Steven Gore's new release "Act of Deceit"

Act of Deceit: A Harlan Donnally Novel by Steven Gore

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Steven Gore has very quickly, with just 2 books, established himself in the coveted marquee line-up of top male thriller authors. This, his third book, out Sept. 1st. is the first edition of a new series with a new character - Harlan Donnally.
I finished this advance copy of Act of Deceit by Steven Gore on saturday.
The remarkable aspect, which gives our hero Harlan Donnally such legitimate depth and believe-ability lies in Steven Gore's professional background as an investigator. The high end kind who can find out anything about anyone, anywhere in the world and make things happen with what he uncovers.
Fictional reality based in experiential reality, the very best kind.
There is no mistaking Gore's skill level, (he's published by Harper....), and the result is a very engaging, introspective character on a mission to keep a promise and make things right, in memory of the dying man he made that promise to. A man with a past he hopes to keep hidden.
Harlan Donnally is not easy to figure out, in fact we may never figure him out. He doesn't fit the mold of action hero, whatever that is these days, yet the qualities we might look for are there, in spades. Like many of us Harlan is a work in progress but sure of the origins of his expanding convictions.



Really good sub plotting, killer dialogue, transitions and narration that draws zero attention to itself, this novel introduces us to a different kind of guy. It's a high speed thrill ride through the seamy darkside of a very controversial issue with a single minded goal that requires some very hard choices by our man. Choices which may cost him his life. Yet he persists and pursues, finding himself up against formidable odds and bad guys in Mexico. The stakes are raised again and again and where most people would walk, no run, away he stays, stands and delivers. Harlan's way of handling things range from pure determination to raw brutality to ultra shrewd thinking. A masterful portrait and character sketch by Gore.
No assumptions, presumptions or cookie cutter anything in the dynamic.
Flaws? Sure. In spite of them his single mindedness to get the job done is what will keep this character in your mind and cause you to look forward to the next installment in the series.

As a reader you'll need to bring your A game, it'll be worth it, trust me.
As a writer - bring your note pad and an ice pack.

I think readers and writers alike will love the twists and turns and at the end you'll throw your head back, wipe the sweat from your brow and laugh.


.....you know where to find me......





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Iron House by John Hart

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first book by John Hart, "Iron House" makes me feel like I wish I had read his other books too. And I will.

Iron House (I'm maybe 250 pages into the story) is the most amazing blend of literary eloquence in writing and graphic narration/description I've ever read. The reviews say "riveting" and other terms reserved for the bestsellers of our day, and believe me, they're all true.

I honestly didn't know what to expect as I picked up this novel but the reviews spoke well of it and I liked the title. I'm glad I did.

Third person POV, complex and love/hate characters, including our hero who fits no mold I can think of, intrigue, classic thriller plotting and killer pacing make this an awesome read for both writers and seasoned readers alike. For writers it's a virtual clinic in POV shifts and story arcing. Not to mention the clearly advanced style Hart has already attained after this his fourth novel release. Amazing.

Readers are in for an e-ticket ride and nothing short of a burning page turner. I usually have a book figured out by now, the who-did-it thing and all that, but not so with this book. VERY CLEVERLY WRITTEN.

I'm as serious as I can be.

Like I said, I'm a little better than halfway through the book and I'll wait till I'm done and complete this review with an overall picture of the story and my final thoughts.

If you find yourself looking at this review at a point where you're looking for a good book, well, look no further.

Iron House is your next read.

*More soon.



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Huh? Did you say something?

Hi kids,
 "You must be willing to do the work, grasshoppa..."
These words (I just made up...) have haunted me for a number of years. When I was younger, things, some world class, came easily and I became spoiled and entitled and when it got difficult I just jumped to another one. I never really realized just what "professional" meant because even though I had the goods and aptitude(sports, acting, design, etc.), I just didn't have the mindset, and, even more sickening: I didn't even realize it. We may cause our own failures and our own bitternesses and never know it. It wasn't until I got older and by some miracle of revelation that I understood and immediately panicked because I knew it was getting late in the game.
Writing is one of the trade-crafts here on earth that require work, hard work, and a learning curve that never really ends, even though you may be paying your bills with book sales. No amount of song and dance or fist pounding tantrums or schmoozing can replace the day to day grind of learning to write, and then writing. For me, mainstream commercial fiction, thriller genre, is where I hope to plant my flag and hopefully the hurricane force winds of fate will once again lift me to that mountain top in my soul and I can rest knowing I really was, finally, "willing to do the work."
I recently released a short story that I have lost all objectivity with, in terms of possibly editing it, which it still needs. I look back at it now a month or two later and I cringe. Someday soon I will rewrite and re-release it. I think essentially it's a good storyline and has a few decent sentences.
The book I'm working on at the moment is a high action thriller starring a guy who's life suddenly changes radically and people are ending up dead all around him and he finds himself on the run living on instinct from moment to moment. I can relate, and hopefully translate my own blood and guts, life and death experiences to this guy without him becoming the face of vengeance.
Sometimes our lives change in ways we do not welcome or want. But, when we travel down a road, let's say The Writers Road, we cannot expect the familiar faces and places and security of home to follow us or be set into the moving landscape hurtling past us continually, or where we might waylay for the night or a season. Time moving forward, or at least in a linear direction, keeps moving whether we like it or not. Moments savored, all too soon disappear like a mist. The one constant we are granted is the fruits of our labor, and it is to that end I now endeavor to persevere and in fact treasure the chance to do so.
Thanks to everyone who reads this and/or follows me in social media, I appreciate it and will try my best to be a friend back to you too.
I highly recommend reading Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, blog and perspectives for authors, especially new ones.    Mark's Blog
Look around at his other posts too. He has some really good ideas and many writers may not realize just how much of a techie he is.
I'm at just over 50 thousand words into my thriller and I'm writing some very high action scenes, that's why I haven't been around as much. Then it will be onto the finding the money to tap into editing process on a high level.
 

