Waiting On Wednesday

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Bell Blues – Meg Benjamin

Who knew you could find the love of your life at the wedding from hell…

Konigsburg, Book 2

Janie Dupree will do anything to make sure her best friend has the wedding of her dreams, even if it means relinquishing what every bridesmaid covets and never gets—the perfect maid-of-honor dress. Problem is, family drama as tangled as a clump of Texas prickly pear cactus threatens to send the skittish bride hopping aboard the elopement express.

Janie could use a hand, but the best man’s “help” is only making things worse.

Pete Toleffson just wants to get through his brother’s wedding and get back to his county attorney job in Des Moines. He never expected to be the engineer on a wedding train that’s derailing straight toward hell. Janie’s the kind of girl he’d like to get close to—but her self-induced role as “Miss Fix-It” is as infuriating as it is adorable.

If they can just fend off meddling parents, vindictive in-laws, spiteful ex-boyfriends, and a greyhound named Olive long enough to achieve matrimonial lift-off, maybe they can admit they’re head-over-heels in love.

I read the first book in the series VENUS IN BLUE JEANS and it was a sweet read – I love small town read and this one has most certainly hold my interest..

 

 

One Night In Napa – Allie Boniface

Can anything really change in 24 hours? Can everything?

A One Night story.

Journalist Grant Walker has one chance to salvage his job and his relationship with his domineering father. Terrorists have kidnapped a fading film star’s son, and Grant has scored the first interview with the grieving mother. Even better, a new twist has just arrived on the scene—an illegitimate granddaughter who hasn’t been heard from in seven long years.

It’s the story of a lifetime, and all Grant has to do is deliver.

After discovering a terrible secret about her birth, Kira March left home vowing never to return. With her father kidnapped and her grandmother cracking under media pressure, it’s up to her to find and destroy all evidence of that secret. Trouble is, a reporter has weaseled his way into the house looking for answers—and he isn’t leaving until he gets them.

Yet as the hours pass, Kira finds herself falling for the very man who could destroy her. And when Grant comforts her in the wake of a midnight tragedy, he remembers why it’s a bad idea to get emotionally involved with an interview subject. Especially when the family name is on the line.

I read the first two in this series and did a review on one- ONE NIGHT IN BOSTON I really liked the emotional bombardment that Ms. Boniface did on me and I am looking forward to this release.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Pair of Jacks – Blaze Ballantine

When Marie Maxwell's cover as an international smuggler is blown, the Parisian operative is called back to Washington D.C. to be placed in protective custody. Jack Benson and Jack Reno are a pair of renegade federal agents assigned the difficult task of keeping her alive.
Although agency rules forbid romantic involvement between covert personnel, Jack, Marie, and Reno can't reign in the passion they feel for one another. Isolated from the world at Ghost Moon Ranch in Wyoming, both men realize they are falling in love with the sophisticated Parisian.

Marie has her hands full dealing with the two headstrong agents and her attraction to both of them. Knowing their relationship is as dangerous as the assassin hunting her, will she choose her career, or will she lose herself to the all-consuming fire they ignite within her? Ultimately, Marie discovers love, and the pleasure in holding a pair of Jacks.

Honestly the blurb and the cover made me  add this one ot my TBB list – I love the hint of a kick ass chick – trying ot juggle an attraction and a job at the same time. I so hope it’s a good read…

 

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

 

 

 

 

Book Blogger Appreciation was started by Amy Riley of My Friend Amy in an effort to recognize the hard work and contribution of book bloggers to the promotion and preservation of a literate culture actively engaged in discussing books, authors, and a lifestyle of reading.

The first Book Blogger Appreciation was observed in the fall of 2008 and occurs every September. The week spotlights and celebrates the work of active book bloggers through guest posts, awards, giveaways, and community activities. Book Bloggers are encouraged to register their participation for inclusion in a database of book bloggers.

This will take place September 14th-18th and there will be awards and giveaways. Best of all, there will be a database with everyone's information (as long as you register!!). Last year, over 400 blogs were listed.

Click HERE to go to Book Blogger Appreciation site.

Click HERE to follow them on Twitter.

 

Review – Tempt me Tonight – Toni Blake

 

 

 

 

 

Back Of The Book

Trish Henderson has returned home to Eden to take care of some family business…and some personal business, as well. Though she’s achieved remarkable success as a high-powered Indianapolis attorney, Trish has never forgotten her small-town high school sweetheart, Joe Ramsey, or the devastation of heartbreak.
Now she’s come face-to-face with the gorgeous sex god Joe has grown into, and she’s determined to get him out of her system once and for all – and maybe take a little revenge, too. And this time, she has all the power. After all, where is it written that only men can explore and enjoy a physical relationship without commitment? Her plan: seduce him for just one night, then walk away…
But there’s just one problem. Trish is about to find out that one night with Joe may never be enough

 

 

His gaze paralyzed her further. “Hey, cupcake.”

