Friday, December 12, 2014

Michael J. Bowler - Once Upon a Time in America - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

With Lance leading the way, the Knights of the Round Table have set out to convince the American people that amending the Constitution to protect children is right and just and long overdue. As the team travels from state to state, they are met with acceptance, indifference, and even hostility. But Lance’s popularity and mystique as The Boy Who Came Back, coupled with his innate charm, gradually sway more and more of the populace, not to mention state legislators, to their cause.

The journey becomes a rite of passage that propels the young people into adulthood, and solidifies Lance’s status as an iconic and influential figure.

But he’s uneasy. He knows Arthur is hiding something from him, something that will bring him great sadness. After The Excalibur Incident in Las Vegas, Lance becomes more and more certain that the future is one he won’t like, despite his stunning success at winning over some of the most intractable states.

Then comes the attack, sudden and brutal.

Now the Round Table is in disarray, and Lance must confront a cold-blooded killer who’s luring him into an obvious trap. But if he refuses the challenge, more loved ones will die, and everything he’s fought for will die with them. Surrounded by the diverse young knights who have become his family, Lance sets out to battle his enemy with the knowledge deep in his heart that only one of them will survive. Is this the end of the Round Table?

The Knight Cycle concludes…


My Review

Lance steps over the divide between childhood and all that lay beyond in the concluding chapter of Michael J. Bowler's five-part young adult series, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. Yes, Lance turns eighteen and legally becomes an adult, but it's the lessons he's learned along the way that have truly made him into the person he is at the conclusion of the story.

Hero.

"A hero is someone who rises above those who try to break him, and proves to the world that he's better than the worst thing he ever did, or the worst thing ever done to him."

Now Lance understands that he can't have everything he wants. Sometimes it takes tremendous pain and loss to bring about change. Life is filled with things he doesn't like, but he has gained the maturity to deal with both the good and the bad. He doesn't turn away from what's uncomfortable or difficult. He's able to inspire others by just being himself.

America's Son.

"Lance wanted to scream and shout and pound the walls. Like a little boy. Except he wasn't a little boy anymore."

The President of the United States bestows this special title upon Lance, showing just how important he's become to those in power and the people he serves. Yet at times, his head gets a little too big, and he lets his ego get in the way of all the good he's trying to accomplish. He calls the Children's Bill of Rights—an amendment to the Constitution that everyone in New Camelot is crisscrossing the country for Congress to ratify—"my CBOR." It's only when the people who've been with him since the beginning bring him down to size that he's able to get back on track. Lance is a master at forming coalitions among those of differing economic backgrounds and ethnicities, but he's at his ultimate best when he acts in everyone's best interests and not just his own.

Lover.

"I got you. For now and always."

As the caravan of knights journeys across the country, Lance comes to visit Jack's hometown of Pocatello, Idaho. His mother welcomes Lance with open arms and invites him to spend some time alone among Jack's things, looking through his personal photos and holding his favorite, mud-encrusted football. It's a turning point for Lance because he's finally able to fully grieve for his first love and let him go. In Lance's mind, Jack was such a "badass," all muscles and strength, that he taught him that it was okay to be gay. Without this transformative relationship, Lance never would've been able to be openly in love with Ricky, his true soulmate and the one he was meant to be with. He would've forced himself to be straight in order to make the wrong people happy, instead of the one that matters the most to him. With Jack's early passing, Lance is well aware of the myth that young people have their whole lives ahead of them, and he intends to seize the moment when it comes to loving Ricky.

King.

"Uneasy the head that wears the crown."

When the series started all Lance wanted to do was win the X Games, and now he's on the verge of becoming King Arthur's successor as the heir to the throne. Lance knows that even a few short years ago, he didn't have the patience to remain calm, cool and collected when leading his knights into dangerous situations. Now he's let go of that youthful impetuousness, and he's able to take the hits for the team, fully realizing that those kinds of sacrifices are a part of a leader's job. Lance feels his whole world shift when he lifts Excalibur aloft when coming to Arthur's rescue and he has a premonition that it will never shift back. He's no longer a kid who acts on pure emotion, he's grown up, and as much as he doesn't want to yield to fate, he knows what has to be done, and he's determined to see it through.

At the end of the journey, Arthur sums up Lance's character best when he tells his adopted son, "Everything you are, Lance, you were from the moment I met you. I merely helped you realize that."

***

Once Upon a Time in America can be purchased at:
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Prices/Formats: $4.99 ebook, $14.95 paperback
Pages: 328
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Release: November 12, 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9780990871101
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Michael J. Bowler is an award-winning author of seven novels––A Boy and His Dragon, A Matter of Time (Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books: Children of the Knight (Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards), Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead, and Once Upon A Time In America.

