Whatcha Got Wednesday!

Yay! Another awesome installment of Whatcha Got Wednesday. And I'm very excited about this weeks haul.. even though I'm no where near being through last weeks... or the several weeks before.

Bought:
"Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins - I'm holding off on reading this one. I'm just not ready yet.
"The Year of Living Scandalously" by Julia London - Couldn't pass this one up.
"Hard to Hold" by Julie Leto - I've seen the buzz about this for a while, and I've never been able to get it out of my head, finally I got myself a copy!

Won:
"Trial By Desire" by Courtney Milan - SIGNED! Yay! Thanks to the author and KB. :)

For Review:
"Wild Heart" by Lori Brighton (ebook)
I reviewed Lori's book "The Ghost Hunter" and enjoyed it, so she sent me "Wild Heart" to read and review as well.

That's it for me this week, what about you guys?

Virutal Blog Tour: Author Russell Brooks here with a contest!!

Please help me welcome author Russell Brooks, promoting his new release "Pandora's Succession." Find out more about his book and the author himself on my Blog Tour Teaser Post, his blog, and his website. And follow him on the rest of his blog tour - dates and links here!   So let's all give a big welcome to author Russell Brooks as he talks about his new release, and be sure to comment to be entered to win one of ten ecopies of "Pandora's Succession!"

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 And the actor to play Ridley Fox is…

By Russell Brooks

My associate came up with the idea of turning Pandora’s Succession into a graphic novel and asked me which celebrities did I picture emulating the characters. It was interesting because in this story I had already envisioned actual actors portraying the characters. So without further ado, allow me to share with you the actors and actresses that I had in mind when I wrote Pandora’s Succession.

Ridley Fox—Christian Bale

I’ve always pictured someone who’s athletic, tough, but with a bit of a soft, emotional side. Christian Bale is perfect as the troubled CIA operative, Ridley Fox. Aside from having the right height, build, and age, he’s been a gentleman at times while a bad-ass at others. The best examples of this were when we watched him in The Dark Knight and Terminator: Salvation. Furthermore, Bale has a certain charisma that attracts women, not to mention the physique, that is, until he has a meltdown. In addition to being British-born, he has facial features that could make him pass for a native of almost any country, which would allow him to easily emulate the multilingual, chameleon-like talents that Fox possesses. The only thing that Bale needs is to learn to play the piano and the violin, because that’s what helps Fox think and to relax.

 

Dr Nita Parris—Zoe Saldana

Alright. Being of Barbadian ancestry, I know that this will put me in hot water the next time I go to Barbados because I didn’t picture Rihanna. After all, the former CIA weapons analyst turned field operative, Dr Nita Parris, is a native of Barbados. She was a tough one to envision because unfortunately I find that too many young actresses are way too anorexic. I also needed someone exotic and athletic to play the role of the former star track athlete turned scientist. I was captivated by Ms Saldana after seeing her in Pirates of the Caribbean and in Star Trek. Ms Saldana would be the perfect NOC agent (CIA term for Non-official cover). She appears to be intelligent, docile and innocent—yet aggressive and feisty when she needs to be. The type of woman that could put Ridley Fox in his place and keep him grounded.

 

Dr Tabitha Marx—Claire Stansfield

This will be a treat to fans of Xena the Warrior Princess. But who could not have nightmares after watching Ms Stansfield incarnate the role of Alti the Shamaness. In fact, in a previous draft of the novel, I had modelled Dr Marx’s character too close to Alti, that my writing coach advised me that Dr Marx was far too evil a character and that I ought to tone her down a bit. In addition, standing at over six feet tall, she could easily stand face to face with Ridley Fox and not be intimidated by him as other characters in the story were. Sigh, if only she was still acting today.

The October Man—John Gottfried—Jeremy Irons

As you see, it’s a toss-up. John Gottfried was my first choice after having watched him play a Russian General in the James Bond epic, Goldeneye. Although he’s German, he played a very convincing Russian and he even has the right tone of voice for the mysterious shadowy character.

Jeremy Irons was my second pick. He has a certain darkness about him in his appearance that would make him an ideal ex-KGB operative. The only thing that’s missing? Give him a pen to twirl.

Valerik—Robbie Coltrane

This one was too easy. After starring twice in two James Bond movies as an ex-KGB turned Russian mafia lord, Valentin Zukovski, he’s no stranger to being a Russian that likes to get into trouble. He was the first person that came to mind when I had the idea of having him accidentally spill an espresso on his shirt and then dip his table napkin into another patron’s drinking water to clean the stain.

Sveta Stechina

Look at the picture and guess which British actress this is. The first person to guess wins a prize. Hint, she’ll surprise the living daylights out of you. Tune in to the end of the virtual book tour when I post the winner of this mini-contest.

I’d like to thank Ms Amanda for giving me the chance to be a guest on her site.

The STOP THE SUCCESSION virtual book tour continues to November 24, 2010.

Simply leave a comment on a blog or site with your email address. Everyone that leaves a comment with their email address (in the body of your message) will win an autographed ebook cover. After the blog tour, 10 commenters from all of the blogs will be drawn to win free autographed ebook copies of Pandora's Succession.

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And thank you, Russell, for coming! I loved seeing which actors you would choose to play your characters - and I'll admit being a little stumped as to which actress you would like to play Sveta - I'll bet you guys can figure it out, though! Leave a comment with your guess and email - Russell will announce the winner at the end of his tour and that lucky someone will get a special prize.

Review of "No Rest for the Wicca" by Toni LoTempio

 I hope you all had a great weekend! Ready for another awesome Monday? Yeah, me either... But at least my weekend was filled with some great books - like "No Rest for the Wicca." On that note, let's begin!

