Check it Out: Jennifer Chase

Hi everyone! Here's your second dose of author coolness for the day!


I'd like to introduce you to Jennifer Chase, award winning author of Silent Partner, Dead Game, & Compulsion. When she's not writing up a storm, she helps others do the same! With a background in criminology, Jennifer has an insider's view to crime that not everyone can have.

Jennifer has agreed to answer a few questions I lobbed her way, so get ready for some pretty cool answers! (Yes, I asked the pizza question. I'm so hard hitting.)

What made you decide to write? Did you always know that you wanted to be an author or was there an “aha!” moment in your life where you suddenly knew that this was what you wanted to do?

I’ve loved books and reading ever since I was a young child. Writing was a great form of expression for me when I was young. It just stuck with me. As an adult, I went into another career, but writing was always in the back of my mind. In 2008, I felt that the timing was right and I wrote my first fiction/thriller Compulsion. It was actually my “aha” moment and I haven’t looked back.

What inspires you? Do you have a muse that you tap into each time you write or does your imagination respond to different things, like seeing an apple & suddenly deciding to write a story about an apple farmer?

Everything around us inspires me. I could see a vacant house, a heavily wooded area, or a long stretch of beach and I think about my writing projects or specific scenes. There are so many things for my imagination to draw upon and incorporate into a story.

How do you come up with the titles for your books? These can often be amongst the hardest things for authors to settle on, so how & when in the process do you start coming up with titles?

The best titles just pop into my head without any struggle. As I’m creating an outline and then writing a story, I keep a notebook and write everything down that pertains to my title. Some are terrible and others more accurate. I don’t pressure myself to get a title immediately, I let it simmer in the background and the right title floats to the surface.

Are any of the experiences in your books based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Have you ever seen or done any of the things in your book? If not, how did you go about doing your research?

My character’s experiences are based on a combination of my imagination, events and problems facing the world with crime and forensics, and my way of coping with them. I love to do research. I try to conduct research from a variety of different resources, such as the Internet, professionals, libraries, and talk to everyone I can about a certain subject. For my latest crime/fiction novel Silent Partner, it’s about a police K9 officer chasing a serial killer. I actually spent time training with the local K9 and learned first hand what it was like.

Who are some of your favorite authors? Have they helped inspire your writing by reaffirming your decision to write or by indirectly giving you ideas for various stories?

There are so many great authors out there. Here are a few of my favorites, Dean Koontz, Jeffrey Deaver, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, and David Baldacci. Reading all types of books and genres helps to inspire my writing abilities. I believe that you learn so much from reading as well as from every book you write.

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Write what YOU want to write. Write was interests you the most and not what you think you should be writing or what someone else tells you. Stay focused and above all, write everyday.

What is the hardest thing about writing for you? Everyone’s got that one part of writing that seems to stick with them.

There are some writing days when it’s difficult to stay motivated and that pesky procrastination creeps up. I’ve learned to not be too hard on myself and try to refocus my writing energy in a positive way.

In the light of recent infamous responses to negative reviews, how would you recommend responding to negative reviewers?

It’s human nature that we ALL don’t see things in the same way. What a boring world it would be if we did? I admit, I don’t like negative reviews, but if the review is intelligent and constructive, there’s something to be learned from it whether you agree with it or not. However, there are some individuals out there that just write out mean comments. You have to learn to not fixate on these types of reviews and not worry about it.

What do you like on your pizza? (Not book related but everyone’s got a favorite topping!)

I love pizza! I like a soft, thick crust with pepperoni and extra mushrooms.

About the author:
Jennifer Chase holds a bachelor's degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology. Her intense curiosity in the psychological aspect of crime is what drives her to write crime fiction/. She is the author of Compulsion, Dead Game, and Silent Partner. She lives in California, where she's currently at work on her next book in the series.


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Curious to read more of Jennifer's work? Then check out her latest book Silent Partner, available through Amazon (in both paperback & kindle formats) & Barnes & Nobles! If you're wanting to read all of her works, you can find them easily on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, as well as a selection of them on Smashwords.

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Also, don't forget that there's still time to enter in my giveaway hop for a chance to win an amazon giftcard or one of several great ebooks!