 ...you know where to find me...


LUVU

From the battlefield...

Hi All,
 I'm grinding my way through the 40's in my novel trying to create very high stress action scenes with both tension and....(I can't think of the other word) but I usually scan the social media world first before I get to writing. Today I happened upon an article and video of the Harper CEO Brian Murray talking about a number of things, including libraries and how they matter to Harper. He makes some really good points and expresses, what I think, are some great perspectives on book sales. Below the article you'll see a couple of comments that will make you wonder, though both contributors make good points.
DBW article with Harper CEO

The landscape of publishing may be changing in terms of delivery methods in the rapidly changing digital frontier, but like Murray says, it's still ultimately about getting books in peoples hands, whether that be via ereaders or whatever. I found it interesting when he expressed his thoughts on the publisher view(Harper) of authors and also, the struggle to find the most commercially viable books. I have a friend, a major author who is on Harper and I would die to be one of their authors, as would most writers of fiction.
I hear and see a lot of stuff written about the new world of self publishing and all that, but for me, if I could get a deal with a major pub house I would jump on it in a heart beat. At the end of the day, for a writer, it's about a lot more than just writing and self editing and trying to self pub and promote in the individual issue sense. I'm tech savvy too but that doesn't mean I want to spend a huge amount of time doing and learning what it takes to be a self promo pro, as an author. It's just too much. This is why you see major indie authors signing with major publishers. Read Amanda Hocking's post about why she did it, Joe Konrath too. Many writers start down that road and eventually realize that the self promotion part is the tough one, if nothing else but from a time standpoint. Not to mention cover art, editing on several levels, and formatting, and finding a good print co. if you want a hard copy version too, which I do.
This isn't to say that it can't be done. I see authors who have great book review sites and blogs with "how-to" instructions everywhere. Some even have books doing well on the digital charts. It can be done if you have enough tech savvy and/or money to have a good promo co. do it for you, and there are some good ones out there. But for the author/self promo types, behind the scenes, I know they struggle with the one element a writer treasures but has only so much control over and that's - TIME.
And believe me when I tell you, having a large blog or social media following is not a guarantee of anything.

     Take a look at this article and play the interview video. No modern author, in his or her right mind, would or should ever write off big publishing, no matter how defiant you are about them. They are out to sell books. They have the staff, the knowledge and money to do it and they WILL figure out how to ride the tiger into the future. I personally don't think the major houses are going anywhere.
True, the playing field, in some ways, is more level and that's great. I love the idea of being able to get my stuff in front of people with enough hard work and tech smarts, but if I had my way, I would recluse myself and write all day, every day and leave the rest of it to the pros. It may not work out that way, but I'm going to give it a good try and take my first novel effort as far as I can and hope it gets someone's attention.
Eventually I hope to be able to pay my electric bill too.

...you know where to find me.........
             
                                                           LUVU

My Short Story is out....finally!

 Hi all, I know I've been missing in action lately.
This short story, now available on Smashwords for the various ereaders is one of the reasons why. I'm also 40K + into my 1st formal thriller novel and I work on it almost every day. Aside from the usual "life" stuff, some of it near crisis level, the book is moving along. I hope you'll take a look at this story, it's a classic example of self-publishing on 0 budget and I have a lot of friends to Thank including Jessica Riggles ( @Jesilea on Twitter) and Barbie (known as KeeperofDreams on FB and Twitter)
Here's the link to my Smashwords page where you can look over a sample of the 3400 word short story, (at .99 cents it's still a deal...) and I hope you decide to buy it and add it to your library.

The Train Whistle. A short story.


I hope to have the Kindle version up soon but there are one or two formats on my SW page that Kindle supports, you should see them there. I'll let you know when the official Kindle version is out. I'm a Nook fan so I have it in my Nook already.
 It was kind of a cool moment for me, this being my first actual fiction story published anywhere and even though I published it, it's still out there for sale and it gives me a feeling that I'm moving forward. In my present situation that in itself is a colossal thing..
For me it was the first of many such milestones, God willing.
I will be posting another blog edition right here very soon.
(We've been working on my dance tune too, I forgot to mention that, so far it sounds great.)
Alright well, that's it for now. I'll be online mostlikely on Twitter and looking in on FB every now and then. Again much heartfelt THANKS to Barbie and Jess for hookin' me up!

...you know where to find me...




LUVU