ARTICLE SHARING: Dean Koontz interview

BookPage has an interesting article with prolific author Dean Koontz this month, where he talks about writing, his sociopathic father's attempt to kill him, and his mother communicating with him from the grave. Check it out!

AUTHOR NEWS: The Second Empress available in paperback

Author Michelle Moran is happy to announce that The Second Empress is now available in paperback!

National bestselling author Michelle Moran returns to Paris, this time under the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte as he casts aside his beautiful wife to marry a Hapsburg princess he hopes will bear him a royal heir.

After the bloody French Revolution, Emperor Napoleon’s power is absolute. When Marie-Louise, the eighteen year old daughter of the King of Austria, is told that the Emperor has demanded her hand in marriage, her father presents her with a terrible choice: marry the cruel, capricious Napoleon, leaving the man she loves and her home forever, or say no, and plunge her country into war.

Marie-Louise knows what she must do, and she travels to France, determined to be a good wife despite Napoleon’s reputation. But lavish parties greet her in Paris, and at the extravagant French court, she finds many rivals for her husband’s affection, including Napoleon’s first wife, Joséphine, and his sister Pauline, the only woman as ambitious as the emperor himself. Beloved by some and infamous to many, Pauline is fiercely loyal to her brother. She is also convinced that Napoleon is destined to become the modern Pharaoh of Egypt. Indeed, her greatest hope is to rule alongside him as his queen—a brother-sister marriage just as the ancient Egyptian royals practiced. Determined to see this dream come to pass, Pauline embarks on a campaign to undermine the new empress and convince Napoleon to divorce Marie-Louise.

As Pauline's insightful Haitian servant, Paul, watches these two women clash, he is torn between his love for Pauline and his sympathy for Marie-Louise. But there are greater concerns than Pauline's jealousy plaguing the court of France. While Napoleon becomes increasingly desperate for an heir, the empire's peace looks increasingly unstable. When war once again sweeps the continent and bloodshed threatens Marie-Louise’s family in Austria, the second Empress is forced to make choices that will determine her place in history—and change the course of her life.

Based on primary resources from the time, The Second Empress takes readers back to Napoleon’s empire, where royals and servants alike live at the whim of one man, and two women vie to change their destinies.


Get your copy now!

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books-a-Million
IndieBound
Random House
Audible.com
Target

AUTHOR NEWS: Joyland by Stephen King

Stephen King has a new book coming out: Joyland. Situated at an amusement park in North Carolina in 1973, this story has a creepy carnival feel to it.  NPR has a nice brief interview with the author regarding his new book.

FREE BOOKS: The Cuckoos of Batch Magna by Peter Maughan

In April I spotlighted the book The Cuckoos of Batch Magna by Peter Maughan. Well beginning today, and for the next four days, you can download The Cuckoos of Batch Magna for free from Amazon, or gift it to your friends and family!

Get your copy now!

AUTHOR NEWS: Last day to enter for your chance to win!

WIN THE WENDY WAX OCEAN BEACH RETRO BEACH BAG!
DEADLINE IS END OF DAY TOMORROW--TUESDAY, JULY 31!

Wendy Wax is celebrating the release of her new novel OCEAN BEACH by sharing the fun of summer reading in any weather. Win a retro beach bag, autographed copies of OCEAN BEACH, TEN BEACH ROAD, MAGNOLIA WEDNESDAYS and THE ACCIDENTAL BESTSELLER, plus a flip flop bottle opener. Open to US residents only.                                                                                                                                  

Enter the contest at http://www.authorwendywax.com

Learn more about Ocean Beach, the latest novel by Wendy Wax

INTRODUCING: Dead End Deal by Allen Wyler

Pulse Pounding Medical Thriller Based on

Plausible Cure for Alzheimer’s Disease

 

"A wild Journey…cutting edge science, greed, corruption and political intrigue, you won't be able to put it down."’

--D.P. Lyle, award-winning author of, Hot Lights, Cold Steel.

“Dead End Deal is a medical thriller of the highest order, reviving the genre with a splendid mixture of innovation and cutting edge timeliness.  Neurosurgeon Allen Wyler knows of what he speaks, and writes, and the result is a thriller that equals and updates the best of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton.  His latest is terrifyingly on mark, riveting in all ways and a masterpiece of science and suspense.”

--Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong at the Break

“The suspense builds and builds in this riveting page-turner.  It’s a skillful merging of the medical thriller and political thriller…Tom Clancy meets Tess Gerritsen!”