Check it Out: Alexander O'Hara (AKA Darragh McManus)

Hi everyone! Today you get another double dose of authors to look out for!


The first one today is someone that most of us in the states probably aren't familiar with, but readers of the Guardian might just recognize: Darragh McManus. For those of you who are familiar with the author, you have to check out his new book Cold! Steel! Justice!!, a spoof on 80s cop movie cliches. Who amongst us haven't watched one of these films? (If you haven't, please post a comment so I can tell you why you need to rent Die Hard, my favorite cop movie ever.)

Darragh was kind enough to allow himself to be subjected to my usual round of questioning, so here we go!

What made you decide to write? Did you always know that you wanted to be an author or was there an “aha!” moment in your life where you suddenly knew that this was what you wanted to do?

I think I always wanted to write, for sure. I always did write, as a kid: stories ripped off from comics and TV, half-formed things that I never finished. All through school and college, my friends and family always told me, ‘You have to be a writer, you’ll definitely be a writer.’ (I think it was the Oscar Wilde hair.) And I assumed, yes, I will one day be a writer. Oddly, though, I didn’t start on my first proper book until I was 28. I’d been working in journalism for several years by then and had churned out a spoof film script, but as for ‘real’ writing…I sort of never bothered until then. Or maybe wasn’t ready. Anyway, I haven’t stopped since. Three novels (besides this one), one collection of short stories, three film scripts, two plays, two finished (and published) non-fiction books, two half-finished non-fiction books, various other bits and pieces… My fingers are getting tired!

What inspires you? Do you have a muse or do you get inspired by random things?

All sorts of things, often random things. I like to write in different genres and forms, so really inspiration can come from anywhere. For example, I wrote a noir-style mystery with (he said modestly) a genius twist, because I wanted to create a bunch of interesting characters for women only. I wrote a vigilante thriller out of some sense of feminist anger at how my fellow men often shamefully behave. I wrote a collection of stories on a theme of movement because it’s the one trait that defines everything in the universe, but has been neglected in literature. And as for Cold! Steel! Justice!!!…I wrote that to have fun at the expense of bad 1980s cop movies, and also just to have fun.

How do you come up with the titles for your books? These can often be amongst the hardest things for authors to settle on, so how & when in the process do you start coming up with titles?

Titles can come from anywhere, though usually a song title or lyric for some reason. As to when, it depends, although generally something will strike me quite early on and I’ll get to like it and stick to it. Can’t remember ever changing a title, except Cold! Steel! Justice!!!, which started life as The Nutcracker (don’t ask). The new title is a pastiche on the dumbest, crassest action movie title you could possibly think of. Others include – There is a light and it never goes out: that’s from a song by The Smiths, and I felt it suited the melancholy but not defeatist tone of the novel; The Driving Force: a technical term from physics – again, suited the story collection thematically; Even Flow: a Pearl Jam song, and my vigilantes are inspired by grunge to a large extent, so…perfect fit! GAA Confidential: a pun on LA Confidential, for a fun non-fiction book on GAA (Irish sports and culture).

Are any of the experiences in your writing based on someone you know, or events in your own life? Have you ever seen any of the stuff in your book firsthand? As a journalist you must have seen quite a few things in your lifetime.

In this one, no: it’s pure fiction (it’s also absurd and exaggerated and ridiculous, so again, no!). Apart from that, I think every writer takes from their own experience to some extent, unless they solely work in fantasy/horror/sci-fi etc. And even then, probably something filters through without them knowing it. My first novel, for instance, was very much autobiographical: I changed names and many of the characters are amalgams of people I know, not their direct representation, but the narrator is basically me. A quite altered me in some ways, but still me.

Do you have any latest news I can dish for you?

Yes, actually I do! First, I have a new e-book on Amazon and Smashwords: Terminating Hollywood (the funny side of film). It’s a collection of humorous pieces on movies, and the first in a collection of six, called the Popp’d Off series: a sarcastic, satirical savaging of the freaks, geeks, strange beasts and wild antics of pop culture. It’s silly, funny, clever and dumb, all at once! And has a killer cover, which will be familiar to anyone who loves Terminator. Tag-line: ‘Prepare to say “ha-ha-hasta la vista, baby”!’ Links here: (Amazon.com) and (Smashwords.com) In other writing, I’m currently sending out a pitch letter to theatre companies for a play I’m working on with a very talented Canadian director; I’m also working on a few quite avant-garde projects (early days) with a young filmmaker, and have a sitcom pilot with a London production company. Fingers, toes and all other digits crossed. (Me: Break a leg or whatever words of luck I can say without it jinxing you!)

