Tag: Mystery

YouTube

Interview with James Schannep

Jonas Lee

This weekend I was able to sit down with author James Schannep (that’s [shan-up], not [shan-nep]). It was a great chat filled with topics of zombies, Star Wars, superheroes and the differences in writing. James writes Choosable Fiction where you can have up to 50 different scenarios and endings. If you think reading a book once is enough, James begs to differ. In his books you have the option to choose the direction of the story and can always go back and start a fresh story once again.

It was great getting to know a little more about an author whom I’ve read and admired. Also, I am a bit jealous of his beard.

The video interview is listed below and I hope you’ll get the chance to watch or at least listen along as we discuss his processes and all the other things that pop into our mind. Now, coming up I have an interview tonight, which you can attend LIVE, just follow the link at the bottom. I’ll be interviewing children’s author Mariana Llanos and after that, my Interviewing pallet will run dry for a few weeks. Mainly because my weekends are going to be filled with softball tournaments and a Mexico vacation!! I’ll try and fill in some possible weekday interviews, but the next for certain one will be with the fabulous Lizzy Baldwin on July 5th.

Come watch the LIVE interview tonight and bring some questions!! CLICK HERE to come on board.

Review

Between Worlds by Jacqueline E. Smith

Jonas Lee

Rating Overview

Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Cover: ★★★★★

Overall: ★★★★★ (4.75)

The story is a Supernatural Mystery/Horror novel set revolving around Michael, a spiritual medium (not a psychic) who is able to see and hear ghosts. He has made friends with Luke, the host of a Supernatural Ghost Hunting TV series called Cemetery Tours. The sequel of this book takes Michael, Luke, Kate (Michael’s girlfriend) and crew across from their Texas home to the eastern US to search for the possible proof of a haunted house. With Michael’s affinity for ghosts, he is bound to come across something? What they all find is more than they bargained for as they’ll have to look for the clues to calm an angry spirit refusing to cross between this world and the next.

The Critical Points:

Writing:

There’s really nothing bad I could say here. Jacqueline writes beautifully, there aren’t any errors or confusion in the book. There was a few wonky areas of formatting, but I always like to blame Kindle for that. I found myself highlighting quotes and interesting passages in my literary quest from chapter to chapter.

Story:

Haunted house stories can either be hit or miss. Too much of the same ol’ same ol’ and it feels like a waste of time and money and too many new elements and everything can get wrapped up in the last five pages leaving the reader to wonder what happened.

This story, carefully and poetically guides the reader through scene after scene. There’s never really too much or too little. The areas I found wanting more from leave a window open for other stories to fill in, so I can’t be critical about it. Between Worlds combines humor, mystery, a little horror and a dash of romance. Hitting multiple genres in one book is a goal for every writer.

Characters:

The characters are even more memorable in this book than its predecessor. I feel the apprehension in Michael, the playful spirit of Kate and the humorous adventurer in Luke. Brink adds some comic relief when needed and her other characters filter in lovely. I would say that the crew in Cemetery Tours became a little flat between JT and Peter, I found myself not associating with them just because they didn’t have a large role, which isn’t that big of a thing. I do wish a little more emphasis on Emily since her and Michael revealed to have so much in common. Hopefully she makes a cameo in the next book?

Appearance:

I love the subtly and colors used in the cover of Jacqueline’s book. I always judge a book initially by its cover (we all do) and I would display it proudly. It gives me a sense of creepy, nostalgic and romantically haunting all in one.

Final Thoughts

Haunted house and/or ghost books are saturated in October. Finding Jackie on her WordPress site was a fortuitous one. Seeing her grow as an author a few steps ahead of me gives me hope that I will continue to get better just like she has. It’s been a blast following her and getting to know her outside of fictitious tales on her site. I look forward to more works with her and hope I can call her a friend.

Links

Find Jacqueline’s books through her links below and check out her other links to various outlets below!