--Kevin O’Brien, NYTimes Bestselling Author of The Last Victim and Killing Spree

World renowned neurosurgeon Jon Ritter is on the verge of a medical breakthrough that will change the world.  His groundbreaking surgical treatment, using transplanted non-human stem cells, is set to eradicate the scourge of Alzheimer’s disease and give hope to millions.  But when the procedure is slated for testing, it all comes to an abrupt and terrifying halt. Ritter’s colleague is gunned down and Ritter himself is threatened by a radical anti-abortion group that not only claims responsibility, but promises more of the same.

Faced with a dangerous reality but determined to succeed, Ritter turns to his long-time colleague, corporate biotech CEO Richard Stillman, for help.  Together, they conspire to conduct a clandestine clinical trial in Seoul, Korea.  But the danger is more determined, and more lethal, than Ritter could have imagined.

After successful surgical trials, Ritter and his allies are thrown into a horrifying nightmare scenario:  The trial patients have been murdered and Ritter is the number one suspect. Aided by his beautiful lab assistant, Yeonhee, Ritter flees the country, now the target of an international manhunt involving Interpol, the FBI, zealous fanatics and a coldly efficient assassin named Fiest.

Dead End Deal is a fast paced, heart-pounding, and sophisticated thriller. Penned by master neurosurgeon, Allen Wyler—who often draws from experience, actual events and hotbutton issues when writing—Dead End Deal is unmatched as a technical procedural. Its medical and scientific details can impress even the most seasoned medical practitioners. And yet, the technical expertise is seamlessly woven into a riveting plot, with enough action and surprises to engross even the most well-read thriller enthusiast.

A smart, unique, page-turner, Dead End Deal delivers.

ebook, 323 pages

Published March 13th 2012 by Astor + Blue Editions, LLC

ISBN13   9781993823103

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Allen Wyler is a renowned neurosurgeon who earned an international reputation for pioneering surgical techniques to record brain activity.  He has served on the faculties of both the University of Washington and the University of Tennessee, and in 1992 was recruited by the prestigious Swedish Medical Center to develop a neuroscience institute.

In 2002, he left active practice to become Medical Director for a startup med-tech company (that went public in 2006) and he now chairs the Institutional Review Board of a major medical center in the Pacific Northwest.

Leveraging a love for thrillers since the early 70’s, Wyler devoted himself to fiction writing in earnest, eventually serving as Vice President of the International Thriller Writers organization for several years. After publishing his first two medical thrillers Deadly Errors (2005) and Dead Head (2007), he officially retired from medicine to devote himself to writing full time.

He and his wife, Lily, divide their time between Seattle and the San Juan Islands.

www.allenwyler.com

Advance Praise for Dead End Deal

"A wild Journey…cutting edge science, greed, corruption and political intrigue, you won't be able to put it down."’

--D.P. Lyle, award-winning author of, Hot Lights, Cold Steel.

“Dead End Deal is a medical thriller of the highest order, reviving the genre with a splendid mixture of innovation and cutting edge timeliness.  Neurosurgeon Allen Wyler knows of what he speaks, and writes, and the result is a thriller that equals and updates the best of Robin Cook and Michael Crichton.  His latest is terrifyingly on mark, riveting in all ways and a masterpiece of science and suspense.”

--Jon Land, bestselling author of Strong at the Break

“The suspense builds and builds in this riveting page-turner.  It’s a skillful merging of the medical thriller and political thriller…Tom Clancy meets Tess Gerritsen!”

--Kevin O’Brien, NYTimes Bestselling Author of The Last Victim and Killing Spree

“With its lightning-paced excitement and fascinating science, [Wyler’s novels] have everything you could hope for in a medical thriller!”

--Tess Gerritsen, Author of The Mephisto Club

“You’ll be asking the nurse to swab your forehead when you’re admitted into this tense medical thriller… Wyler does for hospitals what Benchley did for the ocean.”

--Joe Moore, Co-author of the International Bestseller, The Grail Conspiracy

“Wyler writes a fast-paced thriller which reawakens your scariest misgivings about the Medical-Industrial Complex and the profit motive corrupting the art of healing.”

--Darryl Ponicsan, Author of The Last Detail

“…a fascinating and frightening premise that gives it the potential to be a best-seller in the Robin Cook mold.”