Damn, his voice had gotten deep. And the old pet name was almost enough to bury her.

“Hey,” she managed. Why couldn’t you be fat and bald and ugly? And why on earth hadn’t Debbie told her? Debbie had told her a lot of things about Joe over the years, but she’d neglected to mention that he’d turned out sizzling hot.

He looked to Debbie. “Deb.”

“Hey, Joe.” Debbie lifted a hand, but looked uncomfortable, even though Trish knew Debbie saw him all the time.

The most gorgeous blue eyes God had ever made turned back to Trish, reminding her once more – this really was God’s country. “Been a while.”

A lifetime. Are you thinking of it, too? That last night? Hell, that whole last summer. All that kissing and touching. “Yeah.”

“I’m gonna go talk to Kenny,” Debbie said in a rush, then flitted across the room before Trish could stop her. She firmly planned to murder Deb for leaving her, but she had bigger things to deal with at the moment.

“What brings you to town?” He spoke in so unhurried a manner that Trish thought she must have imagined his surprise at seeing her – he was utterly cool and collected, his every word somehow seductive.

She swallowed, trying to clear the nervous sludge from her throat. “Just here to help my parents with some legal issues.”

He tipped his head back lightly. “Heard they’re selling the diner.”

She nodded. “Retiring. They’ll just be running the farm now.” Her dad had always kept a herd of beef cattle in addition to running the restaurant on Main Street.

“So … Deb says you live in Indy.”

Another numb nod on her part.

“And you’re a lawyer, right? She said you worked at a big firm downtown. Sounds like things turned out good for you.”

“Yeah.” Although you wouldn’t know from my sparkling conversation that I have half a brain in my head. Time to rectify that, act more like a normal person just running into an old … friend. “She tells me you bought Shermer’s Garage.” He’d always loved cars and had worked there repairing them in high school. It’s where he’d gotten the money for the used Trans Am.

He nodded. “I specialize in foreign makes now, though.”

Yeah, she knew that, too. Given that he was still Kenny’s best friend, it was impossible not to know things about him. Not that she’d asked. Okay, maybe she had. Occasionally. Just casually, whenever his name came up.

But she didn’t see any reason to act like she and Debbie sat around talking about him all the time, so she didn’t admit she knew. And she even considered telling him she was happy he’d done well for himself – but instead she simply forced a small smile and said, “That’s great. So … how’s your family?”

He shoved his hands in his front pockets and she cringed inside, remembering. His mom had died. Less than a year after Trish had left Eden. A bad car accident. She’d cried for him when she’d heard.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I mean, Debbie told me about your mom back when it happened.” For some reason, she couldn’t quite meet his eyes any longer – the topic was too awful, and she’d just tossed it carelessly out between them without meaning to.

“It’s okay, Trish – it was a long time ago.”

She raised her eyes automatically – it was the first time he’d said her name. She sighed, bit her lip, and tried to move on. “Your dad? Your sister? She must be all grown up now. How are they?”

“Dad lives in Florida – he remarried. And Jana just moved to Ohio – she got a job there, and met a guy. She’s twenty-five now.” He didn’t look particularly happy about any of it, but Joe’s family life never had been particularly happy and she regretted bringing it up.

Time to go. “Well … it was, uh, nice to see you.” She pointed absently toward the pool tables. “I’m gonna go catch up with Debbie and Kenny.”

She started to walk away – when a warm vice closed around her wrist, stopping her. She glanced down to see Joe’s large, tan hand – and dear God, moisture surged between her thighs, just from that.

She jerked her gaze up to his, still deep blue and penetrating.

“It was nice to see you, too, cupcake.”

Their gazes held for another scintillating moment.

And then he let her go, and she was treading across the floor, but she didn’t feel it beneath her, didn’t feel the greetings from old friends suddenly being passed her way or the hug from Kenny – all she felt was Joe’s stare on her backside and the tingling sensation still pulsing in her panties. And there suddenly wasn’t a bleck to be found in her mind. Nope, it was all about wow now. And mmm. And maybe ah.

Tempt Me Tonight © Toni Blake

 

Review

Trish  Henderson is home for a whole straight of time for the first time in almost fifteen years. Spurred on by her best friend to have a night out – she ends up at the local dive looking at the last person she expects to see after all these years – Joe Ramsey.

