Author Archives: MBenson

Book Review: Captured by the Billionaire (The Complete Series) by Julia Sykes

25 Monday Nov 2013

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Captured by the Billionaire

Author: Julia Sykes
Publisher: Independently Published via Kindle Direct & CreateSpace
Genre: Erotica/BDSM Romance
Rating:  2 Stars

This is the compiled version of all six installations of the series: Pursue, Captured, Teased, Bound, Tested, & Collared.

The story starts off with Mallory working as a server for Jake’s party, where we learn that he knows all the right people and has more money than any one person should ever really have. From the moment the two meet, Jake seems to want Mallory, and goes to lengths to get her to agree to go out with him. It than follows their ups and downs as he shows her the BDSM lifestyle he lives by to her ultimately agreeing to wear his collar.

The story over all would be an interesting one, except for the fact that I don’t feel that the characters are given enough time to truly develop. Everything happens so fast, and certain betrayals that should take a couple days to work through and get over ends up being worked through in a matter of hours. In that regard, it’s just a matter of pacing. I feel like if she’d lengthened the ‘books’ to be longer, worked out more of the character’s personalities and reactions to a more believable time frame, this would have been a lot better.

I also had problems with how Jake handled Mallory. Their very first time together, he bound her hands with a belt. To me, having Mallory just go with it and find it hot, this stranger she isn’t even sure she likes binding her with a belt like that, is a little too fast when she’s supposed to have been a straight vanilla before Jake entered her life. As well there are a couple scenes where he knocks her knees out from under her in order to settle her on her knees in front of him, or knock her to the ground. I know this is supposed to be a BDSM book, but personally I don’t see that as anything but manhandling her in all the wrong ways, BDSM relationship or not. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t feel like doing that to a woman shows all that much respect or care, which is supposed to be at the very heart of a relationship like this.

Over all, the premises is interesting, but the execution of it just really didn’t hit me as great. It also could have used an editor, because a couple sections were littered with spelling errors and it completely throws me off to find more than one or two.

And thus starts week two…

12 Tuesday Nov 2013

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As many are aware, we’re currently in the flurries of National Novel Writing Month. Pens, keyboard, tablets. They’re all being exhausted as thousands of people across the world write vigorously to try and reach that 50,000 word goal. Or in some cases, surpass that 50,000 count goal.

And me? I’m completely caught up in the insanity. And so far, I’m doing good. Though, it is only a day or so into the second week. My over all goal is to write 2,000 words a day minimum in order to not only reach the 50,000 words this month, but hopefully surpass them and get my book as close to complete as possible.  With the goal to have my rough draft done by Christmas so that come the new year I can start to work on editing it after the Hols are over.

I have found that sometimes it’s a struggle to get my word count done depending on the kind of day I had, but I’ve been fighting harder over all to work through it and get things done. I will say, even with occasionally fighting, there’s a mighty great feeling to know that I’ve gotten my goal completed for the day and I go to bed a little more relaxed because of it.

Today I’ve taken a slight pause in time that could otherwise be spent writing to type up this and to work out the map of my fantasy land that my character will be traveling for the remainder of my novel. I wanted to have a visual that I could go back to and go okay, they should be reaching this forest soon, or this town soon.

Though, the fault lays down in naming everything, because the map starts to look barren when you only have your plot relevant locations on it. And then I have to start filing things in with forests, mountains, random towns to speckle the land.

So. On map creation. Question for the masses.
Do you meticulously plot out each location when you create your maps or do you just kind of toss things at the board and let the land kind of form itself the way it wants to?
Do you name everything you put on the map right away or do you let some towns or forests or lakes lay nameless until they are of importance or their name comes to you later?

Gone are the days…

29 Tuesday Oct 2013

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First and foremost?  I want to know where October went. Because hell, it’s way too late for me. I feel like I should have done a LOT more with this month than I did, though honestly that’s because I had wanted to do a lot more than I did.

I never kept up with the drabbles I had wanted to do this month, though I do fully intend to continue with my plan to write for NaNo. I’m just going to have to be more careful about staying on task and not letting the month slip away from me. Because in all honesty, I’d really like to win this year. And about two weeks in I always taper out because of Holidays and family stuff, and finals and school which I no longer have to distract me.

Secondly, I had a small issue with something today while I was browsing the Nano Forums this morning. Someone in one of the regions I’m part of posted that they wanted to talk to “Properly Published“authors, and by that she meant not self-published and not ebook. And I have a more than slight issue with not considering self-publishing or ebooks ‘properly published’.

I know that a good chunk of self-publishers do need better (or any) editors. I’ve run across more than a few that the ideas were solid, but damned if they could just have had someone run through it with the editor’s comb it would have been a hell of a lot better. And I’ve run across more than a few that you sit there wondering where the good reviews on amazon came from because it’s really, really not good. But that isn’t to say that a self-publisher is bad or not properly done.

