Thursday, September 5, 2013

A Wicked Kind of Dark Blast

A Wicked Kind of Dark 


 Robert Duncan no longer believes in magic. A mysterious call about a blood moon, however, leads him back to the magical world of his childhood and to Luthien, the beautiful girl with flame-coloured hair, who he loved and lost. As Robert unravels the secrets of his childhood, darkness enters his life and an ancient evil awakens. To have any chance of defeating the dark forces that would destroy two worlds, Robert must find Luthien before the rise of the blood moon. He must, once more, believe in magic … A Wicked Kind of Dark mixes vast and spectacular fantasy landscapes with gritty urban reality. A must-read for people of all ages who believe in the power of imagination, and the importance of never losing touch with your inner child.
 
Author Jonathan K. Benton Jonathan Benton always wanted to write books, having won first place in a short story competition when he was ten. Inspired by writes such as Ray Bradbury and Stephen King, Jonathan first discovered the crossover genre of literary/fantasy while reading Bradbury’s Something Wicked This Way Comes. Jonathan grew up in New Zealand, dreaming of travelling to London and finally making the pilgrimage in his mid-twenties. Returning from England, he settled in Australia, the country he now calls home, and decided to take his writing seriously.


BookBlast Giveaway $100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 9/22/13 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not A Writer http://iamareader.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

My Crazy Corner: Introducing Delsheree Gladden, author of Wicked Hu...

My Crazy Corner: Introducing Delsheree Gladden, author of Wicked Hu...: What kind of teen wants to feed on pain and suffering? Definitely not your average high school crowd. The Roth siblings, however, have spe...

Stop by and get to know the characters of Wicked Hunger a little better, including what I pictured them looking like and enter to win a copy of Wicked Hunger!

Review: Starlight City

Black has trouble remembering his life before battling a frighteningly beautiful android intent on killing him. Bits and pieces of memories slip back through every once in a while, but staying alive and under the radar is his main objective...until a faulty ID badge begins to attract attention and he goes in search of help. His search lands him in the middle of a fight he wasn't expecting, but soon finds he can't walk away from. 

The futuristic world of Starlight City was very well planned. The details build a very complex world of humans, part humans, and robotic beings existing in a very precarious balance. Black, who is no longer entirely human, skirts around the edges of civilization. Those like him are treated as outcasts. The social structure felt quite realistic as well. I did have trouble with some of the smaller details like the money system and time system. I didn't feel like these were explained completely, so I wasn't always sure of how much time had passed or the significance of the amount of money involved. 

The main character, Black, had a very intriguing story. Parts of his memory are gone, yet he remembers bits and pieces at times and wants to find out what really happened to him. I enjoyed following his story. Griff was also an interesting character. Now trapped inside a mechanical body, he still has access to his human memories. There is some disconnect between remembered emotions and actually experiencing emotions, but he develops bonds with those around him that drive his decisions and actions. 

The overall story was intriguing. I think it has good potential as a series. The pacing was a bit slow after the initial chapter up through the middle of the book. Part of the problem with the pacing was that the timeline kept jumping back and forth, sometimes to a different character as they remembered an event that happened previously. It kept the story from progressing smoothly and broke the flow. As a whole, this was an interesting book. I had a little difficulty with the pacing and flow, but it was a fun read. 

Meet Radford Lee...

Radford Lee is a college writing tutor and freelance editor for independent publishers who has taught writing at the college level. His work fits into the classic Sci-Fi mold, though his history as an avid gamer gives his ideas a new-wave, cyberpunk flavor.

He's also been a volunteer tutor for an after-school program where he conducted free creative writing workshops for local community students. He hopes to continue building students' reading and literacy skills and is passionate about cultivating talented young writers.

Radford lives with his beautiful family in Ohio.

Starlight City is available now from: 

Connect with Radford Lee online

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Interview: Radford Lee

Today I am pleased to welcome Radford Lee, author of Starlight City, to my blog to talk about his new book. 

First more about Starlight City...

When Black and his team are sent to investigate a foreign ship orbiting near the Harmonica spaceport, they're killed onboard by a homicidal humanoid weapon built in the image of a beautiful woman. Several years later, Black is reborn through a miracle of science on an unfamiliar planet called Neon as part of the Rebirth Project. He's mysteriously set free and flees to Starlight City, where he lives the frenzied life of a hunted fugitive who's been genetically "modified."  
Though he has no memory of his escape, and the memories of his previous life on Earth are blurred moments at best, Black crosses paths with several misfits who have their own stories to tell. He pieces together a tale of unlikely friends pit against the powers that be, fending for day-to-day survival.

Now for the Interview...


1. What was your inspiration for this book? 
The impulse to write a science fiction book probably stemmed from my fascination with deeply engaging storylines of various video games. I love how stories of interesting characters unfold in these interactive digital worlds. On a craft level, books like Cloud Atlas and the classic work of writers like Philip K. Dick, Heinlein, and Asimov, among others, certainly fed the flames for my ideas. 
2. Would you classify your writing as plot driven or character driven? 

As readers can see in Starlight City, my first inclination is to create interesting and memorable characters. For Starlight City, I wanted lots of characters and hidden character connections worked into the plot. While there is a central plotline surrounding Black, the main character, there are perspective shifts throughout the book, with various subplots interwoven into the central plot.

