Let's get to know more about Paul Xavier Jones, the writer, and tomorrow come back to learn more about his newest book Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus.
"Paul Xavier Jones is a Welsh writer living in the Swansea Valley with his wife and two daughters. Xavier is his pen name, based on an old nickname.
Paul is and always has been an avid sci fi and fantasy fan, graduating from Marvel and DC comic book superheroes to the realms of Middle Earth and Cimmeria. Authors who have influenced Paul’s thinking and writing are Stephen King, Dean Koontz, J R Tolkien, Robert E Howard, Edgar Rice Boroughs, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler and more recently, Andy McNab.
His own work is Epic Fantasy (the Ameca J Trilogy) and Science Fiction Thrillers (Boundary Limit). To date, Paul’s books are available as eBooks from Amazon and Smashwords.
Paul has written articles on eBook publishing for the Western Mail.
Paul has also given talks on writing and eBook publishing for events such as the Rugby Business Network and been interviewed by the Llanelli Town Website.
Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus has been awarded the Top Choice award by
Flamingnet book reviews.
The Ameca J Series
The Ameca J series originally started life as one book, written specifically for Paul’s daughters, who both attend Welsh medium schools. Because Welsh is their first language, their English vocabulary was not great, so Paul wanted them to have a book that they could read to help improve their vocabulary. Of course, once the first book was written both children wanted to know what happened next, and the series was born.
The series starts with Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus, where Ameca, the teen protagonist from the title is sent to fetch her sister from school. While returning home, the two girls are transported to another world, Mythrania, where they have to put aside their differences and work together to survive.
Mythrania is a land of magic, closely tied to our own, and there the girls discover that they have magical abilities by virtue of the colour of their hair; in Mythrania everyone has black hair, while Ameca has red hair and her sister has yellow. This gives them abilities which are tied to their personalities; Ameca can generate fire as she has a volatile personality, while Fraya can heal or age people with her own powers.
The girls are soon caught up in a battle between the humans on Mythrania and a range of horrific adversaries known as “Werethralls” – men who have been changed into beasts, but still retain their intelligence. Typically Werethralls are three types; Bear, Wolf and Lizard.
As the tale unfolds, Ameca and Fraya discover they are destined to fight the evil behind the Werethralls, a nebulous being of power known as the Scelestus. They also discover they were prophesized to do this by someone called “Menindus,” the greatest magic user of all time. Incredibly, Menindus was also known on our world by another name, “Merlin.”
In this first book, the girls must get over their sibling antagonism and learn to use their abilities to fight for their very lives and the future of the entire Universe.
The second book follows on directly from the first, with the girls having to return to their own world to secure a magical artefact. They return with companions from Mythrania who have a culture shock on seeing the technology of our world as Mythrania is still medieval. They girls are shocked in turn to discover their mother has been abducted, and their quest takes a new twist when they try to recover her from agents of the Scelestus who have operated on our world for centuries.
The final book in the series draws together the story from the first two where the girls discover the true meaning of family and Ameca in particular must face a destiny that no child is prepared for… to kill her father…
The series was also written to promote a strong message of family solidarity. Having two children inevitably leads to lots of quarreling and bickering, and Paul wanted to paint a picture of what can happen where a family doesn’t pull together.
Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus is now available from Amazon and B&N.
This week we're delving into the mythical world of Mythrania in Paul Xavier Jones' Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus. Keep reading to find out more.