Who are some of your favorite authors? Have they helped inspire your writing by reaffirming your decision to write or by indirectly giving you ideas for various stories?

Don DeLillo, Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, Graham Greene, Italo Calvino…too many to mention! Generally I prefer older books/authors, but that’s just personal taste, no reflection on today’s writers. They have inspired me, yes, but not really given me specific ideas. (Those I usually get from the back of the cornflakes packet.)

Do you have any advice for new writers?

I don’t know, I suppose it’s a cliché but it’s true: writing is just 1% talent and 99% work. But that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable – once you get into it, the work becomes its own reward. Other than that, I’d say: try and develop your own voice. Which you do by writing and writing and then writing some more and then more and more again, until finally you write something pretty good. And best of all, that something is authentically ‘you’.

What is the hardest thing about writing for you? Everyone’s got that one part of writing that seems to stick with them.

Not being published as much as I’d like! And battling for notice. Genuinely, that’s the worst thing. Having to spend as much time on selling the work as actually writing it. I enjoy the act of writing, even when it’s a struggle – it’s a good feeling, to wrestle with your own talents and limitations and try to exceed them. But the whole business side of it…ugh. (This Q&A excepted, of course!) (Me: Why thank you! Flattery will get you everywhere! *blushes*)

How would you respond to criticism?

Usually take it as someone’s genuine opinion, which I may not agree with but try to respect. I review a lot of books myself as a journalist and I know the critic has an obligation to be honest. Fair, but honest. You can’t lie just to save someone’s feelings.

What do you like on your pizza? (Not book related but everyone’s got a favorite topping!)

Mushrooms! The king of all foods. Honestly, I could live on those things.

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IN PARADISE CITY, ALL HELL IS ABOUT TO BREAK LOOSE...

Renegade ex-cop Christian Beretta was kicked off the Dice City Police Force for being "just too damn violent". Now he's BACK - and teaming up with his old partner/sidekick, the gnarly-but-kindly Chief of Police and his feisty ex-girlfriend (who's resurrected from the dead) for the toughest mission of his life. An evil Irish-born Mayor aims to take over the illegal drug trade and execute criminals on live TV - and only Beretta can stop him...

Cold! Steel! Justice!!! is a tour de force of action, comedy, comic-action, action-comedy, and a whole load of nonsense. Like all the great straight-to-video cop movies you remember from the 1980s, it's packed with suspense, violence, incident, smart quips, daring deeds, racial stereotypes, gratuitous nudity, men wearing bandanas in flagrant contravention of all rules of taste, and at least one scene where a Mexican druglord is incinerated in his own car. As convention dictates.

The renegade but good-hearted Beretta causes mayhem, busts things up, does cool things with big goddamn guns, cracks wise, breaks all the rules, gets the girl and saves the day.
In a world of pain, he's the Novocaine...if Novocaine wore a sexy leather overcoat, smoked 40 filterless a day and carried a hand-cannon so goddamn enormous it makes other hand-cannons wet their underpants.

So stand in line for YOUR fill...of Cold! Steel! Justice!!!


Curious about Darragh's book? You can pick it up right now on Amazon & Smashwords!! I have to admit, it looks to be a pretty awesome read!

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Also, don't forget that you still have time to enter the giveaway hop I'm holding. It'll be running until the 25th, so check it out at this link here.

Book Review: R.A.C.E. by Mobashar Qureshi

Title: R.A.C.E.
Author: Mobashar Qureshi
Publisher: CreateSpace
ASIN: B004HO5XL6
Release Date: 01/01/2011
















RACE (Radical Association of Criminal Ethnicities) is a dangerous and violent group on the verge of creating an illegal drug.


Parking Officer Jon Rupret wants desperately to move up from handing out parking tickets. An impulsive act from his past throws him into Operation Anti-RACE—a unit set up to stop RACE. He is partnered with veteran detective, Phillip Beadsworth, a mild mannered Brit who doesn't much like Rupret and knows more than he reveals.


