Alinibooks

Great selection on Free Kindle Books and Tips http://www.fkbooksandtips.com , including Anonymous, my psychological thriller.

Description:

A New York psychiatrist’s life is turned upside down when an anonymous blog appears, documenting everything she does, revealing her most private secrets, and predicting murder.

Linda Garrett has it all: a successful husband, two great kids and a thriving psychiatry practice. It’s a happy life until a blog appears, documenting everything she does, and disclosing her most private secrets. This begins to fray the knitting that holds her family together, opening up things they’d hoped to leave in the past. But when the blog predicts their imminent deaths, Linda realizes what’s at stake and works frantically to find its creator.

99c for a limited time.

Funny: Robber accepts ride to Police station

Crime Funny: Grandma Must Pay

Article from KOIN.COM

http://www.koin.com/news/clackamas-county/police-man-kidnaps-own-grandmother-for-drug-debt?hpt=ju_bn6

According to Koin.com, a West Linn man kidnapped a grandma and drove her to several banks, forcing her to withdraw money. Why? Because he had a drug debt. How did he find this grandma? Well he chose his own. Why go looking when you have one? Keep it simple, people.

Kidnapped his own granny and made her take out her savings to pay his debts. Luckily for granny a watchful bank employee decided things didn't look right and called the cops.

Review - Deadly Portfolio by John Hohn

Deadly Portfolio is an absorbing page turner that, to me, was about greed and what people are capable of when they feel cornered. Set in an upscale lakeside community, it opens with Matthew Wirth, an investment broker, calling in his junior executive to inform him of some bad news. Their most important client, the McAllisters, had decided to transfer their account to another company.

The junior broker, named Morrie Clay, doesn't take this well. He resists, insisting that they try to dissuade the client from taking such a step. But Matthew is a man of integrity, and does not want to upset the McAllisters. In addition to being a friend, Mr. McAllister has been a loyal customer whose investments have been a great benefit to them for years.

When Morrie reacts by storming out of the office, it is surprising to all. But Matthew resigns himself to it. The junior executive is set to take over the firm upon Matthew's pending retirement, and thus stands to lose from the McAllisters' exit. But Matthew sees it as a temporary setback, and believes that all will work out well in the end.

What he does not know is that Morrie has good reason to be concerned. He had illegally placed a trade with the McAllister's account without their permission. And the trade has lost big. So the process of transferring the account will reveal this impropriety. At the least this would destroy their careers. At the most, it could mean jail time.

Morrie goes home and informs his wife, the beautiful Monica. A sharp, calculating woman, she has great ambitions. She tries to calm her husband, and they struggle to find a solution to their problem. Could they change Matthew's mind about talking the McAllisters out of their decision? Could they possibly stall the transfer until Morrie could find a way to fix the bad trade? They decide to wait until after a July 4th party being held at the Wirth's. All the neighbors and friends would be there, including the McAllisters.

The party is a great one. There are happy couples, unhappy couples, drunks, and lots of inappropriate flirtation. Until jealousy causes one of the guests to stumble out drunk and despairing of life. And suddenly there is an opportunity for murder. In comes Detective Raker, a tough low key Colombo type determined to find the truth. Thus begins a cat and mouse game that culminates in an ending you're not likely to forget anytime soon.

The characters are very well drawn. They feel real and I was interested in learning more about them and following their paths in this story. The bad guys aren't totally bad; they have motivations that anyone can understand. The writing itself was well done, and there were descriptions that were simply beautiful. My criticism would be that there were grammatical mistakes, but these do not take from a great story. Well done, author.

Click on the cover page above to get to the Amazon page to read a sample.

Good Question

Hot Shots FC

Hello, blog reader person. Wanted to bring something to your attention. It is Hot Shots FC, a new series from Anne-Marie Layet. Why? Because it is funny, and I like funny.

Hot Shots FC follows four very special boys: Hat Trick Boy who, when he was born, was given a football to cling to rather than a teddy bear. Sid, who wears armor to preschool, “in case the teachers attack me.” Uno, who’s so smart he makes maps of everything. And lastly Cowpat, who employs his armpits, feet, and his bottom to communicate. These friends live their lives seeking fun and football. Until they cross paths with mean kid Jon Jamerson and mean adult Big Al, who will do anything for a win. Our four friends form Hot Shots FC and go up against the meanies and their team, Hammers FC.

A great, funny story about friendship and about football.

Anne-Marie was nice enough to answer some questions.