"The Legacy of Menindus... Teenage life seems vastly unfair to fourteen year old Ameca or Ameca J, as she prefers to be called always being pressured by her Dad to watch out for her stupid and annoying ten year old sister, Fraya. But when the girls are mysteriously transported by The Spirit to a dangerously different world populated by mediaeval Men, noble Elves, magnificent Dragons, and savage creatures, Ameca s whole perspective has to change and change quickly if they are to escape the clutches of an evil entity known as the Scelestus, who wants them for the magical powers they did not even know they possessed. Their stressed out and overworked father, Paul is summoned by The Spirit to join his daughters in the mythical land of Mythrania, where he learns that they are the One, the Flame and the Flower . They are the heirs to the legendary High Magi, Menindus, who foretold of their coming to save this world and their own...But this is no fairytale; the dark entity known as the Scelestus has a plan to harness the power of the universe and to completely dominate all life...... Can Ameca and her family stop the Scelestus, and prevent a catastrophe that would see the enslavement of countless worlds, as well as the destruction of their own...?
Look out evil...here come the girls."
Ameca J and the Legacy of Menindus is currently available for pre-order from Amazon and B&N.
Tess is ready to start over. A messy divorce didn't send her running, but it did push her to start looking out for herself. And boy, is she going to need it! What seemed like a small, quiet town quickly gets stirred up by Tess's arrival when she inadvertently uncovers secrets that may have been better left in the past.
Tess Tremaine is a fun character. She's not twenty, perky, or perfect. She's a realistic character that women will be able to relate to. It was fun to ride along on Tess's adventure. Seeing Goose Pimple through her eyes made the small town experience even more enjoyable. Jackson was an enjoyable character as well. There is some trepidation about whether or not to like him, but that made the possibility for romance between Jackson and Tess even more agonizing.
The romance in particular was great. I was on the fence in the beginning because of small town rumors and gossip, but at the same time I was still kind of rooting for them to be together. It was an enjoyable mix. Even once I was sure about Jackson, there was never a dull moment for them. Every time they got close to admitting their interest for real, something managed to interrupt the moment. I have to agree with Metz on the decision to remove the sex. I read both versions, and nothing was taken away by creating a story even younger mystery readers could enjoy. The romance was good, but the mystery is the main focus.
So, on to the mystery! I love that so much of this story came from true events. It adds a whole other layer to the story knowing that many of these tragedies really happened. The dual timeline was a great way to show what happened in the original story, and what was going on decades later to uncover the secrets. The mystery itself was never solved in real life, but that didn't stop Metz from coming up with a great ending that wrapped everything up. I felt like her ending could have been straight out news clippings as well. Throughout the story the mystery was handled well, also. I was kept guessing about who all was involved for the most part. Some characters I figured were involved because of their general scumminess, but the main players where kept secret very well.
There were only a few areas that gave me trouble, and they were fairly minor. As much as I enjoyed the slang and colloquialisms, at times they were a little too much. During some of the more fast paced sections I didn't want to slow down and interpret. The other issue was with the dual story line. I enjoyed seeing both sides, but I didn't feel like the stories always matched up as well as they could have. Sometimes information was given away in one story line, and then retold in the other. I thought the use of the dual stories could have been put to somewhat better advantage if they had played off one another more. The present day story could have mentioned a secret, and then left the reader hanging until the past timeline picked up, creating more suspense and shock. When certain stories were covered in both it seemed a little repetitive at times.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable book. The mystery was well done with no holes, the characters were relatable and fun, and the romance kept you turning the pages just as much as trying to figure out who was terrorizing Tess did.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, it's a fun read that will have you laughing, then turn around and have you wringing your hands over Tess and Jackson.
Who would I recommend this book to? Mystery readers looking for a cozy, reality based story will enjoy this. Anyone who has lived in a small town will get a kick out of Goose Pimple. Readers looking for a romance that is engaging without being explicit can't go wrong with this book. It's geared more toward women than men, but that doesn't mean male readers wouldn't enjoy it. Older teens could read this book with no problem. It was pretty clean and anything unfamiliar was explained well. There is some discussion of the murder, but it is not graphic or detailed.
Murder and Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is available now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also enter to win an advance release copy and a bookmark by leaving a comment, or following Amy on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
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Even though I grew up in a small town, it was out in the West, not the South. We had our own goofy sayings, but Goose Pimple Junction has us beat.
