The Bone Church Cometh

For me this is one of the most anticipated book releases of this year 🙂

Cold

My Cold War thriller, The Bone Church, debuts on April 15th and I’m nervous, excited and more than a little bit relieved. Honestly, it feels like my daughter’s wedding or something.

Here’s an idea of what it’s about:

In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances — with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a
reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life.

As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels.

But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions. Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels…

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5 star Review: “Butterfly Season” by Natsha Ahmed

Tags

female perspective, London, Natasha Ahmed, Pakistan, Pakistan author, romance, woman's literature

Today I am making good my promise to review this charming novel, a romance from a new promising, female author from Pakistan: Natasha Ahmed. As I anticipated a fantatsic story just to my liking with a cross-cultural theme from the not so often heard female voice and perspective from that region of Asia.

“Butterfly Season” by Natasha Ahmed is a beautiful romance between two Pakistani adults in London. Rumi is on a holiday to visit her sister in London when she meets successful businessman and very attractive Ahad. They share an intellectual and physical attraction but the odds, families and circumstances all seem to work against them.
Rumi is already over 30 and inexperienced and only on a holiday. Her expectations and her feelings are beautifully described in this sensitive and low key novel that says a lot about the importance of finding yourself, your confidence and following your heart.
Having spent a lot of her life dedicated to others and her family, can this be the season to fly for Rumi? 

Natasha Ahmed has written two great characters, a believable chemistry between the two leads and portrays the obstacles in an insightful manner. Rumi finds herself in the twilight between conservative and restrictive views and a modern society in which she also believes. This is a great novel that successfully combines romance with deeper issues. 

Buy links:

 

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ3XD3K

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/416016

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/butterfly-season-natasha-ahmed/1118892947?ean=2940045748780

iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/butterfly-season/id836911144?mt=11

Author Interview with Su Williams #ASMSG Electorate Blog Hop

Today I have Su Williams on my blog as part of the ASMSG Electorate Blog Hop, a lucky choice since I adore her novel Dream Weaver. (Scroll al the way down for the link to our rafflecopter!)

Here is my Interview with Sue: 

Tell us a little about yourself as writer and a person. What is your writing routine like – our daily routine and the process?

Thank you for hosting me here Christoph! Well, I live in the sometimes white/sometimes green Pacific Northwest with my husband Ben, and two of my four children, Aundraic, Jack, Josiah and Sarah. Our home is an ever changing menagerie of critters that now includes 2 cranky cats, an adorable crested gecko and my teddy puppy beagle. I’ve been writing most of my life—poems and short stories—but only tried my hand at a novel in the last 6 years. It has been a long journey of learning for me.

Did anyone influence you / encourage you to become a writer?

My favorite authors—Marissa Meyer, Stephanie Meyer, Lisa McMann and Maggie Stiefvater influenced me to take on the challenge of writing a novel. And my family, especially my parents, have encouraged me to chase after this crazy dream. 

What do your family say about your books / your taking so much time up writing?

My family has been pretty supportive. We’ve all learned what kind of time it takes to create a single book and present it to the world. My husband gave me a standing ovation after reading my second book Rock Star; and my mom and dad are my constant champions…word of mouth IS the greatest advertisement, ya know.

When did you decided to write for young adults and in the paranormal genre?

I find even as an ‘adult’ I prefer to read young adult books. And I’ve always been drawn by the whole vampire, werewolf, magic kind of world.

How long does it take you to write and publish a book?

I’m not sure I can give a fair answer to that. Dream Weaver took me 5 years. I knew absolutely nothing about how to do it. So I took that time write, learn, edit, learn, go to conferences and learn and edit some more. Rock Star took me maybe a year. And Private Eye should be done within 6 months. I guess the more you learn the less time it takes you to write a good story. But I tend to be a perfectionist and put out the best quality of work I’m capable of.

What would you do if you did not write, so you have any other ambitions and creative outlets?

Shrivel up and die…oh you said if I didn’t write, not if I couldn’t write. I’d get an amazing camera and take pictures.

What is the easiest about writing and what is the hardest? 

I guess I might rank it like this: Easiest – writing. Not as much fun – editing. Hardest – promotion.

Would you say there is a message in your books beyond the story?

A lot of people toss around the term PTSD but don’t truly understand it. I’m not an expert by any means but PTSD has been a big part of my adult life. In a way, I guess I wanted people to understand the disorder better and show people who suffer from it that there’s light at the end of the tunnel…ya just gotta keep moving toward it. 