--William Deitrich, Author of Hadrian’s Wall

“This is an ‘up all night’ pass into troubled places that only hard-working doctors know about, a turbulent world of trusting patients and imperfect humans struggling with the required image of perfection.  Only a gifted surgeon like Allen Wyler could craft such a wild and wonderful best-of-breed medical thriller!”

--John J. Nance, Author of Pandora’s Clock and Fire Flight

“…An engrossing thriller and a cautionary tale of the all-too-frequent intersection of high-technology and higher greed.  It’s a message all of us better pay attention to, or face the consequences.”

--Mark Olshaker, Author of Einstein’s Brain, Unnatural Causes, and The Edge; Co-author of Mindhunter, Journey into Darkness and The Cases that Haunt Us.

AUTHOR NEWS: Last day to enter Ocean Beach giveaway by Wendy Wax

Today is the last day to enter author Wendy Wax's giveaway for three advance copies of her upcoming sequel to her novel Ten Beach Road.Just head on over to Writerspace and scroll down to the author's name for your chance at winning one of the three available ARCs! Good luck!

Synopsis for Ocean Beach:

Unlikely friends Madeline, Avery and Nicole have hit some speed bumps in their lives, but when they arrive in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood, they are all hoping for a do-over. Literally. They’ve been hired to bring a once-grand historic house back to its former glory on a new television show called Do-Over. If they can just get this show off the ground, Nikki would get back on her feet financially, Avery could restart her ruined career, and Maddie would have a shot at keeping her family together.

At least, that’s the plan – until the women realize that having their work broadcast is one thing, having their personal lives play out on TV is another thing entirely. Soon they are struggling to hold themselves, and the project, together. With a decades-old mystery—and the hurricane season—looming, the women are forced to figure out just how they’ll weather life’s storms…

ARTICLE SHARING: "Author Turow fears DOJ Apple suit would empower Amazon"

CNET is running an article written by Jay Greene stating that author Scott Turow (author of Presumed Innocent) is alleging that a lawsuit Amazon has filed against Apple, HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster will put Amazon in a position to crush all of their competition.

"'You'll end up with one bookseller in the United States because Amazon will crush everyone else,' Turow said.

In an op-ed piece for Bloomberg, the Presumed Innocent author dubs Amazon 'the Darth Vader of the literary world.' And in an interview with CNET, Turow said he's worried that Amazon's tactics will unfairly undermine brick-and-mortar booksellers and ultimately the publishing industry." (CNET article by Jay Greene)

Read the full CNET article by Jay Greene, and the original Bloomberg article written by author Scott Turow.

AUTHOR NEWS: Author Mary Pauline Lowry reveals a new cover for The Earthquake Machine

Author Mary Pauline Lowry has announced a new cover reveal for her book The Earthquake Machine. And, without further adieu, here is the new cover...

"The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda's world but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda's life is her family's Mexican yardman, Jess. But when the INS deports Jess back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation. Determined to find her friend Jess, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Boquillas, Mexico. There a peyote-addled bartender convinces her she won't be safe traveling alone into the country's interior. So with the bartender's help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jess. Thus begins a wild adventure that explores the borders between the United States and Mexico, adolescence and adulthood, male and female, English and Spanish, and adult coming-of-age and Young Adult novels."

A reminder again that I am giving away a copy of The Earthquake Machine, thanks to author Mary Pauline Lowry. The book has been receiving great reviews! Check out what people are saying on Amazon and GoodReads.

Learn more on the author's website.

AUTHOR NEWS: Announcing new release by author Mary Burton and her recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

Author Mary Burton is sharing one of her favorite cookie recipes. Fans of Mary Burton will also be excited to note that her latest book Before She Dies has just been released. Read more about it on her website and check out the great reviews on Goodreads.

ARTICLE: LibraryThing Interview with Shalom Auslander

I think I found a new author to check out: Shalom Auslander. LibraryThing posted an interview with him this month, and just the introduction alone got my attention. As stated in the LibraryThing "State of the Thing":

Shalom Auslander is the author of the short story collection Beware of God and the memoir Foreskin's Lament. His first novel, Hope: A Tragedy is out this month from Riverhead Books.

Irreverent, crass, fearless and caustic, his character revealed through his interview and the titles of his books grabbed me. I've now added all of his books to my "Wish List"!

Check out his interview with LibraryThing, and if irreverent tales of a love/hate relationship with God interest you, you may want to check out his books as well.

Author Ann Patchett's Impromptu Speech

Author Ann Patchett makes an impassioned impromptu speech in support of the grand opening of Parnassus Books Nashville on November 19th.