Me: How did this series come about? What was the inspiration?

AML: I was prompted to write this series after driving my children to soccer every week for 2 years. It was the highlight of the week. They got dressed up in their kit, piled in the car with their friends, played some soccer, scored some goals, and messed around as much as possible. Even I enjoyed it.

Me: How do you come up with funny characters?

AML: I think of all the things we try to stop children from doing, and celebrate them instead.

Me: Did you plan a series, or did you write one story and find the characters wouldn't let you go?

AML: I didn't plan a series, I just wrote Hot Shots FC. But there were two characters who would not leave me alone. The first was Sid: he was just so dynamic and clever that he wrote Hot Shots FC, not me. The second was Cowpat. He couldn't stay still, even if you paid him. I had to write another book just to give him a run around.

Me: What is your writing process? Do you set certain hours of the day, or just write when you’re moved to do so? How many hours do you generally write?

AML: For ten years I wrote every day, as soon as I could, for as long as I could (1-3 hours). Unfortunately this is no longer possible. Life has taken over. Shame.

Me: Would you ever consider going to the traditional publishers rather than self publishing?

AML: Only if they asked very nicely, and then I'd tell them to send in a submission, which I might read, or I might throw away, or I might lose down the back of my drawer, or I might give to my children to draw on.

Me: Who are your favorite authors?

AML: Steven Butler has impressed me for being creative, and telling a cracking good story. Recently I've enjoyed Dan Freeman, for football detective stories, and I cannot fail to mention Andy Stanton, whose wacky imagination knows no bounds.

Me: If somehow you were forced to stop writing, what would you do instead?

AML: I have been forced to stop! Forced to stop writing so I could make some pictures to go with my books. But drawing, and composing images, I have discovered, is fun too!

Me: Anything else you want to tell us?

AML: I'd like to tell you I've just sold a million copies of Hot Shots FC!
But that would be a lie.

A lie that I hope comes close to being true very soon. Check out Hot Shots FC on Amazon.com.

Also check out her website at http://www.amlayet.co.uk. And she has a funny blog at http://booksfc.blogspot.co.uk/

Reinvigorated

Oh my poor neglected followers! This is what I've felt the past few months.

Just too much other stuff that kept me busy. But I've decided this is no way to run a blog. So I'm going to be more active on here(yes, I said on here). Will post all kinds of different things, some books related, some not. I can only say that it'll be interesting. Or moderately interesting.

San

Very Flattering Mention

I could not believe it when I started getting sales last year. All I had done was upload my books. And, as though by magic, people started buying them. It felt unreal. Who are these people? And how did they hear about me? They hadn't, of course. They came across my work through a nice middle man(or middle woman) named Amazon(and later Barnes and Noble).

But I always wonder who these buyers are. And what do they make of my work? One gets a sense of this through reviews, which have been great thus far. But I got a better look at these readers when one actually emailed me.

Rich Swerbinsky read my works to his kids and wrote to say they enjoyed them. So I looked him up. Turns out he's a very busy guy. In addition to being the Vice President - Residential Lending for First Federal of Lakewood, he runs www.thedailydishonline.com and www.TheClevelandFan.com. That's right - Vice President, of a bank, and runs two super websites(I checked them out; they're funny as hell and very insightful about financial markets). Plus, he's a funny writer himself.

So what am I left with? Some trepidation, to be honest. My readers are some smart, successful, discerning people. So I'm gonna have to try and come up with some good stuff.

Argument

From time to time we will address some weighty issues on this blog. Here's a video of two individuals arguing something. Don't know what the issue is but I'm sure it's very important:

Fergyville

What's going on with this blog, you might be wondering. Is there ever going to be any new content? Well there is. Happy to profile a fun new series:

Fergyville by Katina Ferguson

Synopsis:

Frank and Catherine are parents worn down by three young children, and life. As they try to come up with a new, more efficient, way of managing their lives, they are met with a series of unforeseen obstacles. When Frank gets home from work, things don't seem quite right. He begins to wonder if some of the problems experienced by his family are in fact the work of malicious people from his past.

