Thursday, May 21, 2015

The Writer's Voice 2015 Entry: Flawed Law



Dear Writer’s Voice Agents,

Attorney Daniella Montgomery’s twenty-fifth birthday present is a brand new outfit: an orange jumpsuit.

Mistaking Detective Jones for a hired stripper and trying to remove his clothes, Daniella lands in the back of his squad car for seducing an officer. Though she manages to clear up the misunderstanding, before she is taken home, DNA results from multiple crime scenes identify her as the only suspect in a serial homicide. After a short stint in jail and out on bail, Daniella decides to handle the investigation herself. With all the evidence against her, it may be the only way to clear her name. Luckily, she doesn’t have to go it alone.

After three years of working on a homicide case, Detective Malcolm Jones is more than ready to find the culprit. But when he learns Daniella is a suspect, he doesn’t know what to do with her. Ordered to charge her and put the case to rest, Malcolm hesitates. He doesn’t believe the mesmerizing woman is capable of murder but his attraction for her may be screwing with his judgment. Torn, he must decide if she’s worth losing everything.

But when the killer is revealed to be closer than they think, desperate to prove her innocence, Daniella may have to abandon every law she used to serve. But to stop a monster, sometimes one needs to become one.

FLAWED LAW is a dual point-of-view adult romantic suspense novel written in third person. It is complete at 75,000 words with series potential.

I am a member of RWA and SCBWI. While working on my Master of Science in Forensic Genetics, FLAWED LAW was inspired from the material I learned during my classes.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Nicole Payne



First 250



Screams ripped Daniella from paradise, shattering her dream world of no clients, crazy bosses, or court drama. She tried to ignore it, but the thing only rebelled, determined to steal away much needed sleep. She wanted it destroyed.

Daniella swiped her phone off the end table before it continued its banshee shrieking. Grumbling, she sent mental death threats to whoever was on the other end before accepting the call.

“Hello?” She asked, her voice thick with sleep.

“Hi, sweetie. Don’t be mad but I sent your birthday present over.”

Jackie. Always straight to point.

Daniella stretched –trying to loosen the crick in her neck from the uncomfortable recliner. She headed into the kitchen and bee-lined straight for the Keurig. No way was she delving into her best friend’s business without coffee in hand. “Why would I be mad?”

“It isn’t your usual cup of tea,” Jackie said.

“Neither are you but I still love you. Is it big?”

“Uh, yeah. And the packaging makes you want to quickly rip it all off to see the goods inside.”

 “So what’s the problem?”

“I did some crazy things…involving you. I justified you needed some fun and excitement on your big day so I…I…I don’t want to tell you this.”

A person as confident and talkative as Jackie stumbling over her words wasn’t a good sign. She braced herself, letting the freshly poured coffee soothe her. “Out with it. What did you do to me this time?”


“…You’re getting a stripper gram.”


Monday, May 4, 2015

Blog Tour Book Review: Freaks of Nature by Wendy Brotherlin and Giveaway!!

Happy Monday, everyone! 

I know, I know. You're probably thinking what's so good about it. Well, I'll tell you. Today, is my stop on the Freaks of Nature Blog Tour!! I'm so excited to be a part of it, especially the day before the book is released (May 5).

Throughout this tour, from April 27 until May 8, me and a few other blogs -which are shown at the end of this post and I hope you'll take the time to check out-will provide reviews, interviews and other exciting pieces of information regarding Wendy Brotherlin's newest book "Freaks of Nature". Also, there's a rafflecopter link below to enter the giveaway, where one lucky winner will win a Nook!! See, it is a happy Monday.

So anyway, without further ado, I give you...


