Reviews By Martha's Bookshelf: Edge of Sight

Showing posts with label Edge of Sight. Show all posts

Monday, November 29, 2010

Two Replacement Winners - Edge of Sight

CONGRATULATIONS

to the Winners of

Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos)

by Roxanne St. Claire

Marlene and Kathy had already won this book so I selected two more numbers/names.

CAROL M

and

JANE

I have emailed the replacement winners and both have confirmed.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Winners of Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire

CONGRATULATIONS

to the Winners of

Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos)

by Roxanne St. Claire

I will email Marlene, Kathy and Benita the Hachette form to complete within 72 hours of notice.
Thank you to all who entered.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Blog Tour Guest Post by Roxanne St. Claire: Series or Stand-Alone...

Many of my blog followers know by now that I love series. I am so glad that Roxanne, author of Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos), chose to respond to this topic. Welcome, Roxanne, and thank you for sharing your insight on series.

Series or Stand-Alone…Views from a Convert

Thank you so much for inviting me to blog today on this lively book-loving site. Since my blog tour is all about EDGE OF SIGHT, the book that launches the brand new Guardian Angelinos series, Martha asked me to share my thoughts on the differences between writing stand-alone books and series.

I love the subject because I am only a recent “series convert” – never read ‘em, never liked ‘em, never thought I’d write ‘em. For one thing, I’m the kind of reader who gets distracted if a couple other than the main hero and heroine are mentioned – immediately, I’m worried if I missed a book. I’m also the kind of movie-goer who would skip out if I’ve missed the first five minutes of a film. I can’t bear to not know what happened. And there was a time not so long ago, when I was purely a reader and not a writer, that I thought the author’s mention of previous characters was a sign of arrogance for assuming I read everything she’s written.

Well, times have changed, and so have I. Readers demand series! I’ve had a few fans pick up my first three stand-alone romantic suspense novels at booksignings only to learn they were “just” stand-alones…and instantly return those books to the pile. So when I decided it was time to jump into the series pool, it was only after creative lightning struck and I found a concept that would allow me to write stand-alone romantic thrillers that could be read and loved all by themselves, but still be enriched by recurring secondary characters and series worldbuilding.

There are so many extra considerations when an author is writing a series, and some of them are truly challenging for me. For example, it helps for an author to know the “arc” of the series by answering questions such as: What will happen to the anchor characters? How will the whole “group” change by the end of the series? Will any characters die? (Heavens!) For a person who does “loose” plotting (and by loose, I mean NO IDEA what is going to happen until it pours out of my fingertips), this kind of vision can be very difficult.

But it wasn’t long before I learned the pros outweighed the cons of a series. Readers do love a series, and both readers and the writer enjoy a comfort level of sitting down with old friends. Each book gets a little easier, and “seeding” new heroes and heroines is a ton of fun. With a series, you can take a character’s story line further and readers can get to know what happens after the HEA. (Babies!) Best of all, readers really do become loyal fans and come back book after book after book.

But there are still some downsides to writing a series. Writers don’t want to get bored – it’s the kiss of death! – or pigeonholed into telling one kind of story. Readers get attached to certain characters, and if you don’t have things happen the way they way…well, you can hear about it. An author has to be very careful not to paint herself into a story corner – like making a future hero do something in an book that is so despicable he cannot be redeemed. And, oh my word, it takes real organization skills to keep everything straight and make sure all the stories, characters, settings, and timelines align.

And, of course, you have to know when to end the series, which can be very like saying goodbye to a trusted friend. My first series, The Bullet Catchers, is now complete with eight books and two novellas. It wasn’t easy to end those fun stories, but the time had come and I was ready to move on. This month, my second series, The Guardian Angelinos, launches with EDGE OF SIGHT. I’m so excited to delve into this new world of a big, loud, blended Italian clan that forms an ad hoc security company. There are Angelino and Rossi cousins and siblings galore, tons of family friction, sexy love stories, non-stop action adventure, exotic settings, creepy villains, and, since they’re Italian, some really great food!

And YES, you can read one or all of these books, in any order. That’s still important to me. In the first book, former Army Ranger Zach Angelino reluctantly accepts the first assignment for his sister’s fledgling security firm, protecting Harvard-bound law student Samantha Fairchild after she’s witnessed an assassination and is next on the hit man’s list. The problem? Sam and Zach are former lovers and he left her for a tour of duty in Iraq three years earlier, then never contacted her again. She’s not sure she can trust him. He’s not sure he can resist her. Now they are trying to crack a conspiracy that leads to Boston’s darkest corners of corruption. They’ve got to face fears, desires, doubts and one really scary bad guy who wants to kill them both.

The next two books in the series (SHIVER OF FEAR and FACE OF DANGER) will be out back to back in the spring of 2011. And, I’m thrilled to let readers know that there is a “freequel” on my web site! This free short story can be easily downloaded so you can meet the main characters of EDGE OF SIGHT, and experience their sexy meeting and heartbreaking goodbye first hand. Just go to the “free reads” section of www.roxannestclaire.com and download the pdf!

So, my question for you…Series or Stand Alone? Which do you prefer and why? There’s a GIVEAWAY, of course! And I’ll pop in all day to answer any questions or comments!