 Do you find it is well received and picked up by the reviewers?

For the most part, yes. Dream Weaver holds a 4.4 star rating on Amazon; and Rock Star a 5. But there are always going to be people out there that don’t get it or like it.

What do you like most about your characters?

I love that this ‘journey’ hasn’t simply been their story. It’s been a learning adventure for me. From sleep stages and brain waves to historical facts of England in the 1750’s and America in the 1770’s and early 1900’s, the research has been interesting and bonded me to my characters a lot more closely. Even if the reader never knows that background, I still have my private scoop on each of them.

 Which one is your favourite?

Ya know, you’d think it was either of my main characters. But I’m actually more attached to a secondary character Sabre James the most. Sabre’s a bit of bad boy, a lot of an ass. It’s fun to write for him.

Who would play the characters in a film?  

Emari Sweet – Haley Ramm

Nickolas Benedetti – Jackson Rathbone

Sabre James – Matthew Gray Gubler

Ivy Summer – Elle Fanning (Elle actually favorited an Oscars tweet I posted!)

Jesse DeLaRosa – JD Pardo

What are your next projects? Tell us about your other books.

The final book in the Dream Weaver series is in the works now. I have twist on a zombie story that I’m percolating on and plan to pick my tattoo artist’s brain about ideas (he’s an avid zombie fan and apocalypse enthusiast); and an anecdotal short story collection of when I was a kid and stories my parents have told me called Sunshine and Daisies.

What is your life like? What do you do for pleasure and work when you are not writing?

I LOVE to take pictures. My favorites are landscapes and normal objects from abnormal angles. Guess I like to look at the world a little differently than most.

What are your favourite books/ films/ albums?

BOOKS: The Shiver series by Maggie Steifvater; Jonathan Maberry’s Rot & Ruin series; Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead; Dead to You and the Wake/Fade/Gone series by Lisa McMann.

MOVIES: Bruce Almighty, Warm Bodies, Red Dawn, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure…

TV: The Walking Dead, Revolution, Criminal Minds, Law & Order SVU

MUSIC: Evanescence, ACDC, Metallica, James Durbin, Good Charlotte, Bon Jovi, Halestorm…I could go on and on.

What are your views on independent publishing? 

Independent publishing is an amazing invention and I’m glad to have the resource. I believe every indie author should strive to put out the BEST material they can…even if that means they have to do what I did and spend years learning how to do it.

Can you recommend any indie books/ authors?

I NEVER pass up a chance to give a shout out to my favorite indie author, Sam Whitehouse. Sam is a young writer from Great Britain that writes magically about magical worlds. I’ve loved him from the moment I read the first words he posted on Goodreads. Also, I love Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo and her horse Pie’s book. Pie: An Old Brown Horse…is written from the horse’s POV and tells the life story of 39 year old ranch horse.

What would your friends tell us if we asked for your best and your oddest qualities?

Who has time for friends as a writer??? LOL. No, they’d probably say…I’m a faithful friend and a HUGE dork.

What would you say are you best and oddest qualities?

Personally, I think my tenacity is my best quality. I tend to be pretty longsuffering and stick with stuff even if it sucks. My oddity? I have a fascination with a local cemetery. And one grave in particular…that gave me the backstory for my character Nick.

What (not who!) would you take to a remote island?

 

My camera with tons of batteries; my computer so I could write; and a wheelbarrow of great paranormal books—lots of vamps and zoms!

 

Contact Links:

Su Williams on Facebook

Dream Weaver Novels on Facebook

Dream Weaver Novels Website

Su on Goodreads

Amazon Author Page for Su Williams

Buy Links:

Dream Weaver Global Link

Rock Star Global Link

Dream Weaver & Rock Star paperbacks on Create Space

Rafflecopter link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/d496871

All Stops on the Blog Hop: 