His horror screenplay, “Healer,” was a Semi-Finalist, and his urban fantasy script, “Like A Hero,” was a Finalist in the Shriekfest Film Festival and Screenplay Competition.

He grew up in San Rafael, California, and majored in English and Theatre at Santa Clara University. He went on to earn a master’s in film production from Loyola Marymount University, a teaching credential in English from LMU, and another master's in Special Education from Cal State University Dominguez Hills.

He partnered with two friends as producer, writer, and/or director on several ultra-low-budget horror films, including “Fatal Images,” “Club Dead,” and “Things II,” the reviews of which are much more fun than the actual movies.

He taught high school in Hawthorne, California for twenty-five years, both in general education and to students with learning disabilities, in subjects ranging from English and Strength Training to Algebra, Biology, and Yearbook.

He has also been a volunteer Big Brother to eight different boys with the Catholic Big Brothers Big Sisters program and a thirty-year volunteer within the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles. He is a passionate advocate for the fair treatment of children and teens in California, something that is sorely lacking in this state.

He has been honored as Probation Volunteer of the Year, YMCA Volunteer of the Year, California Big Brother of the Year, and 2000 National Big Brother of the Year. The “National” honor allowed he and three of his Little Brothers to visit the White House and meet the president in the Oval Office.

He is currently at work on a horror/suspense novel based on his screenplay, “Healer.”

Links to connect with Michael:
Web Site
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Blog
Tumblr
Pinterest
Instagram
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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Friday, December 5, 2014

Cristelle Comby - Danse Macabre - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

Private investigators Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan are hired to succeed where the police have failed, to safely return home a missing ballerina. With no lead to pursue and no idea who could be behind the young woman’s kidnapping, they soon find themselves at a loss as to what to do.

To make matters worse, the heart of England seems to be caught in the middle of a little Ice Age. With snow endlessly falling and Tube lines either too cramped up to use or out of service, it is a pain to do any legwork in the huge metropolis.

Oh, and because trouble never comes alone, there may also be a serial killer on the loose in the streets of East London...


My Review

What makes Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan a good private investigating team is what makes Cristelle Comby a good writer. They notice things—the things most people overlook, the little details that add up to form the big picture. Picking up a mystery novel is meant to be an interactive experience. The author drops clues throughout the narrative and the reader puts them together one by one, but what makes the journey satisfying is when the main characters reveal what makes them tick at the same time. When it comes to Neve and Egan, Comby does this brilliantly.

Neve is a born investigator, putting herself in someone else's shoes comes easily to her. She's a pro at finding common ground when it comes to getting to know a victim. In DANSE MACABRE, the killer is targeting young women in their twenties who are exceptionally talented in the creative arts. Neve is twenty-four. She, too, lives in East London, and is a former student of literature. The parallels are uncanny, bordering on unsettling. Neve can see traces of herself in the victims from the way their bedrooms are arranged to their singleminded focus when it comes to their careers.

Egan, on the flip side, has a hard time relating to people at all, and shields himself from getting emotionally involved in a case. It's not until he learns that the killer sews open the eyes of his victims post mortem that he lowers his guard and allows himself to identify with their plight—because Egan, himself, is blind. His fierce independent streak is a means of coping with his condition. He holds everyone at arm's length, but it only leads to a profound sense of guilt when one of the victims turns out to be a student of his and he doesn't even remember her. When he realizes that he's relegated others to nothing more than background noise, he knows that he can't keep shutting people out. He needs to change.

But it's how Neve and Egan interact with each other that makes their partnership zing. There's something going on between them that remains tantalizing unexplored. Comby doesn't come right out and say it, she just hints at their deepening relationship and what it could mean. The subtle way they dance around each other says more than if they declared their true feelings for each other. Theirs is an unconventional love story because it's not rooted in fantasy, it's grounded in real life. Their bond developed so naturally that it's quite possible they're not even aware of how close they've grown by working together.

They're able to aid those in dire need of their help because they care about each other. Their expertise is enhanced by combining forces. It's highly unlikely that they'd be as good at what they do, working alone. They each compliment each other to such a degree, that when Neve offers Egan her arm to cross a snow-covered street, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. They're two very special characters that mystery fans will have no problem figuring out are tailor made for each other, even if they haven't figured it out for themselves yet.

***

Danse Macabre can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $2.99 ebook, $11.99 paperback
Pages: 254
Genre: New Adult, Detective Mystery
Release: October 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781502723772
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where she still resides.

Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English is fluent.

She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.

Danse Macabre is her third new-adult novel, and she’s hard at work on the next titles in the Neve & Egan series.

Links to connect with Cristelle:
Web Site
Twitter
Goodreads
Instagram
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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