I guess my issue stems from the use of ‘properly’. I wouldn’t have bristled at the term as much if she had used say… ‘traditionally published’. Because I feel like saying that self-publishing and ebooks aren’t proper is discounting a lot of good work and a lot of good people. Especially since there are a fair few of traditionally published authors that are making their way into ebooks, making shorts available to their fans for a cheaper than paperback/hardback price that might fill in the gaps between some of their books. And I think that’s a wonderfully awesome use of the media, by the way, but does that make the short they’re selling for a couple bucks any less proper than the edition that you can pick up in the store?

My two cents anyway.

NaNoWriMo

08 Tuesday Oct 2013

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So, I’ve been working up a little bit of stuff around me and I’ve decided to do NaNoWriMo this year. Or more like again. I’ve done it for a couple years, and I’ve yet to be able to actually win it, so I’m putting a lot of will power into steaming through and actually being able to say I won this year.

I’ve even got a schedule for the month of October to get me in the writing mood a little more, working on some fics inspired by the daily prompts that are posted in the Prompt forum on the website.

And if you’re wondering what NaNoWriMo is? It’s National Novel Writing Month. Basically, for the month of November I promise to work my tail off and write 50,000 words be it a novel, fanfiction, a collection of short stories. 30 Days, 50,000 words. And the focus isn’t to get bogged down in quality so much as getting the quantity out, and then use the month of December to edit what you’ve written.

Wanna join the craziness? http://www.nanowrimo.org is the place to go. Sign up is open, and the forums are already a flurry of fun and talking as people prepare for the insanity that is November. If you’re new to NaNo, there are also regional forums where you can see if maybe someone is hosting a write it, or other fun plans to keep people in their area on track. You might make a new best friend.

And if you want to add me on there? my handle is kougerkat

Book Review: Easy Bake Coven by J.D. Shaw

04 Friday Oct 2013

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Author: J.D. Shaw 
Publisher: Independently Published via Kindle Direct & CreateSpace
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Rating:  3.5 Stars

Vivienne Finch has her dreams set on opening ‘Sweet Dreams Bakery’ in her little seaside town. But when the mayor’s wife ends up dead in her dumpster on opening day, the tiny town is pushed onto its side, and Vivienne is dragged right along with it.

Right up front I will say I liked the book. The plot was interesting, and the twists did keep coming with the who-dun-it part of this book. The town was well described too. The author was good to detail how the little main street looked, especially since the mayor’s wife had been planning to give main street a face lift to better attract more tourists, and the characters were fairly engaging to read and follow. I definitely look forward to book two come the winter season.

However, there’s a reason why it doesn’t have a higher rating. For all the good, there were some issues that I had with the book too. Between the synopsis posted and the title, you knew that it would have something to do with witches in the story. I just didn’t realize that it would be so far into the story. I feel like, as a whole the title was kind of a let down, because Vivienne doesn’t find out she’s a witch until a good part of the book, and really? There is no coven. It’s a vague, hand wavy reference through her grandmother and then at the very end of the book.

As well, I think that things were taken far too well, far too sugary sweet toothed. Things that any normal person would freak out about finding out, especially when it comes to try and kill you, Vivienne just absorbed and kept on walking like it was a normal day in her tiny Cove town. In that respect, the character fell a little flat and two-dimensional to me, because it’s not JUST the witch part that she takes with just a bat of her eyes, but secrets about other supernaturals as well. I wish she would have freaked out, thrown a fit, something to show that this was completely out of her norm and out of the reality she’d lived in for all of her life.

Will I read book two? Probably. Would I suggest this book to people to read? If you don’t mind a little light reading with a few issues, sure. At $2.99 it’s not too heafty of a price to enjoy the story and plot.

Inching along

03 Thursday Oct 2013

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I really don’t know why it’s so hard to get me to sit down and write out blog posts, or update my twitter for that matter. I always have great plans to, and then they fall short of my wants because something or another gets pushed in front of me.

Though, in my defense with blogging, I’ve been vying for a full time desk job that will pay the bills. Something I deeply need in order to survive and all. It’s going well too, and I’m hoping to have the job secured by the start of the new year. So here’s hoping.

In other news, I am in the process of writing up a review, though a couple days ago, as I was finishing up the book I was directed by Kindle that since I was reading A, I might like B. And B turned out to be book two of a series named after the book I was currently reading. But by a different author. Color me confused at that point.

Apparently two different authors used “Easy Bake Coven” as their title, only five months apart. So while the newer of the two’s review will be posted hopefully tomorrow if today pans out as I want it too, the older of the two “Easy Bake Coven” books will be jumping my reading list to top so I can read and review that one too.

Which leads me to a poll of sorts, dear readers. Have you come across this before? And I’m not just talking about similar titles, because I have stumbled across similar or same titled books but what was inside, and the genres tended to be different. Both of these books are about witches, and from the description of the second one, they’re both slipping into some mystery as well.

And for those that write and publish, do you search to see if anything on amazon, B&N, smashword, etc. has the same title as what you are hoping to name your book? Or do you just publish it without looking?

