted is a coming-of-age story with a supernatural twist. I’m…

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PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel Blog Tour

PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel Blog Tour

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PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel Blog Tour I am excited to host two inspiring women today, along with the fabulous program they have put together to help authors get their books published and to learn how to revise their own novels in a manner that will make manuscripts shine! I first met Martha Alderson at the 2004 East of Eden Writers Conference in Salinas, CA. From there, I participated in one of Martha’s plotting workshops where I learned her butcher paper plotline…

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Guest review: Five Days Left

Guest review: Five Days Left

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Review: Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 341 pages Format: Print, 136 pages Source: Purchased Last month millions of viewers tuned in as terminally ill Brittany Maynard discussed her decision to end her life. Faced with debilitating symptoms, Maynard wanted to die with dignity while she still had the ability to act. Although it was all too real, it seemed the stuff of fiction. And so it is the stuff of fiction, in one of…

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Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare

Review: The Haunting of Maddy Clare

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The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James Publisher: New American Library, 330 pages Format: paperback Source: Purchased I don’t know if it’s a coincidence, but many of the ghost novels I’ve been reading lately are set in the 1920’s. The decades that followed the Victorian and Edwardian eras into the Interwar years were filled with mayhem and bloodshed and mustard gas and influenza. If ever there was a time for hurt and bewildered ghosts to wander, this was…

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21 Novels for National Adoption Month

21 Novels for National Adoption Month

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Did you know it was National Adoption Month? Me, neither. You’d think I would know. I think about adoption. A lot. In fact, I recently realized that all of the novels I’m writing as well as the one already published (Moonlight Dancer) relate to adoption. My family has been impacted by adoption, but long before that I was drawn to the world of the orphan. I blame it on Shirley Temple. Growing up, I watched Shirley Temple movies every Sunday…

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Film Review: The Awakening

Film Review: The Awakening

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  Peril on the Screen: The Awakening Thanks to a recommendation by reader Joanna over at DanseNoir, I watched the ghost movie The Awakening. The Awakening features a story within a story, so there’s a mystery aspect as well as a supernatural one. As the movie opens, Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall) exposes a fraudulent seance followed by the dramatic arrests of the perpetrators. Britain is reeling from the momentous losses of World War I and the flu pandemic, and grieving…

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Book Review: The Haunted House by Charles Dickens

Book Review: The Haunted House by Charles Dickens

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Review: The Haunted House Publisher: Dover Publications Format: Print, 136 pages Source: Purchased The Haunted House is an anthology of connected stories, three of which Charles Dickens wrote, the others penned by writers of his time. The premise is that the narrator, for reasons of health (have you noticed how prominent discussions of health are in Victorian literature?) rents a country house for three months with his sister. They fall in love with the house and decide to invite their…

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Giveaway: Kindle Paperwhite!

Giveaway: Kindle Paperwhite!

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Giveaway: Kindle Paperwhite! In honor of my favorite time of year when orange leaves tumble to the ground and ghosts drift in and out of darkened doorways, I’m offering a gift of a Kindle Paperwhite to one lucky winner. That way you’ll be able to enjoy your favorite ghost novels all year long! Open to US residents 18 or over. Enter to win and good luck to all! a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Roasting of 1-star Reviewers

The Roasting of 1-star Reviewers

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Revenge on the 1-star Reviewer Today I’m feeling inspired by Tinney Heath over at Historical Fiction Research. Tinney has put together a funny put-down of the infamous evil book reviewer. Readers suffer from misleading, dishonest reviews, and as writers we live beneath the Damocles sword of unfair ratings. A 1-star review delivers a crushing blow to the delicate psyche of writers, yet there are those who revel in dealing this pain. We call them trolls (yes, it’s a technical term). As long…

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Banned Books Week Means Read!

Banned Books Week Means Read!

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Banned Books Week 2014 has arrived! It’s here again! The time has come to celebrate Banned Books Week, so head on over to the American Library Association and choose a book from the list of banned books. Yes, even you can be subversive! If you want to read a banned ghost novel (of course you do), here are three that I’ve reviewed and recommend: Beloved by Toni Morrison. (Yes, a Pulitzer Prize winner can be banned.) The Lovely Bones by…

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