March 18, 2014

Kirstin Stein Pulioff http://www.kirstinpulioff.com

Ceri London http://cerilondon.wordpress.com/

March 19

Stefania Mattana http://dailypinner.eraniapinnera.com

March 20

Maer Wilson http://maerwilson.com/

Marsha Roberts http://mutinousboomer.wordpress.com/

March 21

Scarlett Flame http://missscarlettflame.blogspot.co.uk/

Luca Rossi http://www.lucarossi369.com/search/label/EN

March 22

Melodie Ramone http://revenge-of-the-ginger.blogspot.com/

Anna George Othitis http://annaothitis.tateauthor.com

March 23

Khalid Muhammad http://agencyrules.com

Su Williams   http://dreamweavernovels.blogspot.com/

March 24

Christoph Fischer https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/

March 25

Hunter S Jones http://www.thehuntersjones.blogspot.com

Lillian Roberts http://lilianroberts.blogspot.com

March 26

Murielle Cyr http://www.muriellerites.wordpress.com

March 27

Ian Hutson http://www.dieselelectricelephant.co.uk/

Jinx Schwartz http://bit.ly/PSAAxI

March 28

Dianne Harman http://dianneharman.com/blog/

Shane KP O’Neill    http://www.draculachronicles.co.uk/

March 29

Tina Power Traverse http://writersonthewharf.wordpress.com/

Ann Rothchild http://christinamandara.wordpress.com/

Dare to Dream!
Su

Dream Weaver Novels on FaceBook   DreamWeaverNovels.com
Dream Weaver on Blogspot.com   Dream Weaver on Twitter  Amazon  B&N Nook

A dream you don’t fight for will haunt you for the rest of your life.

Review: “Vengeance Wears Black” by Seumas Gallacher

“Vengeance Wears Black” by Seumas Gallacher is a gripping thriller set in the world of a private security firm that investigates sinister international mobsters.
Beginning with a rather grim chapter involving human trafficking from Eastern Europe to Britain the book then turns its focus on London. Members of said security only narrowly escape a bomb blast that seems part of a international gang warfare.
Jack Calder and his former SAS colleagues investigate and team up with officials to sort out the mess that spans from Hong Kong and South China to Eastern Europe and the UK.
Gallacher has spun a complex plot that reflects how one must imagine the underworld functioning. The investigation moves at a realistic pace but never loses suspense and intrigue. The characters are also gratefully written without the OTT attributes that many thrillers like to give their heroes. Calder and his partners are almost regular people which made the whole story come together believably.
This has great production values and a high entertainment factor.

WATCH OUT FOR MY INTERVIEW WITH THE MAN HIMSELF ON MARCH 27 ON CHRISTOPHFISCHERBOOKS.COM

AMAZON LINKS FOR VENGEANCE WEARS BLACK

US http://amzn.to/W59BB3

UK http://amzn.to/13yV1YX

Connect with Seumas:

Blog : seumasgallacher.com

Twitter : @seumasgallacher

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/seumasgallacher

Email : seumasgallacher@yahoo.com

New Release: Natasha Ahmed: Butterfly Season

Today I have the pleasure to introduce a charming novel, a romance from a new promising, female author from Pakistan: Natasha Ahmed. Here is the plot summary, my review is to follow soon. I can’t wait to get my teeth into this, not just because of my personal liking of cross-cultural novels but also because of the not so often heard female voice and perspective from that region of Asia.

SUMMARY: 

On her first holiday in six years, Rumi is expecting to relax and unwind. But when she is set up by her long-time friend, she doesn’t shy away from the possibilities. Ahad, a charming, independent, self-made man, captures her imagination, drawing her away from her disapproving sister, Juveria. 

Faced with sizzling chemistry and a meeting of the minds, Ahad and Rumi find themselves deep in a relationship that moves forward with growing intensity. But as her desire for the self-assured Ahad grows, Rumi struggles with a decision that will impact the rest of her life. 

Confronted by her scandalized sister, a forbidding uncle and a society that frowns on pre-marital intimacy, Rumi has to decide whether to shed her middle-class sensibilities, turning her back on her family, or return to her secluded existence as an unmarried woman in Pakistan. 

We follow Rumi from rainy London to a sweltering Karachi, as she tries to take control of her own destiny.

 

Buy links:

 

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ3XD3K

Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/416016

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/butterfly-season-natasha-ahmed/1118892947?ean=2940045748780

iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/butterfly-season/id836911144?mt=11

Cheers to the End of a Long Winter…and to The Prague Spring

Cold

In honor of winter’s dying breath, I’d like to train my eye on spring this week – The Prague Spring, specifically.

For those of you who think that involves merely fresh water smells of trout and river mud, carpets of violets and a sun like a dollop of warm lemon curd surrounded by clouds of meringue – you’re not entirely wrong. Prague is like that most every spring and I highly recommend a visit in April or May. It’s better than Paris – honest (except for the food). And you won’t have to deal with the French (I actually like the French; I just enjoy a good joke at their expense).

In the spring of 1968 – what’s known as THE Prague Spring – Prague was like that, too.