Joe is the boy now a hunk a man that broke her heart. moving away and getting on with her life as allowed her to brush the hurt of her teenage years under the carpet. Now seeing Joe again brings it all back and it slams into her with a vengeance. Luck was on her side however as Joe is a gentleman and knows he did wrong and has been waiting on his chance to apologies.

Joe is the local boy made good and all at the cost of losing the girl and gossip dodging his tail at every turn. He only has one regret and after more than a decade he finally gets his chance to say sorry  to Trish – all is not as easy as it sounds, as emotions long buried immediately rises to to the surface and burn them both before they have a chance to get a handle on the business of apologies.

Trish is not about to lay down and give it all up to Joe however, she is out for her pound of flesh and she is not opposed to using everything in her arsenal to show Joe that she is not the same little girl who ran away from it all – years ago.

With small town – things have a way of moving faster than you can imagine and news travels at the speed of light – worried family, nosey friends and even Trish inner biker chick makes Trish stay in small town Eden definately news worthy. Something has to give however and Joe and Trish are not playing from the same hymn sheet.

I had this book earmarked to read a few days ago as a way of getting a touch of Ms. Blake’s writing style. When I spotting it as a Hussy Approve Reading Material on my friend Vampfangirl blog , I know I had to start reading it right away.

Firstly the thing that attracted me to this book was the blurb – it highlighted a few of my favourite things in a book, small town plot and old love revisited. I was eager to delve in.  Ms. Blake's voice is strong in this book – it’s a mixture of walking the path of least resistance and that funny side that just want to cut loose at the drop of a hat.

I warmed to the cast easily enough, but as much as I liked them, I had equal amount of issue with them. Trish was a small town girl that made it in the big city , yet she still retains that yearning to go back to a quieter way of life. I liked bits of her character, and was totally annoyed by other bits of her – While I accept some things as small town way of life, gossiping with your friend and babbling about personal detail was a bit much for me – and I only tolerated her after a while.

As I mentioned before, Joe was a gentleman through and through. Not without his fault and his moments of brashness, but I respected the fact that he manned up to a whole lot of changes and tried to make good on past wrong as soon as he got the chance. He was a straight arrow and I like how he tackled everything tossed at him in a timely and respectful manner.

The support cast was a mixed bag as well  - loyal friend, overprotective parents, exes’ and want to be love interest. I have to admit I was more interested in the carrying on’s with the support cast than Joe and Trish – confusing getting together. There were a few hilarious moment that was well time and suited the situation as well , I thought Ms. Blake dealt with some home truths in this book that are sometimes skirted over in books about small town living.

Bottom Line.

As my first introduction to Ms. Blake’s style TEMPT ME TONIGHT was an easy read. While the main protags had their up and down moment with me, the support cast did carry the book in my opinion. The array of story- lines lends a realness to the book , as well as  giving depth to the relationship that Joe and Trish was trying to salvage.

While I didn’t particularly care for this book,  I am eager to read more from this author – as there were some moment of brilliance in TEMPT ME TONIGHT and I am hoping to see what she does with the characters she presents in her other books.

 

For another view on this book - see VFG review – She absolutely loved it.

I have to thank Barbara for urging me to read this book. 'Tempt Me Tonight' embodies a strong and easy flow that draws you in and captivates until the very end. Joe makes your heart flutter and your body tingle while you simultaneously clench your fists over Trish's fear. While I understood her pain, I wanted Trish to just give in to the magnet that is Joe. If I had written this book, it would have been over in a few chapters. That's why I'm so happy to not be an author today for I'd be hopelessly unemployed. Instead, I willingly give myself over to the torment of the women who pen the beauty that is romance. I submit to the angst and nerves pulsating in my heart with the only reassurance that all will work out in the end. I don't know what I would do without the bliss of a guaranteed Happily Ever After. Nothing is guaranteed in real life but in a romance novel, I can pitch a fit and scream and rail at the hero and heroine while knowing that happiness is their destiny.

Tempt Me Tonight © VampFanGirl

 

 

Sassy Brit – Alternative-Read.Com

 

This week I am very pleased to have Sassy from Alternative-Read.com. She found my blog a few months ago and lets just say I have never looked back once I found hers.

She runs a review site and blog, and for me it’s always an eye opening experience to visit as I am not only amazed at the diversity of the genres that happens on her blog, but also the fact that Sassy and her gang makes some reading material that I would never look at feel so easy and I have picked up a few since….