Along the way Rupret encounters Mahmud Hanif, a qualified engineer, who drives a taxi to pay his bills; DJ Krash, the second best disc-jockey in the world; Cal Murray, the owner of the House of Jam, the hottest club in Toronto; and of course, his mother, a grade school teacher in Guelph, who thinks Rupret is a financial advisor working on Bay street.


RACE is a compelling mystery and a humorous look at Toronto through Jon Rupret’s eyes.


I had to kind of mull this book over in my mind for a while before writing this review because overall, this wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't a great one, a novel to end all novels.


The author has an easy style of writing to him that really suited Rupret's narrative. I found the main character to be a fairly easygoing person that I could connect with at the beginning. I saw him as a sort of bumbling Seth Rogen kind of character that was occasionally endearing. I have to admit, his initial antics at the beginning couldn't help but make me smile & draw me in.


Unfortunately that pace just wasn't ultimately kept up here. The general story idea is a good one & the author does his best to keep us interested, but I just felt like it took a while to get where it was trying to go. I really wish that certain things (such as details about the leader of the operation, Zee) were more spaced out in the book. I was a bit surprised about the twist at the ending, but I couldn't help but feel like it was just a teensy bit overly complicated. It came across as something that would work better if it was more spaced out or had a little more development earlier in the story.



I'm aware that this was the author's first novel & that comes through in this book, so I'm optimistic that further novels will be a little less green than this one was.

Final diagnosis: It's not a bad book but it just felt a little unfinished at times. Since it's only $2.99 on the kindle, I'd recommend it as a purchase for a breezy weekend or holiday/vacation read.



(Reader copy provided by author)

Book Review: The Immortals by J.T. Ellison

Title: The Immortals (A Taylor Jackson Novel)
Author: J.T. Ellison
Publishing House: Mira
ISBN: 0778327639
Release Date: 10/1/2010






July seems to be a month of discovery for me. Not only have I discovered the wonderful murder mystery styles of Kyra Davis (another Mira author), but now I've discovered the wonderful J.T. Ellison. My book buying budget will never be the same. I'll warn people- this book is #5 in the Taylor Jackson series so there will be some things that you might not catch or entirely understand if you are a newbie to the series like myself. No worries though- this book was very capable of standing alone.

Taylor Jackson wasn't even reinstated long enough to celebrate before she's called to a horrific murder scene. Once there she discovers that the victim was a teenage boy... and that he's not the only victim. Before the night is over seven more victims are found, each with a pentacle carved onto their bodies by someone who is taking the magic of Samhain (Halloween) all too seriously. With the knowledge that one or more killers are running around her city, Taylor knows that she has to solve this one & fast. Meanwhile her fiancee Baldwin is facing troubles of his own when he's called to D.C. for a hearing concerning not only a serial killer from years ago but also a co-worker he'd gotten far too close to...

With a storyline that is new reader friendly & a wonderfully macabre murder investigation, this book kept me reading at such a fast pace that I finished it within a day. Ellison does a wonderful job of not only making Taylor tough, but feminine at the same time. There are far too many "I'm too gritty to be feminine" characters out there, so it is refreshing to see someone create a character that isn't a "gritty female cop" cliche.

The occult based plot was also interesting, with Ellison obviously having done some research not only into the goth & witchcraft scenes, but also into those who misinterpret & abuse them. While at times the Samhain murders seemed to drag a little, Baldwin's 2004 serial murder crime investigations did a fine job of keeping the momentum going. I'm honestly curious to see where this series goes next.

It really is a joy to discover an author that is capable of making her series books into mostly standalone novels. With the current series trends running to multiple ongoing plot arc stretching over multiple books, there are far too many series out there where the reader will more than likely feel hopelessly lost picking up a book too far into the series. Never fear- the Taylor Jackson series is more akin to an episode of Law & Order (in its standalone capabilities) than the stretched out plot arcs of some of the other series out there.

Overall this should make for a great read when it releases in October- the perfect month for a series of occult themed murders. Old & new fans should be able to pick up this read & revel in the intriguing investigations into a spooky crime, although some might get a wee bit frustrated that the book isn't as action laden as others out there.

(ARC provided by Netgalley)