On Tour: Click an Online Love Story by Lisa Becker
Lisa is on tour July 4-17 with her novel Click: An Online Love Story Fast approaching her 30th birthday and finding herself not married, not…
Starring in the Movie of My Life by Laurel Osterkamp
When author Laurel Osterkamp contacted me to coordinate her blog tour, I was excited to work with her and her novel Starring in the Movie of My Life. The synopsis reeled me in quickly, and once I started reading, this novel was very difficult to put down. There are three characters that are followed: Samantha and Nathan Linden, who are husband and wife, and Melody, a teenage student of Nathan’s. When Melody is attacked at a school dance, it is Nathan that plays hero, getting her away from harm. After that incident, Melody clings to the fact that she will get Nathan to leave Samantha for her, and through a very eerie and calculating plan, it looks like it just may work. Samantha begins to question all the time Nathan spends with Melody, going to her house for dinners and staying late to help her at school. When Samantha’s ex keeps popping up in her life, Samantha can’t help but still be drawn to him, because of what they have been through in their past and because she is feeling ignored by her husband. The complicated drama of the three lives comes to a head when Melody takes her devious plan one step too far, and a serious crisis happens in Samantha’s family.
I loved how Osterkamp blended the character’s lives so seamlessly throughout the pages. While I could never agree with what Melody was doing, it was easy to see why she acted that way, with her complicated family drama going on behind the scenes. This is a great love story, very deep and complicated and messy, but very real. The drama is there from the start, and the story lines will keep you on your toes throughout. The only thing I wished that were different was the ending left me a little unsettled with Nathan’s character. I felt like he really got the short end of the stick throughout, and there was really no happy ending, or really even any sort of ending for him. He just drifted off while Melody and Samantha got the closure. But other than that, I loved this book and highly recommend Starring in the Movie of My Life.
[Rating: 4.5]
Phone Kitten by Marika Christian
Marika Christian is on tour with her novel Phone Kitten through CLP Blog Tours. Christian hits it out of the ballpark with this hysterical, quirky, and endearing story, told through the eyes of Emily. When Emily, a slightly overweight and shy budding reporter gets fired from her job, she stumbles into the world of phone sex. With her soft, breathy voice, Emily can forget about her weight, forget about guys acting like she is invisible, and make some good money on top of it. But when Emily attracts the attention of a hottie in her history class, her two worlds begin to collide. Should Emily confess her profession, or would that have history hottie running for the hills? To make matters worse, one of Emily’s top phone clients is found murdered- right after he meets Emily and threatens her. Now, Emily could be considered a suspect in his death. To try to clear her name and to crack the case so she can be the reporter on the story, Emily begins to put the puzzle pieces together surrounding the mysterious murder- but is she only making more trouble for herself?
Like I said earlier, Phone Kitten is laugh out loud funny from page one. I was immediately captured by Emily and her innocence, and had to laugh at most of the phone sex scenes. From chatting with Christian in my interview with her, I knew that every call taken by Emily was something that really happened to the author when she was doing research for the book, which only made the situations even funnier to me. Emily made a great sleuth while working on the murder mystery case, and I had fun working along with her to catch the killer. The few problems I found with the book were with the editing. There were a lot of mistakes like missing commas or quotation marks, but I even found words that were missing letters, such as “bo” instead of “body.” And I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t as into Emily’s boyfriend as I think I should have been. Maybe because he was a little mysterious himself on his career? I really can’t pinpoint it, but I felt almost like he was a bad guy throughout the story, and I was just waiting for the real him to be discovered by Emily. Overall though, a very entertaining read, and one that will keep you laughing even after you’ve flipped the last page.
[Rating: 4]
Interview with Marika Christian
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
When I was a little girl, I got a typewriter for my birthday, and I used to write stories about my dog, Trixie all the time. So the dream of being a writer was always there, but it wasn’t until I moved to New Orleans that got the courage and made the decision to do it.
What gave you the idea to write Phone Kitten?
I’ve always worked in the customer service field, and there are clients and customers you see regularly who become part of your life in a peripheral way, and sometimes for reasons you never know, they disappear. I’ve also always had one of those voices that prompts people to say “Have you ever considered working on a phone sex line?” Well, that seemed like the ultimate customer service job, and in it, you would see an intimate side of a person, yet you never really know them at all. Everything would be a fantasy. But what would happen if that person disappeared. That was a jumping off point for me.
How far did you go for your research for the book?
I decided to try working on a phone sex line. I worked for two different companies, both of which are very successful. One was a call center of sorts. At the other company the calls came straight to my home. All the calls that are in Phone Kitten are calls I actually took. Names were changed to protect the not-so-innocent, but the fantasies were real.
What was one of the most surprising finds when you were doing research?
There are men in this world who will pay you to sit on the phone, in another state and watch TV with them, and it’s usually a girly reality show, like Project Runway. It’s okay if you laugh. Thee caller knows the whole thing is ridiculous. There is always something out there that will surprise you.
Do you have a certain writing routine that you stick to?
I’m a night owl, so I don’t really get started writing till late, and I think I’m a little loosey goosey with writing. I don’t set a goal in regards to word or page counts;, I just want to write something. I listen to a play list that I made that reminds me of the story or characters to get me in the mood, I make a pitcher of iced tea, I reread the last thing I wrote, probably make a couple of changes, and then dive right in. Once I’m in, I’m set. I fall in love with the story all over again.
What is the hardest part about writing for you?
Starting. I can avoid writing like no other. There are so many interesting things on the Internet.
How do you spend your free time?