Disclaimer: This book was given to me in exchange for a review. I was not given any monetary incentive for a good review. I am an Amazon.com affiliate (which means almost nothing).

Type: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Witches, Voodoo, Investigators, Special Agents, Hunky agents pretending to be equally hunky professors, College

Why this book?: Well, the awesome author of "No Rest for the Wicca" contacted me about reviewing her book - and after reading the synopsis, I couldn't pass it up. Frankly, it seemed like it was right up my alley - it was. =)
 Morgan Hawkes works as a paranormal investigator, one of the "ghostbusters" that cleans up daemons that just don't want to move to the next plane. It may not be her dream job, but after losing her partner, it's better than working in Homicide and having to relive that traumatic experience every day. But Special Agent Cole St. John has come to her with an interesting proposition. There's a serial killer on the lose, targeting local witches, and he needs Morgan's expertise. Originally, she passes on the deal, but when her cousin is attacked and almost becomes the next victim, Morgan jumps on board. But this case, and Cole, might be more than she is prepared to handle.


I like Morgan - she can be snarky. And she's not a wimpy female, she can dish out the sarcasm as well as a well aimed punch or kick, just as good as any man. Yeah, she had a traumatic experience, but she's working on coming to terms with her past, and does her best to prevent herself from ever being in that situation again. But she's also loyal, and if putting herself on the line is what it takes to save her cousin, she'll do it. She's willing to do anything, even offer herself as bait, if it means catching the bad guy. And that's where Cole St. John comes in. Confident, charming, and smart. He wants to solve this case just as much as anyone, but he keeps a level head enough to keep Morgan from doing anything rash - and it makes them a good team. And the two have great chemistry, and the perfect amount of humor and witty banter to keep this story from being too dark.

The author either really knew her Wicca and Voodoo history and practice, or she is great at making things up and having them sound like gospel truth. The scenes where Morgan was listening to the professors' lectures were interesting, the knowledge fascinating and useful (for later) enough that it was fascinating. The description in most scenes was well done, just the right amount to give the reader an idea of what was going on or where they were, but not so much that it was overbearing. And the close, hot moments between Cole and Morgan were quite steamy. The moments leading up to these scenes could have had a little more tension, maybe a heated look or a not-so-casual touch so it flowed a little smoother, but it was still very well done. And though a character or two's name was switch, always a character that wasn't in the scene, just being referred to, and occasionally a character would start somewhere in the beginning of the conversation and end up somewhere very different supposedly without moving by the end of it, it's never enough to pull the reader out of the story, and I only noticed it by chance.

I'm going to give "No Rest for the Wicca" a FOUR out of FIVE (4/5). I enjoyed the characters, I loved the story, and I thought it played out exceptionally well. The ending was quite satisfying, and was left open enough that a sequel is possible - I certainly hope! Be sure to check out "No Rest for the Wicca" by Toni LoTempio by purchasing this item at Amazon.com, or via the author's Smashwords page, here. Only $2.99 for what I assure you is a great read - I could barely put it down once I started reading.

Have a wonderful week, and make sure to check back tomorrow when author Russell Brooks drops by during his Virtual Blog Tour - enter to win a prize or an ecopy of his new release, "Pandora's Succession"

~!~ MG

Russell Brooks' Blog Tour stopping here on Tuesday (10/26)!! Details here!

Hello everyone! A special Sunday post here to announce that Novel Addiction will be hosting new author Russell Brooks on his blog tour for his release - "Pandora's Succession."  Follow Russell on the tour, comment on any of the tour posts, and you get entered into the pot to WIN ONE OF TEN ECOPIES of his new book! And as a special for my readers - Russell has thrown in a mini contest for this stop on the tour. Be the first to guess which actress he is referring to (there are hints at the end of his post), and you can win a prize! You'll have to follow him to the last leg of the tour to find the winner - I'll make sure you have the schedule.

So what is "Pandora's Succession" about? An exciting biological thriller/suspense novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Here's the blurb:

CIA operative, Ridley Fox, never stopped hunting his fiancée’s killers—a weapons consortium called The Arms of Ares. When an informant leads him to an old bunker outside of Groznyy, Chechnya, Fox is captured, beaten, and left for dead. When the informant rescues him, Fox learns that his capture was no coincidence: someone had set him up—possibly another government agent. Fox barely escapes after learning that Ares has acquired a hyperdeadly microbe—called Pandora—that is believed to have wiped out ancient civilizations. The trail leads Fox to Tokyo where he discovers that people within the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Japanese Intelligence want Pandora for themselves. The only person Fox can trust is a woman from his past who he nearly got killed.  

 And now for a bit about the author himself -
Russell has written several essays on his blog The Big Picture, one of which was published in the Op-Ed section of the National Post in early 2009. He has also written a short story, To the Last Bite, and produced his own poetry/novel-themed show, The Russell Show, on YouTube. He currently lives in Montreal, Quebec.

And now more details about the Blog Tour Contest -
- Every commenter that leaves their email address in the body of the comment will win a signed ebook cover of "Pandora's Succession." After the blog tour, ten commenters will win an ebook of "Pandora's Succession," virutally signed by the author.   
- And make sure you come back HERE

on the 26th, be the first to guess which actress Russell is refering to - and win a prize! (Make sure to include your email address just in case) - THe winner will be announced at the end of his tour.

Linkies for you to check out!
-Here's the Virtual Blog Tour schedule
-Author Russell Brooks' website
-Author's blog, The Big Picture

I hope to see you all on Tuesday!! Don't forget - comment (with your email!!) for a chance to win!