In historical terms, The Prague Spring was a brief time of freedom from Soviet tyranny. It was everything that Spring promises…

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Review: THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY by Seumas Gallacher

“The Violin Man’s Legacy” by Seumas Gallacher is a solid thriller that follows the investigations into a diamond heist in Holland which may or may not be linked to another crime, but certainly is pointing towards Hong Kong and an organised crime ring there.
Jack, working for an International Security company, is leading the investigation with help by various interesting characters, such as May-Ling from Hong Kong and policemen from pre-1997 Hong Kong and Holland.It soon transpires that there are vast connections spanning the globe.

The story is fast paced, the writing is strong and the narrative is gripping and engaging. I loved some of the minor characters particularly – almost all of which have been fleshed out with interesting back ground stories and other personal details.
Jack himself is the son of the Violin Man in the title, a nick name to do with an odd choice of music. The cold murder of the Violin Man seems to have impacted on Jack, the son, to seek justice on organised crime, Jack is generally a very interesting and well chosen protagonist with more to him than just the tough guy.

The plot is thick and well thought through, there is some violence – the book starts with a nasty execution, and there is more to come. A book I would recommend to all of my friends into crime fiction and action packed thrillers. Certainly as good as many Andy McNab books that I have read.

Connect with Seumas:

Blog : seumasgallacher.com

Twitter : @seumasgallacher

Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/seumasgallacher

Email : seumasgallacher@yahoo.com

AMAZON LINKS for THE VIOLIN MAN’S LEGACY

UK http://amzn.to/10wo0ha

US http://amzn.to/10wnMXB

Review of charitable book: “The Cloud Diary” by Tony Gilbert

“The Cloud Diary” by Tony Gilbert is a moving short story about a young boy dealing with loss and grief. The cloud is his companion through this period.
The story is moving, brave and tackles an important issue in a clever way. I think this beautiful short might help children and parents to talk about grief, death and loss together.
A delicate matter handled very well.

Absolutely brilliant read, from the first page to the last I was extremely moved by this beautiful little story which will touch your heart. The author really has captured the innocence in the mind of a child – S E Fletcher
A lovely story that really touched me, very well written and moving. Highly recommend that people give it a read – M L Sibley
Really enjoyed this short story about a small boy.
Took me back to my childhood, made me shed a tear.
Eagerly awaiting the next book by this new author – S Carter

50% of all profits made will be going to Winston’s Wish. Winston’s Wish is the leading childhood bereavement charity in the UK and offer practical support and guidance to bereaved children, their families and professionals.

Find the book on your Amazon Site

Watch out for an author interview with Tony on ChristophFischerBooks.com on March 18

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6917508.Tony_Gilbert

Amazon: 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tonygilbertauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TGilbertAuthor

Website: http://www.tonygilbert.info/

Mailing list (and a free eBook!): http://www.tonygilbert.info/1_3_Contact-me-Sign-up.html

More pictures to illustrate my books

Due to the surprising and overwhelming popularity of some recent picture posts on my blog, here are some more pictures to illustrate the inspiration for my books.

This is the farm and restaurant business that distant relatives owned, shown here in its very early days. Although the images contributed to my story, the actual place does not share the same history or any of the events of the Black Eagle Inn.

There was a fire that burned down the hay loft, leading to a renovation.

The restaurant in the 1980s.

A family photograph that inspired my vision of Anna and her husband

An image that inspired the characters Magdalena and Hans-Ulrich. These are my maternal grandparents and although they were very religious, they had no political ambitions at all.  I only ever met my grandmother but she died when I was seven. 

This is them with their children, who – like in my book – were indeed sent to help on the farm quite regularly.

My mother, named Maria, pictured at a fancy dress party. Like a character in my book, she was born in 1940 as the second but last child and was politically active (although only mildly and for the Christian Socialists, not the Social Democrats).
At the time as I was writing the first draft for the story, my cousin, also named Maria, entered the Bavarian Parliament. She however did so for the Social Democrats. her life and career are however totally different and the name was just something nice for me while writing.. 

These are more family photographs from a family chronicle that fed me ideas about how the people in Black Eagle Inn might be. I pictured Anna Hinterberger and her family something like this.

Here are some photographs of a recent holiday in my hometown Rosenheim, which served as inspiration. To emphasize that my book is fiction, I changed the name to Heimkirchen because of ‘Heimat’ (home) and its many churches (Kirchen).

The last picture was taken at the Eagle’s Nest, Hitler’s refuge. It was a chilling experience to see this sinister place, adequately hidden away but right there in the middle the most beautiful Bavarian countryside.