3. Can you tell us a little about your main character?

Black is essentially a dead soldier from Earth who’s been revived through genetics on a foreign planet. He’s a “modified” humanoid, though his knowledge of this modification is limited at the start of the novel. Black misses home and merely desires to live his new life in peace. The fact that he is a hunted fugitive makes this kind of difficult, needless to say.

4. Which of your supporting characters was the most challenging to write?

This is a challenging question. I struggled with a number of characters for different reasons. I struggled to make Administrator Nahzir a complex antagonist rather than a fundamentally “evil” one. I struggled with Griff, also, and mainly with establishing the differences between Griffin Hurst, the fully human adolescent, and Griff, the humanoid weapon, as both share the same memories but are essentially different beings. In the end though, I might say that Jada was the most difficult character to write for. Where Griff is in opposition to the Regime and ultimately, the alpha humans, Jada’s stance is a gray area. She is fully indoctrinated by the Regime, but her connection to Griff pulls her to his side. I found it difficult to write dialogue for her at times. 

5. Without giving away too much, tell us a little about the main conflict in this book.

The main conflict is that of rogues, rebels and/or social outcasts against the powers upholding the status quo for their own ends. More specifically, there is a wedge between Administrator Nahzir’s society and the “misfit” characters, who join together with Black and attempt to break free from the society. Spearheading the main conflict are Nahzir, who initiated the alpha human project, and Griff, the alpha human he helped create who wishes to destroy him.

6. Why did you choose this genre? 
What attracts me most about the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres is the possibility to create an entire world from scratch. My science fiction background spans from games and Japanese animated films/series to the writings of American authors like Ray Bradbury, H.G. Wells, Le Guinn and Samuel R. Delaney. I’m hoping to bring a fresh, or at least a unique perspective to the Sci-Fi genre.
7. What do you hope readers take away from this book? 

I hope readers leave this book with a hunger for more. I want them to leave with the characters stuck in their minds in hopes that they’ll look forward to seeing them in later books. Thematically, I’d like readers to feel the spirit of comradarie permeating throughout, and the idea of friends sticking together in the face of uncertainty.

8. Who are your favorite authors?

I typically jump from author to author in search of great books rather than reading their whole archives, but I can say that David Mitchell’s Number 9 Dream and Cloud Atlas rank him one of my top authors. I’ve also enjoyed several works by Jonathan Lethem, including Motherless Brooklyn, Chronic City, and Chaos Moon. I admire him as a cross-genre writer and like his use of Sci-Fi elements. I’m a big fan of Ray Bradbury as well, especially his short stories. Also, Harlem Renaissance writers like Richard Wright and Langston Hughes have deeply impressed and inspired me.

9. Do you have any interesting rituals or habits when you write?

I’m really into music, and sometimes I’ll play music when I’m writing to fit the mood of the scene, or in some cases, to help me create the mood. Other times, I’ll attempt (key word, attempt) to draw a picture of the setting in my mind to give me a starting point, or I might leaf through magazines of Sci-Fi and fantasy art to get a little inspiration for creating a scene. Also, I write most of my manuscripts by hand in notebooks or anything I can find when the ideas strike me. I’ll usually keep writing until I run out of ideas, then type out what I wrote to see whether I’ll keep it, change it, or throw it out.

10. Can you tell us about any future projects? 

I’m hoping to publish a prequel to Starlight City in 2014, but at the moment I’m working on a theatrical audiobook of Starlight City, which I plan to complete this summer so be stay tuned and keep an eye out for it!

Meet Radford Lee...

Radford Lee is a college writing tutor and freelance editor for independent publishers who has taught writing at the college level. His work fits into the classic Sci-Fi mold, though his history as an avid gamer gives his ideas a new-wave, cyberpunk flavor.

He's also been a volunteer tutor for an after-school program where he conducted free creative writing workshops for local community students. He hopes to continue building students' reading and literacy skills and is passionate about cultivating talented young writers.

Radford lives with his beautiful family in Ohio.

Starlight City is available now from: 

Connect with Radford Lee online

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Spotlight: Camelle of Home of a Book Lover

Usually my spotlights feature fellow authors, but this week I want to introduce my readers to Camelle, a book blogger who has done a lot to help promote other authors!

Get to know Camelle...

Hi there! I'm Camelle but you can call me Milly or Cams whatever you like.

Actually I have three blogs, you can follow me there also (E-Books Section and My Random Weirdness). My first blog is "My Random Weirdness", I post anything that comes into my mind there that's so random I swear while the "E-Books Section" from the title itself, it's a blog of ebooks where you can download for free. 

This is my first time to make a blog about books, this is inspired by "Confessions of a Bookaholic". I decided to make one so that I can express my thoughts about books then I saw her blog and I got inspired and I told myself that I really should make a blog about books. I hope I'll be successful in this blog. It will all be my opinions on the books that I've read, news about books and whatsoever. It will all be about books for this blog. 

Enjoy reading my blog and I hope you guys will like it. 

God Bless! ♥

Readers and authors can find Camelle on her 


YA StoryBundle!


Looking for a great YA book? 

Stop by StoryBundle and check out 9 books from 5 different great YA series!

The bundle includes books from







Get more information about the bundle on StoryBundle News

The Blemished 

was featured here on 

The Edible Bookshelf 

last year

Check out my interview with Sarah Dalton as well as my review of the first book in her series, The Blemished.