Cemetery Tours

Between Worlds (Cemetery Tours Book 2)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CemeteryTour…
Blog: http://jackiesmith114.wordpress.com/
Pinterest: pinterest.com/windtrailpub/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-E.-S…
Tumblr: http://jacquelinesmithauthor.tumblr.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jacquelin…
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Jacqueli…

Review

Murdered by James Schannep

Jonas Lee

Rating Overview

Writing: ★★★★ 1/2
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★ 1/2
Cover: ★★★★

Overall: ★★★★ (4.0)

This book was given to me in a Giveaway.

The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil about a tourist who takes the wrong street only to find himself caught up in a murder investigation that winds up involving the local police, US state department and drug dealers. It’s a pick your path book where the next pages are based off of your decisions.

The Critical Points:

Writing:

James writes quite well, editing all matches up and I found there were many quotable areas along the journey. The great part about this book, even though I mistakenly killed myself (I always die in pick your adventure books), there is always a reason to go back and start all over again. The chapters can be short and read in small chunks, perfect for travel or those looking for micro escapes.

Story:

The premise is great, finding out more and more about the lead character (played by you) as the story unfolds. The only thing was trying to get a sense of all the things he was encountering. It’s hard to do in a fast paced ride like this one, but I only got some cursory feel for the area in the beginning. I’ll probably find out more on my next run through.

Characters:

The characters all start to take more shape the further I read, but there wasn’t a great sense of what makes most of them tick beyond putting my own imagination to it. If anything, I’d like to know more about the character we’re set to follow around so I “know who I am” to some degree. Granted, my choices make me decide, but I’d like a little guidance in the acting my brain is doing.

Appearance:

I like the cover, it reminds me of a throwback drawn cover like murder mysteries used to have when I looked through my parents book shelves. It stands out and draws a reader in.

Final Thoughts

James does a great job with this story. I couldn’t devise the different paths and layout like he does. I hate giving out 4’s instead of 5’s to people, especially when I enjoyed myself. I would pick up another of his books for later down the road and encourage anyone with a knack or wonder to do the same. His novel took me back to the last time I picked up one of these types, which was a couple of decades ago.

Links

Find James’ books through his links below!

INFECTED (Click Your Poison Book 1)

MURDERED (Click Your Poison)

SUPERPOWERED – Coming soon! (What if You Had Superpowers?)

James on Facebook

James’ Page

Same review, different spot:

MURDERED (Click Your Poison, #2)MURDERED by James Schannep

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Rating overview
Writing: ★★★★ 1/2
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★ 1/2
Appearance: ★★★★

Overall: ★★★★ (4.0)

—

This book was given to me in a Giveaway.

The story takes place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil about a tourist who takes the wrong street only to find himself caught up in a murder investigation that winds up involving the local police, US state department and drug dealers. It’s a pick your path book where the next pages are based off of your decisions.

The critical points

Writing: James writes quite well, editing all matches up and I found there were many quotable areas along the journey. The great part about this book, even though I mistakenly killed myself (I always die in pick your adventure books), there is always a reason to go back and start all over again. The chapters can be short and read in small chunks, perfect for travel or those looking for micro escapes.

Story: The premise is great, finding out more and more about the lead character (played by you) as the story unfolds. The only thing was trying to get a sense of all the things he was encountering. It’s hard to do in a fast paced ride like this one, but I only got some cursory feel for the area in the beginning. I’ll probably find out more on my next run through.

Characters: The characters all start to take more shape the further I read, but there wasn’t a great sense of what makes most of them tick beyond putting my own imagination to it. If anything, I’d like to know more about the character we’re set to follow around so I “know who I am” to some degree. Granted, my choices make me decide, but I’d like a little guidance in the acting my brain is doing.

Appearance: I like the cover, it reminds me of a throwback drawn cover like murder mysteries used to have when I looked through my parents book shelves. It stands out and draws a reader in.

View all my reviews