I loved the local slang in this book. At the title of each chapter Metz highlights a word non-Southerns may need a little help with. Jackson is Tess's translator when she gets hung up on all the "Hire ya'lls" and "Mares."
The chapter titles often get you curious or laughing, and sometimes both. I had no idea what the phrase "Just cut your shamer off and feed it to the chickens" meant, but it made me laugh and kept me reading. The southernfied atmosphere gave a lot of personality to this little town and really added to the story.
Murder and Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is available now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also enter to win an advance release copy and a bookmark by leaving a comment, or following Amy on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
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Amy's very funny, entertaining book was inspired by real life events. Of course, she's added in her own fictional twists and characters to keep everyone reading, but now it's time to find out more about this mystery.
1. Can you tell us about the real-life inspiration behind this book? Everything that happens in the 1930s part of the book actually happened to members of my family. I fictionalized the scenes of course, but my great uncle really did witness a bank robbery in 1932, he really was murdered in 1935, and my great grandmother really was murdered in 1937. I have always been fascinated by the retelling of these events and saddened that my great uncle’s murder was never solved. I’ve always thought someone should write a book about those tragic events.
The other little things that happen in the 1930s part of the book actually happened as well. My grandfather owned a filling station in the center of town, and he and my dad witnessed the occurrences with the drunks and the policemen, just as it happened in the book. The whistle story is actually something my grandfather did to keep some bad guys from ambushing the sheriff. All of that small town flavor are things I’ve heard my dad retell, and they just stuck with me.
2. How did you decide on the details of main character, Tess, regarding her age, situation in life, etc.? I’m not sure I decided. I think Tess told me what to write, and I wrote it. But beyond that, there are tons of chick lit books out there with twenty-something main characters who are beautiful, smart, and have the perfect figure. At a hair over, ahem, fifty, I’d like to read about a character who is older. Older women have love lives too! And I was gratified to hear from several twenty-something readers that they loved the romance between Jack and Tess and found age to be just a number.
As far as Tess’s situation in life, I wanted the romance to be rocky, and I wanted the suspense of her fighting the mutual attraction, so I needed her to not want to get involved with a man. That’s why I had Tess move to town to start a new life after a messy divorce. After what she’d been through, she wanted nothing to do with men. But then she met Jackson.
And I had to give her an adult son in order for part of the plot to work. I can’t elaborate, or I’ll spoil it!
3. The male MC, Jackson, is a little different from the rest of Goose Pimple residents. Can you tell us a little about him? Jackson is a southerner, but he’s not originally from Goose Pimple Junction. He’s fluent in southern speak, although his accent isn’t as thick as some of the town’s residents. So he’s the perfect one to translate for Tess and to help her when she becomes stumped by the pronunciation of words or the meaning of the many “goosepimpleisms” in the book. Of course, he translates for the reader as well. And he’s a mystery writer who loves a good mystery, which makes him the perfect one to help Tess solve the cold case murder.
4. The second storyline in this book centers around the original bank heist. How did you research this era? I had several sources for my research: one was my father. He wasn’t alive for any of the crimes, but he grew up hearing accounts of them. And then I grew up hearing about them. When I began writing the story, I questioned him about some of the details, and we talked about the three events and what he remembers being told. I also have all of the original newspaper articles reporting on the robbery and murders, and there’s quite a bit online about them too. I poured over everything I could find.
5. Some aspects of this story were developed using fictional license when it came to solving the mystery, given that the original mystery was never solved. Was it difficult to create your own ending? No it wasn’t difficult. My imaginary friends sat in on my conversations with my father, and they listened to the possible scenarios and told me what to write. What was a little difficult was tying in the present day killer with that of the 1930s murderer. Several facts and details had to match up in order for it to work.