Book Review: Blood and Lipstick edited by Roger Armstrong

29 Thursday Aug 2013

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Blood and Lipstick

Author: Encarnita Round, Leigh Campbell, Robert Hanley, Victoria Oldham, & E.E. Ottoman
Publisher: Storm Moon Press — found here
Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance
Rating:  3.5 Stars

The first tale is 27 Days by Encarnita Round (1 star) which follows Sarah through some troubles with her wife when a new love interest enters the picture. 27 Days is written in first person, which is a hard perspective to pull off, and unfortunately I think that very reason is part of the story’s downfall. As the reader, you’re so rooted in Sarah’s head that the actual actions are glossed over or jumbled most of the time. You get more thoughts and history and Sarah’s impressions than anything else. It’s so very narration heavy because it’s first person that it was hard to wade through while I read. I felt like the author was cramming information and backstory down my throat to get it out rather than letting it flow naturally and as needed, and because of this I also feel that there was some backstory that wasn’t needed and I as the reader was left going ‘okay, I know this, but why should I care when it doesn’t directly impact anything that’s going on in any of the story?’ It wasn’t just the way the story was written that didn’t grab me, but some of the characterization of the five hundred year old vampire seemed more like a teenage to twenty something girl when reacting to things internally.

We continue with Bloody Flowers by Leigh Campbell (4.5 stars). The story starts with Meri at a club looking for a tasty woman to bring home to her lover and maker, Helene. She finds Diana and after a taste decides to bring her home, already feeling like the woman will be more than just a one night bite. The complications arise when it comes to light that Diana is on the run from another vampire. The writing is great, it really pulls you into Meri’s point of view as you read. As well the action scene leaves you on the edge of your seat to see just how things will turn out. Definitely worth the read, and worth watching to see what this author will produce next.

As we slide into You and the Moon by Robert Hanley (3 stars) we follow the tale of Julie as she searches for the woman and scientist whose shoes she has followed since a girl. Cassandra was everything that Julie wanted to be, and every ounce the person Julie wanted to be with. Over all, the plot was an interesting one. The concept that vampirism could be cured with modern science was definitely a new spin for me. I’ve seen a lot of ways science has helped vampires to survive, from farming humans to creating fake blood, but never had the research been spurred from the remorse and guilt of what being a vampire made a woman do. I did have a few issues with characters though, as the relationship starts off a little more dangerous obsession on Julies part than love, and the accepting that Cassandra is a vampire off the bat by Julie was a little awkward since she just seemed perfectly fine with it after never having come across it before.

Next we set sail with Jayne and Eleni in Love’s Horizon by Victoria Oldham (4 stars). Jayne loves the sea. She owns her own boat, uses it to ferry tourists around, and also happens to live on it. When she’s not out on open waters, she’s digging deeper into the paranormal. The combination of these two things is what draws Eleni to her, needing a human captain. The story and the characters were interesting, and I did personally find the concept of vampire pirates quite a new twist and an enjoyable one at that. I’d love to read more, both from this author but from this world and these two characters.

And finally, we travel back in time with Business Makes Strange Bedfellows by E.E. Ottoman (4 stars). Gret is ahead of her time, being an independent woman that refuses to let men hold her down from getting her inheritance to becoming a doctor. One night in her lab, she accidentally releases something and to put it right hires Vi’s help in tracking and killing it. The writing is well done, the plot is most definitely an interesting one, and the ending leaves you wanting more. I also really love the tip of the hat to Lovecraft in the story. I will say though that I found the climax of the monster hunt a little rushed, but then that could just be me wanting more too.

Comings and Questions

27 Tuesday Aug 2013

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I don’t know what it is, but it always seems that as soon as I set a deadline for myself, everything breaks to hell to keep me from that deadline. I will be working harder to fix this issue so that when I say something is going to happen, it will come hell or high water happen.

I’ve already talked to my friend about how what I really need to do to get back in the writing horse is set aside an hour a day to write. On days where I’m home in the afternoon, odds are it’ll be then. On days where I won’t be home until 6 or so, it’ll be started 9pm. Gives me a little bit of relaxing after the long day with prime time shows, before I put my nose to the word count. I also need to set aside some time to read so I can get through the books that are stacking up for review.

New Release!

26 Monday Aug 2013

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It’s finally here! My very first published work (not counting the freebie I did for Earth Day)!

It’s part of an anthology called Sacrificed.

Sacrificed Cover

I’m one of four authors in it. It can be found here for purchase!

Kassandra’s town is committed to Following the Old Ways in that every few years they round up the virgins of the town and one is picked by lottery to sate the demands of the dragon. But what happens when the dragon finds out that Kassandra is not as virginal as she is supposed to be?

Upcoming Reviews

15 Thursday Aug 2013

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This is going to be a really small update today. So, not only am I behind in my writing and word count goals, but I’m a little behind in my reading and reviewing.

I plan to finish reading and get the review of Storm Moon Press’ Blood and Lipstick Anthology this week. I’ve been sitting on it for a while now, though I only have two stories left in it, and I am looking to push and get it done. So watch for that review probably tomorrow or Saturday.

After that, I am going to be slipping out of the Storm Moon Press stuff and hit up two fantasy books.

ARC of Flag of Bones: Voyages of the Dragon Wynd by Elle Pepper (A reduex of her original release)

and

Scarlet Sails by TS Rhodes

I am very much looking forward to getting into some swash buckling fantasy with these two books. And hopefully you all will enjoy coming with me on my travels through them.