The other lovely thing about Sassy is that she is on my side of the world – So keeping my fingers cross all of us lonely book bloggers on this side of the pond will met up and one of two things will happen. We’ll either be plotting to take over the world as we know it with books or will be having a good old blast of a time. I am pushing for the first, but may have to settle for the latter.

Join me in welcoming Sassy Brit to Erotic Horizon

 

 

1- Firstly you have promoted your blog as "Alternative Read"  - and i know it is the blog arm of your website. What's behind the name and is there a story there.
The main reason for the site being connected to "alternative reads" is that I found that my reading habits consisted of the alternative variety. Roughly speaking these titles are often books where the genre is a little hazy, bizarre or slipstream. For example,Steampunk, an alternative history in which characters in Victorian England have access to 20th century technology,or genres I often am told I "should have grown out of by now" - horror, pure dark fantasy and tales that focus on the nightmarish underbelly of magic, venturing into the violence of horror novels.

Then there is Dystopian, Post-Apocalyptic,Cyberpunk - stories featuring tough outsiders in a high-tech near-future where computers have produced major changes in society. Get the picture? At the beginning I even classed erotica as alternative, for in my industry circles ebooks were unheard of and (heavens above) even frowned upon. I think Britain still has difficulty in selling these, or at least getting readers interested in anything that is not in print format.

Over the years, of course, due to the high demand for reviews we get each month, we have expanded to cover most genres, be they self published, indie (smaller publishers) or the major publishing giants with lots of cash, although my personal preferences tend to remain the same - whoever they are published with.  However, I firmly believe in the promotion and support of Indie literature, and also music and films, too. There are a lot of marvellous artists out there that don't have the luxury of a big budget, but it doesn't mean they aren't any good at what they do or don't have talent.

-2- Can you let us know what's "your" speciality reading area and how/why you got into it.

I have partly answered this above, but I'll let you into a little secret. I started my site originally to promote my own work - freelancing- and - not many people know this - but I write short stories and flash fiction pieces (approximately 500 words or less) for fun. I have always been an avid reader and analysed everything that comes my way for its style and content.  I am forever curious to know how a story is crafted, and feel I learn from both the good and the bad books I read. It's kind of my 'on-the-job' training course.

Way back in 2005 my .com site was just me, myself and I, it was partly reviews and partly the promotion of myself for freelancing purposes,  under the "Alternative-Read.com" business name. There appeared to be a myriad of sites catering to romance, but hardly any for horror and my weird and wonderful tastes. In addition reviewer bloggers from Britain were practically unheard of, so I took it upon myself to put a stop to that, once and for all.  As you can see, my part time hobby of reviewing, kind of took over, but I am happy to say I have absolutely no regrets about this. It isn't always a ride in the park, but it is certainly rewarding and and I have been on quite a few good park rides.
How I got into reading such bizarre genres is something I blame on my upbringing.

For years I was a book reading tomboy. I had two older brothers, and a football manager for a father. All my money went on books and blue and white (Spurs) football 'stuff'. I even won a football in a raffle and everyone thought I was thinking of my brothers when I picked it out. I wasn't of course. This ball was mine! Ha ha ha! Anyway, I digress, I blame my reading tastes on my brothers, to be precise. I often sneaked into their shared room when they were out and snooped through their shelves. Thank goodness I never looked under the bed! Anyway, I found some hideous horror books with disgusting front covers that scared me just to look at them, so I began to borrow a few without telling them and realised there was some weird, perverse delight to be had from reading books that frightened the living daylights out of me. I was hooked.

Even though I am sure looking back I couldn't understand it all at the time. As an example, one such book was Rabid (also known as Rage in America) and a film starring the best screamer in the world, Marilyn Chambers, produced and written by David Cronenberg, 1977. The girl on the cover is dead, frozen blue and stuffed into a freezer. The tagline is "Pray it doesn't happen to you." I did. Many times. It's comical now, but Rabid is a classic of its genre during that time where horror was really producing some ground breaking work, both in books and on the big screen. James Herbert was another one who I read under the covers not daring to breath each time I heard a noise that I still swear came from under my bed.

-3- Do you review only books on your blog - If not how did you get into that.
I am also a member of Amazon "Vine Voice", so I get to review books and other products (including foreign films, my third most favourite hobby of all time) sent by them, which is great fun. I've reviewed toys, games and household appliances. I've noticed that the last review newsletter even offered a full sized, stand up Dyson vacuum cleaner. I was a little annoyed they had run out of stock when I tried to get that, because mine is on its last legs. It seems expensive products such as these are snapped up like hotcakes. Or in this case vacuum cleaners.
The posting of these sort of reviews often prompt further requests from all sorts of suppliers, kind of like a meme, and once someone gets wind of it, news I am reviewing other items spreads like wildfire... If I am not careful I'm going to end up with a house looking like the Trotter family home in Only Fools and Horses. I must add, my stuff is all legitimate and didn't fall off the back of a lorry.