Thanks, Martha, for inviting me and tons of hugs to all the loyal readers out there!

xxx

Thank you to Roxanne for this great post! I, for one, will be watching for the next books in this series.
I hope my followers and blog visitors will comment with a Thank you to Roxanne and read my review and enter the Giveaway.

Giveaway - Three Copies Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire

Full on action, suspense and romance!
Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos) by Roxanne St. Claire

Author Bio

Facebook

@RoxanneStClaire on Twitter

Visit RoxanneStClaire.com

THANK YOU TO HACHETTE FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPONSOR THIS GIVEAWAY.

TO ENTER THIS GIVEAWAY:

1. For your main entry comment on the author Guest Post - this is required for entry. While there, Answer the Question posed by the Author at the bottom of her Post for TWO additional entries.
Make sure you leave your e-mail address!

2. Visit the Author's website and tell me something you found interesting. Worth 2 entries.

3. For an extra entry, become a follower or tell me if you are already a follower.

4. For THREE extra entries, blog, facebook, tweet (any of those networks!) about this giveaway and tell me where you did.

5. For THREE extra entries comment on my review post.

It isn't necessary to use separate entries unless you want them in different chronological order.

(12 total entries possible.) MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE YOUR E-MAIL! Three winners!
* This contest is only open to residents of US and Canada.
* No P.O. Boxes Please - for shipping reasons.
* Only one winner per household.
* This contest will close 10 PM (Central) on November 19, 2010. The winners will be randomly selected from all entries.

Book Review: Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire

This is romantic suspense as I love it: intense characters with a strong hero who thinks he isn’t good enough and a committed damsel in distress heroine.

Edge of Sight (The Guardian Angelinos) by Roxanne St. Claire

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Forever; Original edition (November 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0446566586
ISBN-13: 978-0446566582

Genre: Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.75 of 5.0

The killer she can't escape . . .
The heartbreak she can't forget . . .
The one man who can stop them both.

When Samantha Fairchild witnesses a murder in the wine cellar of the restaurant where she works, the Harvard-bound law student becomes the next target of a professional assassin. Desperate for protection the authorities won't provide, Sam seeks help from Vivi Angelino, an investigative reporter who recruits her brother, Zach, to protect Samantha. A Special Forces vet with the scars to prove he's equally fearless and flawed, Zach takes the job, despite the fact that he and Sam once shared a lusty interlude that ended when he left for war and disappeared from her life. Now, as they crack a conspiracy that leads to Boston's darkest corners, Sam and Zach must face their fears, desires, and doubts, before a hired killer gets a second shot...

Review: Samantha “Sam” was a witness to a murder when she was 16. Unfortunately it turned out she identified the wrong man. When the true killer confessed, Sam worked for three years to help gain the release of Billy, the innocent man she helped send to prison. Billy and Sam became friends through the process and Sam decided she would go to law school to become a lawyer to help others like Billy.

In the process of freeing Billy Sam has exposed some sloppy police work in the investigation procedures. That has put her on the blacklist of the Boston Police department. When Sam witnesses another murder the police don’t want to rely on her eye witness report, much less protect her. But the killer knows Sam was a witness and is out to clean up loose ends.

As she is laying low Sam seeks the help of a good friend who is a serious reporter and may have contacts to get good police updates. Her good friend, Vivi, happens to be the sister of the man Sam fell in love with three years before. After a hot and heavy fling, Zach walked out and returned to the Army without any contact at all. Fortunately Sam’s activities with the Innocence Mission have helped her work through the pain of her heartache even if she hasn’t forgotten.

When Sam seeks Vivi’s help she runs smack into Zach who is back from the service with some serious disfiguring wounds. Zach doesn’t feel he’s good enough for Sam; he thinks she deserves someone whole. Although Sam doesn’t want his help he can see she is scared and he feels compelled to protect her.

Other members of the Angelino family are pulled together to form the PI/security firm to be known as the Guardian Angelinos. They soon discover that there is more than one person out to kill Sam.

There is nonstop action dodging one assassination attempt after another. The killer isn’t beyond using Sam’s friends as bait to draw her in, involving Billy and Vivi in deep trouble. Meanwhile the heat between Sam and Zach doesn’t simmer, it boils.

Can the Angelinos protect their first client?? Will Sam forgive Zach and can he see his way to acknowledging his love for her? Read this book to find out for yourself. You will be glad you did.
I look forward to reading more books in this series and more books by this author.
CAUTION: Some strong language - but it is worth the read.

Please comment on the Author Guest Post and enter the Giveaway!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Blog Tour: Edge of Sight by Roxanne St. Claire - Starts 10/25 SPECIAL 10/27

Follow the Blog Tour and Join the Twitter Party on OCTOBER 27 for a day of ROXANE ST. CLAIRE twitter chat with extra giveaways!
Check back here on MBS blog for the Author Guest Post, my review and giveaway on November 3, 2010.

For the TWITTER PARTY:

Date: Oct. 27
Hashtag: #rstclaire
Author Twitter: @RoxanneStClaire
Twitter Party Central: @ForeverRomance
Activities: Absolutely anything you can tweet about, but for clarity: we will tweet and retweet reviews, giveaways, author features, and any discussion relating to @RoxanneStClaire or any of her books. Please don't forget to add the #rstclaire hashtag.