Title: Freaks of Nature
Author: Wendy Brotherlin
Series: The Psion Chronicles, #1
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Isbn: 9781633920064
Get a Copy: BN | Amazon | Book Depository

"Stand back because a new generation of superheroes is here.  “Freaks of Nature” is that rare action-adventure novel that simultaneously tugs at your heart and punches you in the gut.  With equal parts mystery, mayhem and romance, this is a story that will leave you begging for the next vividly imagined installment."
D.J. MacHale
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
The global Ebola-X pandemic of 2022 lasted five months, two weeks and six days before a cure could be found. In its wake, it left a generation of psionic freaks who can turn a single thought into a weapon… or worse.
Fifteen-year-old Devon McWilliams is one of those freaks, but instead of some awesome ability like telepathy or telekinesis, he talks to plants. Yes, plants. In other words, Devon rates a big fat zero on the scale of kick-ass psychic abilities. But when Devon escapes from his psionic detainment facility, the United States Military intercepts him before he can rendezvous with the Psionic Underground Network. Regaining consciousness, Devon finds himself securely fastened to his seat aboard a military airship headed to Washington DC, where he will either be incarcerated for life or killed. 
However, there are six other psions aboard this one-way flight to doom… and one of them, a telepath named Bai Lee, claims to have the means to escape, but they have to convince her, one by one, that they’re worthy of freedom. This is not good news for Plant Boy. The last thing he wants is to relive his nightmare escape from the psi-facility that left his best friend dead, especially since he’s made the acquaintance of the lovely, blonde healer, Alya du Roumanie, sitting beside him. Worse than that, he wouldn’t be able to bear the look in her eyes if she ever found out how truly pathetic a psion he really is. 

They say there are no keeping secrets from a hell-bent telepath, but Devon McWilliams is determined to do just that, risking everything not to be left behind.


My review: 
***I received a free e-copy of this book from the publishers of Spencer Hill Press in exchange for my honest review. ***

I thought this was a very interesting premise while I was reading the summary and was filled with anticipation once I began. The story centers around seven psions and their desire for freedom. But first, each psion has to convince Bai Lee, the telepath and source of their escape, that they are useful to her. To do this, Bai Lee taps into a bad memory of each character and for a few brief moments, we are able to slip inside the character's heads as they re-play the memory and make use of their powers. But this may not be such a good idea for our main character, Devon McWilliams, whose psionic ability is just talking to plants.

So first I'm going to go into some of the things I liked about this story. The title, cover art and writing were very captivating. The action was intriguing, making it hard to put it down. Also, I enjoyed each character -especially Nevada- and except one's but if and when you read the book you'll understand why. But anyway, I especially like how each character's story was told in their point of view and showed their picture at the start of their stories. I thought it helped paint the characters better in my mind and I was able to sympathize what each person went through before meeting up with the others. I hadn't read any books that used this kind of method. That racked up both cool and unique points in my book so kudos, Wendy Brotherlin, for writing out of the box.

Now of course, for some of the not really liked parts of the story. Though, I really enjoyed the beginning and the middle, I felt that in the end not enough was explained and seemed a little rushed, including the romance between Devon and Alya. Also, I didn't really understand who two of the characters were and their true involvement with the story. I felt like there was a lot of build up but then went flat towards to middle and picked up a little at the very end but I hope these misgivings will be explained away.

But despite both of my good and bad thoughts on the book, I still look forward to reading the sequel, Shadow Walkers. 

About Wendy Brotherlin
Wendy Brotherlin is a screenwriter, music enthusiast and all around geek-goddess. She earned a Masters in Screenwriting at the University of Southern California and went on to write for children’s television including Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?. Today, she lives in Manchester, Maine with her husband and two little super-heroes-in-training. Freaks of Nature is her first novel.
Tour Schedule
April 27- Wendy Brotherlin
April 28- Mindy @ Books Complete Me 
April 29- Brooke @ The Cover Contessa
April 30- Stephanie @ Chasm of Books
May 1- Raychelle @ Steele Reviews
May 4- Nicole @ Nicole Payne
May 5- Release Day!!
May 6- Raychelle @ Steele Reviews
May 8- Deitre @ A Leisure Moment
The Giveaway
*Open to US entrants *Must be 13 years of age or older *No giveaway account may be used for tweeting/following, must be an active account