6. The romance between Tess and Jackson doesn't take the smoothest path. Why was it important not to make it too easy for them? I think it’s a lot more interesting that way. I wanted the reader to root for Jack and Tess to get together. I wanted there to be sexual tension and suspense, like in the television shows where season after season, the main characters are attracted to each other, and the audience is dying for them to get together. But when they do, there’s no more tension, nothing to hope for anymore. You’re glad they finally got together, but it’s easy to get bored with them after that. I had a lot of fun putting bumps in the road for Jack and Tess. Jack wasn’t very pleased with me at times, but he got over it, and I think the story is more fun.
7. In the working version of this book there were scenes that were a bit more racy than what was published. Can you tell us about the reasons behind the changes? I suppose the first version was more racy because I succumbed to peer pressure on the critique site where I first posted the story! Halfway through the book, my readers were threatening me with bodily harm if I didn’t get Jack and Tess together. Well, maybe I exaggerate a little, but the point is…I gave the readers what I thought they wanted. When I found out the book was going to be published, I wanted the book to be one my sons, my father, and people I know could read without me wanting to put a bag over my head for the rest of my life, so I toned it down. My editor and I agreed that it didn’t take anything away from the story to tone it down. I also wanted the book to be mostly a mystery with just a sideline of romance.
8. Who are your favorite authors? Of the old established authors, I love Robert B. Parker, John Sandford, and Nelson DeMille. Of the new authors, I like Tricia Drammeh, Wayne Zurl, and Mike Wells.
9. Do you have any interesting rituals or habits when you write? I didn’t when I wrote this first book. But after reading it in paperback, I’ve learned I need to read everything out loud at some point in the editing process. So now my dog, Cooper, is my audience and is the first to hear one of my books. He’s a tough audience though. Sometimes he falls asleep. I hope that doesn’t happen with a human reader.
10. Can you tell us about any other projects or books you're working on right now? I’m working on the second book in the GPJ series—Heroes & Hooligans In Goose Pimple Junction. I thought I was done with it, but I put it aside for a few months and now have gone back with a fresh eye, and I’m rewriting it a bit. The town is just recovering from the murder and mayhem that occurred in the first book, when three hooligans arrive. The new police chief has his hands full trying to apprehend a killer, catch a thief, and stop a stalker. Oh, and he has to try to control his feelings for a damsel in distress too.
I’ve also started GPJ3, and every now and then I tinker around on the thriller I started two years ago.
Thank you so much for hosting me, DelSheree. And thank you for reading my book!
Connect with Amy Metz at her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, or watch the book trailer on YouTube.
Murder and Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is available now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also enter to win an advance release copy and a bookmark by leaving a comment, or following Amy on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
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Let's get to know more about Amy Metz. Don't forget to come back tomorrow for my interview with Amy where she tells us about the story behind this book...the real life mystery.
"Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. She is the mother of two sons and lives in Louisville, Kentucky. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or spoiling her dog and two granddogs, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in her hands."
If you're eager to learn more about Amy's new book, check out the book trailer on YouTube.
Catch up with Amy on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
Murder and Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is available now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also enter to win an advance release copy and a bookmark by leaving a comment, or following Amy on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Southern mystery is the theme for this week! Amy Metz's murder mystery with a dose of romance is in the spotlight on The Edible Bookshelf this week. Southern slang, dark family secrets, and a second chance at love are waiting for Tess Tremaine in Goose Pimple Junction.
"When Tess Tremaine starts a new life in the colorful town of Goose Pimple Junction, curiosity leads her to look into a seventy-five-year-old murder. Suddenly she’s learning the foreign language of southern speak, resisting her attraction to local celebrity Jackson Wright, and dealing with more mayhem than she can handle.
A bank robbery, murder, and family tragedy from the 1930s are pieces of the mystery that Tess attempts to solve. As she gets close to the truth, she encounters danger, mystery, a lot of southern charm, and a new temptation for which she’s not sure she’s ready."
Murder and Mayhem in Goose Pimple Junction is available now from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
You can also enter to win an advance release copy and a bookmark by leaving a comment, or following Amy on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