I always like taking my dog, Dash for a walk in French Quarter. He’s a happy dog, and we get stopped by tourists who want to take his picture, and he has a few friends at different places he likes to visit. I carry my camera too. I’m not a great photographer, but it’s hard to take a bad picture in New Orleans. I can never have too many snapshots of flowered balconies. I also cross stitch, right now I’m working on a zombie pillow.
Do you think social media and eBooks are a must for authors these days?
Absolutely, and I’m just beginning to navigate the social media thing. Till recently my FaceBook was exactly like everyone else’s, I used it to keep up with friends and high school buddies. Now I’m using it more to keep updated on what is going on in my old home St. Petersburg FL. I am trying to use FaceBook and Twitter more to promote Phone Kitten, I have a blog at www.missquoted.com, and there have been times when something embarrassing will happen to me, or I will see something odd and the first thing I think is “YES! Something to blog about!” I think eBooks are the future, so is social media, writers have to embrace it. I’m working on it.
Are you working on a new project?
I think my girl Emily has a few more stories in her, so right now I’m working on a “sequel” to Phone Kitten. Emily has a new job, new friends, neighbors, and a whole new crime to solve. I’m loving every minute of it.
What is your best advice for aspiring writers?
I think that the BEST advice I ever given to me was from an award- winning mystery writer. She told me that at some point, something in the story you are writing should make you cry. I’ve never forgotten that. It keeps your writing honest. Also invest in a comfortable chair, you’re going to be sitting for awhile.
Where would be your dream vacation?
I did a lot of dream vacationing when I was younger. I worked for an airline and the travel benefits were amazing. So I’ve had the opportunity to see lots of the things that people dream about already. Maybe I’d like to take another trip up the East coast, or go to Little Big Horn (Can you tell my Dad was a history buff?) But really, my favorite destination is my own city. In New Orleans, there’s always a festival or an adventure around the corner.
On Tour: Phone Kitten by Marika Christian
Marika is on tour June 27- July 10 with her novel Phone Kitten Marika Christian’s PHONE KITTEN introduces an absolutely unique, first-time-ever kind of female…
On Tour: Starring in the Movie of My Life by …
Laurel is on tour June 20-July 4 with her novel Starring in the Movie of My Life Thirty-five-year-old Samantha acts without thinking. Her heart is…
Little Miss Teacher by Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar
Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar is on tour with CLP Blog Tours June 13-27 with her novel Little Miss Teacher. This story follows Candace Turner and her first year as an English teacher. Candace lands a high school teaching gig straight out of college, and struggles to deal with her career and life in the real real world. Her lesson plans don’t always go as smoothly as she hopes, both in the classroom and in her personal life. Some of her students are wild, her professional outfits are all wrong, she overdoses on NyQuil and passes out on the job, and a tragedy strikes her classroom. She also can’t get her crush to crush on her, her fling with another teacher turns out to be a disaster, and she can’t seem to fit in with the other instructors.
I found Little Miss Teacher to be humorous yet very real. Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar is an English teacher herself, and it felt like I was almost reading through her diary. I had flashbacks of my high school days, and I remember when I had a first year teacher who sometimes looked like she just wanted to give up on us. I remember feeling sympathetic for her when she couldn’t tame us. A behind the scenes look on what a teacher really goes through during the first year was extremely interesting. There were funny parts, such as the NyQuil incident, but there were serious moments too that puts life into perspective, like the death of a student and a health scare with Candace’s best friend and roommate. I would have liked to see a little more on Candace’s friend or crush or family member, something to give the story a little oomph. About halfway through, I started to wonder what exactly the point of the story was, and thought maybe a little more drama would have helped speed it along and capture my attention. But once I finished and looked back on the whole story, I enjoyed learning something new about a profession and the struggles and embarrassing moment’s teachers have. I liked how the lessons plans for the classroom could be related to the lesson plans in life, and I would recommend this book. Thank you to Cassandra and the other great bloggers who participated in this tour!
[Rating: 3.5]
Future Tour: Blow Me by Lennie Ross
Lennie Ross is on tour August 1-15 with her novel Blow Me Blow Me is the story of three single women—Skylar, Dawn, and Chloe—all hovering…
Breaking Even by Kathleen Kole
Penelope Whittaker is as sensible as they come. Working as an accountant, soon to be married to another accountant, the loving Ben Miller who she has dated for years. Everything in Penelope’s life is stable and consistent. Until she meets Scott Harrison. After a chance encounter (and locking her keys in her car) Scott comes to Penelope’s rescue. And from there, her predictable life starts to spin out of control. Penelope is taken by Scott’s good looks, his devotion to his son, and his ease when chatting with her. Penelope keeps finding reasons to take her soon to be sister-in-law’s children to school, just to run into Scott. Those meetings turn into a coffee date, then lunch, then dinner. Before she realizes what is happening, Penelope is spending more time thinking about Scott than her fiancé, and fighting with Ben almost every chance she gets. Is Ben really the one for her? Or is life about to give Penelope a chance to break away from her good girl image?
Kathleen Kole is on tour with CLP Blog Tours and her latest novel Breaking Even. I was really intrigued by the story. Penelope’s character is very likeable, even though she is doing something extremely un-likeable- possibly embarking on an affair. But this is life, and that does happen. It was refreshing not to read another story about how horrible the man is and how he cheats, etc, etc. Kole really dives in her heroine’s story and why she feels the pull of another man, with a perfectly respectable fiancé waiting at home for her. I was never quite sure how the story was going to end, or which road Penelope would choose, which kept me invested throughout. And I thought there were some good smaller plot points with Ben’s brothers and their wives and how they deal with their marriages that was interesting to read about. There were times where the writing felt just a bit stiff, but overall I really enjoyed the book and thought it was a quick and interesting read. I will definitely be looking for more from Kathleen Kole.
[Rating: 4]