-4- What sort  of blog time per day and week are you putting into your blog, seeing as how you run a dedicated review site.
Oh, I love this sort of question. This is where I say how organised and efficient I am. Actually I am not sure if organised is the right word, anal may be a little more appropriate. I get up quite early in the morning to reply to blog comments, with the idea of publishing new blog posts like (in old Blue Peter style) I have prepared earlier. I also do the promos early on, too. Things like tweeting the latest Blogger posts on Twitter, saying good morning to members of my Yahoo group. Then there is MySpace, Facebook, Digg, Technorati, instant messaging...all this networking can take over if I am not careful and before I know it the whole day has gone by in a technological blur. This is where my routine comes in. Schedules I suck at, but routines are different and I can cope with them.
Mornings:
PR (emails, blog posts and social networking sites).
Breakfast.
Reviews (writing them, formatting blog posts with reviews from the rest of the gang, recording incoming books, their due dates, which reviewers have them etc) until lunchtime when I walk my dogs for around an hour.
Afternoons:
My 'freelancing time' and then around 3.00pm it's time for me to get the house straight before my son gets home from school. We chat and do homework whilst I make and cook dinner, after which it's back to my office to finish off anything I haven't completed.
At the end of my working day I will shut down the comp, write out a list of things that need to completed the next day,  highlight all those items I have completed with a yelllow highlighter (I told you I was anal), and then go and read or watch a foreign film!
Notice I said "with the idea" right at the beginning - not everyday is truthfully as good as this.

  

-5-How difficult was it to start up a review site - with staff and all.
It is difficult. When the demand for reviews overtook my hours for reading, I knew I had to do something about it, but the last thing I wanted to do was give it all up. I had already found my niche for alternative books, so I took it upon myself to advertise for reviewers. Over the years we have had people come and go, but I am very fortunate to say I have a great group of staff and they are all friends, not just people I work with.

I won't make it sound all roses, it is hard to find honest and reliable people at times, and as harsh as it sounds, past experience has taught me to be extremely wary of those who I take on. But taking on staff means extra work in other areas; training, online meetings and increased reviews/productivity and in turn that means more computer time - formatting, posting, and website updates, yada, yada. All these factors can take you away from reading, the main reason you started reviewing and this needs to be taken into consideration. I love it, and don't give up on anything very easily.

- 6- What' the difference between the blog and the site.
OK I am going to sidetrack a little here, bear with me. I have to say that when I was made redundant I realised I could no longer afford to pay a yearly subscription to keep the main site going and at one point I was copying everything over from there and posting it on my blog for reference, with the view to saving money and deleting the .com site. But just thinking of doing this broke my heart. Sniff. Cue the violins.  I didn't want to do that, so I did some research and found that the .com site would be missed. So, not  being one to give up I thought of introducing the facility to promote cheap paid adverts in an effort to cover my expenses.

The offer has always been there, but I never really promoted it. I've also never really felt comfortable asking for money in any way, shape or form!LOL Now it's a matter of having to. Well, that, or get a "proper job" as my darling husband says when he looks at what I earn for my hobbyist freelancing efforts. :) Luckily the blog is free, but the more hits you have on the main site, the more they charge you. Scandalous! Then there's postage for giveaways, paid networking sites I subscribe to in order to promote "my authors". I know you may be thinking well I've only got myself to blame, I started it all. Yes, that would be right, but I also love what I do and if I were to get a "proper job" it would have to be in PR and related to books, otherwise I might just die of boredom. Besides, I like staying at home to work on my freelancing and I have actually written back of the book blurbs to this effect. Now, that's heaven, because you have to read the book in order to write those, which would be my ideal job.

So, coming back to your original question, the main site front page is to show off the monthly features in a similar way to how an online magazine does and it also holds the archives. However, lately a lot of the stuff has been transferred to the blog for safe keeping, but I do like the space a website allows and different features are much easier to find there, too.

- 7- What widget/promotional site or other must have would you say made a difference to your blog

None whatsoever! LOL Just hard work, toil and sweat.

