Today I'm turning my blog over to Lynne Cantwell, with a review of her latest novel "Seized!!"ALSO -- Be sure to comment on this post to be able to sign up for this tour's GIVEAWAYs (listed below)!! [Blog Tour will run from May 21 - 25, 2012]
- This is an ARC book - Available Formats through Amazon.com: Kindle Edition - File Size: 345 KB | Expected Release Date: March 2012 | Publisher: Self-Published | Obtained: Goddess Fish Promotions"Seized" [Pipe Woman Chronicles, Book 1] by Lynne Cantwell
My Book Summary : Will the Mayan's "Doomsday," December 21, 2012, actually happen?? Find out through the eyes of Naomi...
A woman who believes she has everything she needs. A great job. She's happy with everything she's accomplished. Recently she became engaged to her longtime boyfriend!
However, as December 21st comes up her life begins to change. In her dreams, she recalls a white buffalo bowing to her when she was a little girl. Then she is invited to a sweat lodge on the Winter Solstice (on December 21st) with her best friend who convinces her to go. Soon Naomi will come to realize that everything in her life is about to change...
My Book Review : 3.5 out of 5 stars, this is an interesting book that puts an interesting spin on what would happen when "the beginning of end" happens, or when "doomsday" sort of arrives, only you get to find out about it from the "key players" point-of-view. It puts a fascinating (and highly debatable) spin on what is going on between our gods or with our main "God." When reading it I thought it was a unique mix of Children of the Goddess Series, House of Night Series, and Mercy Thompson Series only set in a contemporary-type of setting with a completely different plot (of course).
The characters are entertaining, intense, funny, and quirky (or as Naomi would say, "woo-woo"). It'll be interesting to see where the author is going to take the story from here since it's lined up that it can really go anywhere!
I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a good paranormal mystery that has a little bit of romance in it!
Author's Series Extras : How the Pipe Woman Chronicles Came Together
Book Teaser(s) :
“Corporate work pays a lot better than nonprofit work does. I feel like such a heel.”For more information on this book, series, and/or any other books by Lynne, then please check out her website.
“You’re not a heel,” she said. “If you were a heel, none of this would even occur to you. I bet Brock never even thinks twice about it.”
“And that’s another thing,” I said. “Joseph’s going all big brother on me, worrying about my being around Brock, that Brock might hurt me. Where did that come from?” I looked up from my plate – somehow, a second scone had disappeared while I talked. “Is Joseph crazy, or what? Any clues from your vaunted empathy?”
Shannon paused in folding a towel and considered the question for a moment. “Brock’s definitely icky, I’ll give Joseph that much. I’d have to see him again, now that the new software’s installed” – a corner of her mouth quirked – “to know whether there’s anything more to it.
“But what about this: what if Joseph’s interest in you is more than brotherly?”
“Wow. That never occurred to me.” I sipped my tea and considered the possibility. “He’s never come on to me, unless you count that wink through the mail slot when he was sixteen and I was twelve.” ~ within Chapter 5
About the Author :
Lynne Cantwell has been writing fiction since the second grade, when the kid who sat in front of her showed her a book he had written, and she thought, "I could do that." The result was "Susie and the Talking Doll," a picture book illustrated by the author about a girl who owned a doll that not only could talk, but could carry on conversations. The book had dialogue but no paragraph breaks. Today, after a twenty-year career in broadcast journalism and a master's degree in fiction writing from Johns Hopkins University (or perhaps despite the master's degree), Lynne is still writing fantasy. Her third novel and her first urban fantasy, "Seized": Book One of the Pipe Woman Chronicles, was released in March 2012.Book Excerpt :
No sooner had my head hit the pillow than I started to dream. Or at least it seemed like a dream.
I was about twelve. I was wearing a fluffy white coat that Mom had bought for me when I was in sixth grade, and my hair hung in braided pigtails behind my ears. I could hear someone droning on about some Indian legend. I turned away from the voice, and came face to face with a small, white buffalo. His withers came even with my eyes, and he didn’t have any horns. I reached out to touch his fur – I think I intended to pet him, like you would a dog – but his front half dropped to the ground, his skinny legs stuck out straight in front of him, while his back half stayed up in the air. The droning voice stopped, and then cried, “He bowed to her! The white buffalo calf bowed to her!” I heard more voices then, murmuring behind me. The little buffalo’s rump then sank to the ground, and as I bent to try to touch his head once more, I looked up.
Behind the buffalo stood a woman. Her dress was made of white buckskin, elaborately fringed along the seams of the bodice and sleeves. Her hair – long, straight, and black as night – fell around her shoulders like a cloak. Her skin was deeply tanned; her eyes were black and kind, and their depths went on forever. And she was smiling at me, and nodding. She seemed to be encouraging me to touch the little buffalo calf, which still lay motionless at my feet.
Giveaway!! :
- A $10 Amazon Gift Card to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour
To Enter : Please leave a comment on this post, with a valid email address included at the end of it.
Soo .... COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT on this post!! And you could WIN!! =0)
ALSO -- Be sure to follow the tour around the other blog sites! Commenting on the other stops on the tour will also increase your chance of winning!
Find Lynne Cantwell :
Everything about SEIZED interests me. I loved the excerpt.
ReplyDeletemarypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Thank you for hosting Lynne today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind review, Jess! Interestingly, the Mercy Thompson books are the only ones I've read of the three series you mentioned. I'm going to have to look for the others now.
ReplyDeleteHappy to answer any questions. :)
Your welcome!! I'm glad you liked it. I;m definitely interested reading your next book for this series!
DeleteExcellent! :)
DeleteI was reading the info on your website about how this series came about. Very interesting stuff. Especially the Medicine Wheel. So, I understand you're thinking 4, maybe 5, books in this series. In your opinion, how many books in a series is too many? Have you read series by other authors that you felt went beyond when it should have ended or it ended too soon and you wanted another book or two? For the sake of privacy, you don't need to name names. LOL Just your personal thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI know you were asking the author these questions but I have read a series where the author puts in so much detail in her books that the series has been drawn out too much. Which I found is a bit sad since I use to love that series. =0/
DeleteNot so much "for the sake of privacy" as that I don't want any other authors to hate me, lol. But there's an author of an epic fantasy series who is in the midst of doing exactly what Jess is talking about. I won't name any names, but he's got an HBO series right now. ;)
DeleteI don't know that there is a "perfect" number of volumes for a series. Publishers tended to think in trilogies for a long time, but sometimes the material needs more room. The biggest danger, I think, is for open-ended series; the author or publisher might be tempted to keep going back to the cash cow, even though the milk is pretty much dried up.
But then too, I've read lots of books that I loved so much that I wanted the story to keep going. I think that's a good thing, right?
Looks like I'm going to have to read this book. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it!
DeleteAnytime, Alexandra! =0)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading about the book.
ReplyDeletejonesjnd@yahoo.com
Thanks, JC!
DeleteI'd like to read more about these characters.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for your comment!
Delete