Here is a little back story to the creation of the series and why I chose novelettes:

About the Fergyville series:

The concept for the series came as a result of conversations I had with my dad. Whenever I'd give him a call to see how he was doing, and fill him in on what's new, he'd be amazed with the way I turned an ordinary summary of the day into an entertaining drama or comedy. There are times where he would be in tears (from laughter) over the way I described something my kids did and my thoughts surrounding their deeds. He reminded me that, as a writer, I didn't necessarily have to craft epic stories right away; sometimes great stories can be made out of the material we're given every day. It wasn't something I had thought about since my preference is for paranormal and science fiction material, but I decided to give the contemporary story a "go" anyway. So far, I love it. The storyline in the Fergyville series isn't something I pulled from my personal life, but I draw from my personal experiences and certainly my observations of people (in general) to bring the material to life. I spend a lot of time transposed in the body of my characters because (for me) it is important that I know what they are "feeling" and why they feel the way they do.

Why novelettes and why a serial installment of novelettes:

I kept people like me in mind when I paced the reading time for the books; multitaskers, mothers and fathers of young children, folks with multiple jobs or juggling work and school…anyone with a hectic schedule really. I wanted those readers to be able to finish each book in one sitting so they could feel a sort of immediate gratification (in finishing the book) and still have time to read other materials that interest them. Novelettes are the kind of reads one can fit in between full length novels, and they are very entertaining. With this series, I decided to do a serial installment because it was easier to manage (with my schedule) and I felt it would give readers a chance to get to know me (my style) without having to spend a whole lot of money (or time) up front. The first book is paced at about a 30-minute read and the following books will be around the one-hour mark, somewhat like a television series, which is also the reason I call each book an episode.

Fergyville is set for 12 episodes. Do you already have them planned out or is that just a rough guess?

It's a rough guess. There are themes that I want to explore with the characters of Fergyville and I think it will take 12 novelettes to do it.

What is your writing process? Do you set certain hours of the day, or just write when you’re moved to do so? How many hours do you generally write?

My writing process varies. Like Catherine, I have three young children (they served as character models for Catherine's children) and no matter what I plan, in terms of a schedule, I usually have to make adjustments…this regular occurrence is what inspired the theme for episode 1 actually. During the summer all of my kids are in the house, so I write at night. I aim to do 3 to 4 hours but that depends on what's left of me at the end of the day. Realistically I get 1 to 2 hours in.

Do you have any favorite authors?

No favorites. A good book is a good book. Overall I've not been one to have a favorite anything ; food, color, music etc. There is what I like right now. I'm reading more indie work these days and the last book I thought was a wonderful surprise was The Evolution of Insanity by Haresh Daswani.

If somehow you were forced to stop writing, what would you do instead?

Good question. I'd go the verbal route…tell my stories. I'd dictate them to someone who could write them for me, or I would record them somehow, or I'd just snatch anyone who was willing to listen and talk to them. I'm a chatter box.

At a movie theater which arm rest is yours?

The right of course J

Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi all the way!

Fergyville is available on the Amazon Kindle and on Smashwords. Go get it; it's a fun read.

An Unfinished Book a Best Seller

John Green, a 33 year old young adult author, has a best seller on his hands before even finishing it. All thanks to his use of social media. Very inspiring.
Read the article at The Wall Street Journal. Then go write your book.

Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

I am surprised and… well, touched quite frankly.

Gabriella, from http://writinglovingit.blogspot.com/ has nominated me for the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. Thank you, Gabriella. And anyone reading this must check out her blog. I’m enjoying it very much.

The rules are simple:
1) Thank and link to the person that nominated you.
2) Share 7 random facts about yourself.
3) Pass the award to 15 3 of your blogging buddies. (I’m picking 6.)
4) Notify the recipients

My 7 random facts...
1. I love eastern European films though I’ve never been to that part of the world.
2. I have two injuries doctors don’t know how to fix.
3. I’m often awake till 7am.
4. I would drive out of my way to buy from a business I like.
5. I would drive out of my way to avoid buying from a business I dislike.
6. I do a lot of driving out of my way.
7. I think Steven Colbert is the best interviewer on TV.

The 6 people I nominate are:
1. Helen Hanson…    http://www.helenhanson.com/
2. Missie...    http://www.theunreadreader.com/
3. Guido Henkel…    http://guidohenkel.com/
4. Katina Ferguson…   http://www.fergyville.com/
5. LaTonya Jones…   http://www.blkgrl.blogspot.com/
6. N. L. Earnshaw…   http://indieebooks.blogspot.com

Back to the Pet Store

The Strange Journal of the Boy Henry

Entry 1

I was woken, this morning, by a man’s voice.

“Time to get up, son,” is what I heard, over and over. So I opened my eyes and saw him. He was sitting on the bed, staring down at me.

“You sleep okay?” he asked.