 -8-  How much input did you have in actually formatting your blog and how smooth a progress was it or were there hair tearing moment.
Oh yes, I'm surprised I have any hair left.
I've spent hours putting the blog together - over the years it has had many disguises and much fancier looks than it has now. But, backup! All it takes is the press of a wrong button or a power cut at precisely the wrong moment and, whoosh, all your hard work can disappear before you can say "Flippin' 'eck !" Or words to that effect. I have recently added a picture for the header, and I have had a few I have made in the past, but as for the rest of the blog, I really do not know where to go with it, so I am telling everyone I'm one of those arty types and I'm going through my minimalist period.

 

-9- .Where do you see your blog in a year from now.
I would be happy to be ticking along nicely as we are now. A few more reviewers is always nice. A couple of hundred would be even better. I'm ambitious in many ways, but not overly so. I suppose I do  have a sense of keeping my feet firmly on the ground, as they say. I have improvements I want to make in all areas of running and promoting a site, procedures and paperwork etc., but no big thoughts of fame and fortune. I would just like to make enough to say, hey, husband, this is a proper job.
I have a dream; I would love to have a properly designed review site, but although everything I have done on Alternative-Read, I have done on my own and it probably shows (in respect to the html coding and design) I don't know how to do one of those fancy review sites where you can type in a new review and using PHP (I think) it magically pops up on another page as "Recently added review", showing a book cover as a ready made link -- to go. So, until I work it out, as again I can't afford such lavishness, you're stuck with my amateur efforts, I'm afraid. This could take some time.

-10-How interactive are you with your followers' supporter - do you try to consistently visit blogs or has it reach a stage where the post upload outweigh the time you spend on comments.
Very, but since my comments are made early in the mornings, I am often either still half asleep or get sidetracked by what other  bloggers have on their site!

-11- What are some of the no no's for you in relation to reading and reviewing.
I like poetry, but I am not so good with free form. In my experience you either have to be educated in the rhythm, metre, lineation, form, which I am not; or good at writing it, which I am not. So I tend to play it safe and stick to storoe ms (poems that tell a story), or easy to read rhyming epigrams etc., otherwise I spend too much time trying to work out how one can make sense of nonsense. Along with free form poetry, I abhor Westerns and memoirs about people no one has ever heard of, and probably never will. I'm not too keen on Military books and Heroic Fantasy; war stories and its heroes - the fantasy equivalent of military science fiction. And I pick Arthurian Fantasy very carefully! 

 -12- Your blog have a very minimalistic look to it - is this a format that works for you and why.
It's my minimalist period.

-13-  What are some of the more noticeable positives and negative of the book industry over the past few years for you.
The way books seem to concentrate on the internalisation of the main character's thoughts. In my day, when I was a young wee sprightly thing, there was an unknown rule for writers, a kind of equilibrium in everything you do. To me this meant not having pages among pages of exposition, and internal thoughts without breaking it up with dialogue and conflict. Call me old fashioned, but I think what they do today is wrong, although, with a book written this way, it doesn't stop it from being a page turner, I just personally find it a bit niggling. And that's not good.

 

-14- With technology now walking hand in hand with our beloved print book - do you own an e-reader

          A.If yes which one.

             Yes! I won it a few years ago. It's a Sony eReader PRS 500 in silver

          B.Have you named it yet.
Laughs and wonders if you read minds. His name is Winston after the protagonist Winston in George Orwell's 1984. One of my favourite books of all time. All I need to do is pick it up and read about the doom and gloom of a failing 'new' world, and suddenly I feel a whole lot better. Of course, I have all the latest ebooks on it, too, and in that sense I feel quite privileged  to have a never ending supply of books in exchange for doing what I enjoy doing second best, writing about books. (Reading them comes first). Winston is always there for me when I need him.

           C.Advantage or disadvantages to having one.
My Winston is never lent out, he's mine all mine. You can pack more books than it is possible to read when you go on holiday but it has to be constantly charged up, and that's a slow maddening process. My biggest gripe is that I can't buy or read Kindle books on it, and that makes me sad. With regard to the actual ebooks themselves - you can't feel or smell an ebook and over the years I have taken a lot of pride in my autographed print books and specially designed arc copies, which I will never part with.

Don't get me wrong, power to ebook readers and authors of which I fully back up, but I'm also a secret book smeller and I find great comfort with curling up with the real thing. Especially if it's a page turner and smells nice. I have things that anger me with regards to print books too; they can get lent out and returned in pieces, they don't last forever and they can take up a lot of space. Most infuriating of all is that they can get lost in the post!

          D.Last book you read on your reader and the one you have next up.

Currently I am reading an anthology written by the best m/m authors out there. It's called "I Do" and all the proceeds go to Lamba Legal in the states that is fighting the Prop 8 thing regarding gay and lesbian marriages. The authors are not making any profit from this for themselves and that's a wonderful thing for the authors to do, and so easy for a reader to assist them in their plea for help. The next one I have is "A Band of Roses" by Pat McDermott.