The Luck of the Weissensteiners (Three Nations Trilogy Book 1)

In the sleepy town of Bratislava in 1933 a romantic girl falls for a bookseller from Berlin. Greta Weissensteiner, daughter of a Jewish weaver, slowly settles in with the Winkelmeier clan just as the developments in Germany start to make waves in Europe and re-draws the visible and invisible borders. The political climate in the multifaceted cultural jigsaw puzzle of disintegrating Czechoslovakia becomes more complex and affects relations between the couple and the families. The story follows them through the war with its predictable and also its unexpected turns and events and the equally hard times after.
But this is no ordinary romance; in fact it is not a romance at all, but a powerful, often sad, Holocaust story. What makes The Luck of the Weissensteiners so extraordinary is the chance to consider the many different people who were never in concentration camps, never in the military, yet who nonetheless had their own indelible Holocaust experiences. This is a wide-ranging, historically accurate exploration of the connections between social location, personal integrity and, as the title says, luck.

On Amazon:  http://bookshow.me/B00AFQC4QC

On Goodreads: http://bit.ly/12Rnup8

On Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1bua395

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/OtmyZh4Dmc/?autoplay=1

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-luck-of-the-weissensteiners-christoph-fischer/1113932211?ean=9781481130332

Sebastian (Three Nations Trilogy Book 2)

Sebastian is the story of a young man who has his leg amputated before World War I. When his father is drafted to the war it falls on to him to run the family grocery store in Vienna, to grow into his responsibilities, bear loss and uncertainty and hopefully find love.
Sebastian Schreiber, his extended family, their friends and the store employees experience the ‘golden days’ of pre-war Vienna and the timed of the war and the end of the Monarchy while trying to make a living and to preserve what they hold dear.
Fischer convincingly describes life in Vienna during the war, how it affected the people in an otherwise safe and prosperous location, the beginning of the end for the Monarchy, the arrival of modern thoughts and trends, the Viennese class system and the end of an era.
As in the first part of the trilogy, “The Luck of The Weissensteiners” we are confronted again with themes of identity, Nationality and borders. The step back in time made from Book 1 and the change of location from Slovakia to Austria enables the reader to see the parallels and the differences deliberately out of the sequential order. This helps to see one not as the consequence of the other, but to experience them as the momentary reality as it must have felt for the people at the time.

On Amazon: http://bookshow.me/B00CLL1UY6

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pthHZ

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pthNy

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/95jvSpHf5a/

B&N http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sebastian-mr-christoph-fischer/1115243053?ean=9781484156001

The Black Eagle Inn (Three Nations Trilogy Book 3)

The Black Eagle Inn is an old established Restaurant and Farm business in the sleepy Bavarian countryside outside of Heimkirchen.  Childless Anna Hinterberger has fought hard to make it her own and keep it running through WWII. Religion and rivalry divide her family as one of her nephews, Markus has got her heart and another nephew, Lukas got her ear. Her husband Herbert is still missing and for the wider family life in post-war Germany also has some unexpected challenges in store.

Once again Fischer tells a family saga with war in the far background and weaves the political and religious into the personal. Being the third in the Three Nations Trilogy this book offers another perspective on war, its impact on people and the themes of nations and identity.

On Facebook: http://ow.ly/pAX3y

On Goodreads: http://ow.ly/pAX8G

On Amazon: http://bookshow.me/B00FSBW2L6

Trailer: http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/mB2JZUuBaI/

Short Biography:

Christoph Fischer was born in Germany, near the Austrian border, as the son of a Sudeten-German father and a Bavarian mother. Not a full local in the eyes and ears of his peers he developed an ambiguous sense of belonging and home in Bavaria. He moved to Hamburg in pursuit of his studies and to lead a life of literary indulgence. After a few years he moved on to the UK where he is still resident today. ‘The Luck of The Weissensteiners’ was published in November 2012; ‘Sebastian’ in May 2013 and The Black Eagle Inn in October 2013. He has written several other novels which are in the later stages of editing and finalisation.

http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

http://www.christophfischerbooks.com/

https://writerchristophfischer.wordpress.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6590171.Christoph_Fischer

http://www.amazon.com/Christoph-Fischer/e/B00CLO9VMQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/WriterChristophFischer?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheLuckOfTheWeissensteiners?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastian/489427467776001?ref=hl

http://www.facebook.com/TheBlackEagleInn?ref=hl