And he smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“My little prince,” he continued. “You sleep okay?”

I didn’t know how to answer him. Because I didn’t know this man. I’d never seen him before in my life.

He had black hair and a mustache and light blue eyes. His skin was very pale. Almost pinkish, like he’d just taken a bath. He had big hands and long arms.

“You sleep okay?” he asked me again.

“I think so,” I told him.

“Well, time to get up. You and your brother both.”

And he looked across the room, so I looked there too. I saw another bed with a boy about my age. He wore blue pajamas, and was laying on his stomach; but his eyes were on me. His head was shaved all around the bottom, leaving a brown clump on top. And I didn’t know him either.

“Where am I?” I asked the man.

“Home, of course,” the man said. “Where else?”

I didn’t have an answer for him. I wanted to panic. Am I crazy? Or was he? What if he was? I better just play along, I decided.

“Let me know if you start feeling faint or dizzy, Henry,” the man said.

Henry. I’m pretty sure that that’s my name.

“You’ve been ill,” he said. “Anyway, I’m making breakfast and you’re gonna like it.”

He rose, and I saw that he was tall. He sighed and smiled at the same time, then left the room.

The boy stared at me and I stared at him. It was weird. We just looked at each other for like a whole minute. Then he got up and walked out too.

I looked around at the room. The walls are a light blue, and there’s a map of the world, another of the universe, and a Periodic Table. There’s also a picture of a sword and a shield. A round window hangs above the boy’s bed. The glass is blurred, so you can’t really see anything outside. You can only tell that there’s sunlight. Aside from our two beds, there’re two desks.

I didn’t know this room.

I tried to remember what my room should be like. What my dad should look like. And my brother – the man had said the boy was my brother. When did I have a brother? I couldn’t remember. It was all blank.

I wanted to scream: where in the world am I??

I made a decision to not freak out. Really I just needed to think about this rationally.
Entry 2

I didn’t want to go outside. At the same time I did. To find out what was happening to me. Was I in a dream? I quickly sat up and pinched myself hard. Then I shook my head like crazy. Deep down I knew this doesn’t get you out of a dream. But I had to do something.

And I was still here.

I lay back down. There had to be an explanation. The man did say I was sick. Some weird sickness had made me kinda go blank on some important things. But it would go away, I told myself. And my memory would return. I just had to wait.

My mouth tasted bitter. Like I’d not brushed for ever. I got up. My brain felt flooded suddenly, with pain, so I sat back down. I waited for it to go away. It only lessened after a few minutes, so I got up again.

My legs felt tingly and wobbly and strange, like I’d not used them in years. Slowly I walked to the door and held it for support. I wanted to go brush my teeth. I could see the germs in my mouth. Millions of them, multiplying by the second.

I peeked out. There was a long hallway that didn’t seem to have a light. The only light came from a corridor all the way down at the end. In the dimness I could make out many doors.

So I started slowly, leaning on the wall to steady myself. I tried the first door and it opened. I felt for the light, flicked it on and found a small room packed with old toys. I moved on. The next door opened to a room that had exercise equipment. The next room had boxes and food stuff stacked in shelves. I reached out and held a fourth door when another opened behind me.

The boy came out, and I saw that this was the bathroom. This time we didn’t do the staring. He kept his eyes low and just walked off.

When I looked in the bathroom mirror I saw myself. Sounds crazy but I thought I’d see someone else. But it was me for sure. Me, but bald. There’s just spiky brown fuzz like one tenth of an inch on my head. And that felt odd. I feel like my face comes with long curly brown hair that falls over my ears. But this me in the mirror had fuzz so short you could see my scalp, which was white like paper.

I didn’t know which of the three toothbrushes was mine. So I just put paste on my finger and rubbed hard at my teeth. Not taking a chance on the wrong brush.

I returned to this bedroom. The boy wasn’t here, for which I was glad. I closed the door, and opened the closet by my bed. Didn’t recognize any of the clothes in there. Could not remember ever wearing them.

I sat on the desk closest to my bed. I went through a dictionary; then looked through a cup that held pencils, an eraser and a ruler. These were used but I didn’t remember using them. Wouldn’t you remember your dictionary? Wouldn’t you know how your eraser’s getting worn? I’m the type that would remember. I think.

I got more panicked thinking this. Until I reminded myself I hadn’t even known the man and the boy. That’s a little bigger. I’m pretty sure.

First

Welcome. I’m just getting started. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be right with you.