           E. What do you think of the ereader /ebook craze -
I think it's a good thing and I fully support those authors in certain circles who are now facing issues about whether they are real writers or not, just  because they do not publish in print. That's an awful shame and I hope those who have the last say can understand that there is NO difference to the royalties received by an author whether it is in print or ebook form, both types of authors are selling books and treating it as their business. I ask you, what is the difference? They just chose to write books in different formats, this should not make one group better than the other.

          F. Since the inception of ebook - any noticeable difference in the print book industry.
Keeping up with the industry news I notice that some American publishers are supplying the ebook and audio book alongside a print book. The last book I reviewed from Thomas Nelson is also called a Nelson free. With these books you get two additional formats and this is a fantastic way of introducing e and audio books to those who might never even attempt to try them. UK publishers should take a leaf out of their book. :)

           G. Last book read that you though - it can't get any better than this (Print).
The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter, it's an ARC, which smells good and has a lovely glossy cover that is pleasurable to touch and my biggest gripe about it is that it's not also autographed LOL

-15- Any tips for new and future blogger .
Where as I encourage bloggers to go for it, I would also recommend that they take things gradually and be sensible about how many books they can actually read within a reasonable time scale. There are a lot of authors out there in need of reviews, and just like I discovered, it can get pretty overwhelming if you are doing it all on your own and just grabbing everything that comes your way. It is still something I have to keep in the forefront of my mind, as it is very tempting to say yes to everything. Bookaholics , like myself, need their fix, and once you start, like any addict, it's hard to stop! Along with the fun of never ending freebies comes responsibility, and the fact that several people are relying on you.

-16- Sneak peek at any future plans for the site or any upcoming events for you, and let us know where else we can find you on the web.
I have nabbed an interview with the author Chris Carter, of the infamous (on my blog anyway) The Crucifix Killer (Simon & Schuster UK). My August Author in the Spotlight is booked and raring to go and spaces are filling up. I can be found on nearly all of the social networking sites and if there is something I've missed out, please do tell me.

 

To find out more about Sassy and her gang – see her introduction HERE….

Thank you for having me here. I have really enjoyed answering your questions and I hope I haven't rambled on too much. Once I start, I find it hard to stop.

In The Spotlight – Alternative-Read.Com

Sassy Brit Introduces her Gang
First and foremost I would love to introduce my "gang"; my team of reviewers and staff behind the scenes of Alternative-Read.com of whom I am very appreciative of all their hard work and the hours they put into helping me.

 

 

 

 

Trisha Collins is our "erotic" review coordinator. Trish deals with all the erotica book review requests from authors and publishers, which come in and need to be sent to her reviewing team (Team Trish) to be picked up for possible review. We do make it clear we can't review every book that comes in, but we do our best to get through as many as we can.

 

 

 

 

Lucille Perkins Robinson is a reviewer and in charge of our interviews. She is a 61-year-old housewife, retired school teacher, and caretaker for her comatose daughter from Rayne, Louisiana. Her hobbies, aside from writing and reading, are video games and crocheting. She has had fiction published in "Uncommon Bonds" an anthology published by the Summer 1994 class of the Acadiana Writing Project at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, as well as in her own anthology, "Short Stories That Kill Time" and most recently has a story in "A Mouth Full of Bullets".
You can also find Lucille HERE:  and catch up on her reviews HERE:

 

 

 

WitchGiggles is an AR reviewer. This is her story in her own words 'Born far longer than I care to think of. A voracious reader from early childhood I enjoy everything from history to mystery to erotica with paranormal and sci-fi/fantasy thrown in.
My sense of humor is a tad more than a wee bit perverted, but it helps life go buy, so that suits me just fine. I have little tolerance for intolerance, bigotry, and stupidity and while I don't suffer PMS I do have CMS so I'm a cranky witch  all the time.
I got into reviewing as a means to give expression to  my reaction to all the wonderful books I've come across in my search for new things to read. The discoveries in genres that I've made in the past few months is astonishing, but not as much as the talent of the writers I've become enamored of. WitchGiggles can also be found HERE: and for her reviews, please see HERE:

 

 

 

Aris is an AR reviewer and her reviews can be found HERE:  Between her and WitchGigggles they have read hundreds of books! Lately, however, Aris has had to take a step back from reviewing and take care of her fast growing family as a grandmother with several new grandkiddies to keep her busy.

 

 

 

Bo Perkins is our AR editor and details of her editing skills can be found HERE. Bo has very kindly offered to donate a percentage of any of her editing earnings made via advertising on AR, which is absolutely lovely of her.

 

 

Michael's bio can be found here: http://www.alternative-read.com/michaelsbio.htm He is away on holiday at the moment,  but he is shortly to start reviewing books from Black Lace and Nexus (Virgin Books UK) alongside Angelika Devlyn. Stay tuned. Read Michael's reviews HERE:

 

 

Clayton is our newest bright spark and reviewer at AR.

Clayton Bye, under the imprint Chase Enterprises, has been writing and publishing since 1994. The author of several books as well as Internet short stories, poems, articles and reviews, he's also known as an accomplished speaker,trainer and small business consultant who has delivered countless keynote addresses, seminars and workshops on a wide variety of topics.

Mr. Bye's current projects include increasing his Internet presence and writing a sequel to his novel, The Sorcerer's Key.

A member of the Manitoba Writers' Guild (MWG), the Manitoba Editors' Association (MEA), the Writers of the Woods(WoW), the Lake of the Woods Art Collective (LOWAC) and the Independent Authors Guild (IAG), he lives in the City of Kenora.

You can enter a competition to win some of his books HERE:

Clayton's reviews can be found HERE:

 

Angelika is an AR reviewer and her bio can be found here: http://www.alternative-read.com/angelikadevlynbio.htm
You can also check her out at her own wordpress blog here: http://angelikadevlyn.wordpress.com/ and on MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/angelika_devlyn
Her reviews can  be found HERE:

 

Unfortunately we have two members who do not have pictures yet.

 

 

 

Author, N. D. Hansen-Hill,  has edited our reviews for  us. Here is her bio: N. D. Hansen-Hill, a resident of Auckland, New Zealand, began by writing fantasy series, then branched out into science fiction and horror. All her novels are suspenseful, and all bear traces of the paranormal.
Two of her books were EPPIE finalists in the fantasy and horror categories, and three others were nominated for the Sir Julius Vogel Award.
Recently, she has been concentrating on single titles at Cerridwen Press, rather than series. With a busy schedule that includes work as a professional artist and designer, N.D. stays in touch with science via university, where she takes classes ranging from anthropology to virology. She is also working toward a graduate diploma in teaching, and intends to teach novel-writing in the near future.

 

Ella Blackhart is our publicity manager and her bio can be found HERE:

We also receive contributions from guest bloggers, columnists and reviewers. Anyone interested in having their review or guest post on AR just need to contact me: Sassy.Brit at gmail dot com - all credit and links back to their site are added!

For those that don't know this is me, the owner of AR. I take all the non-erotica book review requests and also have my  own team (Sassy Squad) for those those that do not want to get involved with the erotica side of reviewing. I also respond to all queries, update the website and take care of anything that does not come under Trisha's umbrella. You can read my introductory post HERE. My own reviews can be found HERE:

 

 

We also have a newly formed READERS and REVIEWERS TWIBE group:

TWIBES Unfortunately Twibe have agreed there are problems with their join link for this group. So, if anyone would like to join, until this is fixed, please direct message (DM) me in Twitter and I will add your name to the list and get you in. Apologies for this inconvenience, but it is just one of those things I cannot do much about!
Contact me via Twitter: http://twitter.com/Sassy_Brit
For anyone interested in joining AR please see the vacancies we have on offer HERE:

We are also seeking someone experienced in the layout and sending of newsletters. All info to add is sent to you, so there is no 'thinking of what to write' involved. I just need someone to be able to set this up and send it out on a monthly basis. Please contact me if you are interested.

To find out who our latest Author in the Spotlight is, please go and visit here: http://www.alternative-read.com/arfeaturedauthor.htm Recognise him? I do like to give staff a spot here, should they want it, as a way of saying thank you for all their help with AR.

Visit the front page of the main website here: http://www.alternative-read.com/
We also have a Yahoo Chat Group called An_Alternative_Read, where you get to find out about all 'our' authors new releases and chat with them, too. You can join here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/An_Alternative_Read/ Here we have promotional chats with publishers and PR groups, so do come and see what we are talking about.
Finally I also host the What's on Your Desk Wednesday?' bookish blog meme on http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com This is promoted on my MySpace account, http://www.myspace.com/sassy_brit and you can look through the pictures of participants desks and book shelves at my Flickr photo set here (feel free to comment on them!) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_reviewer/sets/72057594117599530/

Before I go I would like to thank you, E.H, for this opportunity to introduce my "gang", and I look forward to coming back tomorrow to answer your interview question.