Mireille Chester Blog Tour Visit and Interview

Posted: April 7, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Visitors, What I'm Reading | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

I’d like to welcome Mireille Chester here today as a part of her Blog Tour. We have a short interview and a review of her latest book Chael’s LuckChael's Luckbanner (1)

First, Mireille answers a few questions for us.

Melissa Stevens: What’s your writing process? write when inspired? make time? daily word goal? Etc.

Mireille Chester: For the most part, I just get the kids ready for school, make a pot of coffee and start to write. Because I am a stay at home mom, I’m fortunate enough that I can just write all day if I feel like it. I do tend to leave the housework a bit longer than I should, though, thankfully, my husband is very understanding and will often do laundry for me. 😀 I don’t have any goals for the day or week. I find that if I do that, I get a nasty case of writer’s block.

MS: Do you write to music, other noise, or have to have silence?

MC: I have to have noise. If my three year old isn’t at preschool, then Treehouse is usually on TV. If it’s just me in the house, I have music playing.

MS: If you write to some set noisemaker, list a few, give us an idea of your preferences.

MC: I tend to have set songs for certain stories I’m working on. I think it’s just the mood of the music that go with the mood of the story line, or sometimes there’s a specific song that reminds me of the characters. For Chael’s Luck, some of the songs that struck a chord with me were ‘Us Against the World’ by Westlife, ‘When I Look at You’ by Miley Cyrus, ‘When You’re Gone’ by Avril Lavigne, ‘Raise Your Glass’ by Pink, ‘Must be Doing Something Right’ by Billy Currington, as well as many more.

MS: Why do you self-publish?

MC: The reason I self-publish my ebooks (and I have to say it was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done) is because the publishing company I signed on with only publishes hardcopies. Thankfully, I met some fantastic people online who helped me with the process and now I try to return the favour by helping newer authors who also wish to self-publish.

MS: Of all your books, which is your favorite?

MC: Ooh, that’s a hard one. ‘Crossover’ will definitely hold a special spot in my heart because it was the first of my stories to be published. Having said that, ‘Destiny’, the last book of ‘The Chosen One Trilogy’ is the best in the series (I think). ‘Chael’s Luck’ is my favorite of the young adult stories so far (Here, I’d say ‘Tyler’s Story’, but my publisher isn’t releasing it until December… so I don’t think it qualifies yet. Lol.)

MS: Are you a Mac or are you a PC? 

MC: PC.  I have never owned a Mac. 

Thanks for having me on your blog!

Now, a brief review of Chael’s Luck.

Chael is a young knight in training struggling against not only the competition of training and qualifying as a knight but against being the smallest of them all. Once knighthood is achieved Chael faces a whole new set of challenges, but is he up for them?

What did I think? I enjoyed it. The story was an easy read, very YA friendly, with a twist that I think will intrigue many readers.

Blog tour stops!

April 1- A Diary of a Book Addict

April 2- Starry Night Book Reviews

April 3- Books Complete Me

April 4- Twimom101 Book Blog

April 5- The Book Mystress

April 6- Author C.A. Kunz

April 7- Melissa Stevens

April 8- Worlds Away Book Blog

April 9- Book Passion for Life

April 10- My Book Chatter

April 11- Paranormal Book Club

April 12- Scribblings of Wendy Jane

April 13- A Page Away

April 14- M.E. Franco, Author

April 15- Forever Lost in My Own World

April 16- Read2Review

April 17- Forever Lost in My Own World

Rules for the giveaways…

All those who comment on any of the blogs (and leave their email address) will be entered to win one of five swag packs and those who did not win an ebook will be put into a draw for a final chance to win one of five ebooks.

Where can you find Mireille Chester? Just follow these links!

Website, Goodreads, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Smashwords.

What I’m reading ~ Lover Reborn ~ J. R. Ward

Posted: April 2, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

This is Black Dagger Brotherhood book 10.

Thorment learns that Wellsie, his shellan, isn’t in the Fade and it’s his fault. He struggles with letting her go so that she and their baby can move on. At the same time N’one is struggling with her place in the fortress, especially having lived so long in self-imposed exile. The angel Lassiter is convinced that these two are key to each other, but how does he get them to see it?

While all this is going on the Brotherhood is trying to deal with the Band of Bastards, a group similar to the Brotherhood in that they kill Lesser’s however they don’t have the discipline or sanctions of history or the King on their side. The BoB leader Xcor has decided that he wants to be King and is working toward that goal here in Caldwell.

 

What did I think? I enjoyed it. Once I get my mind back into the language of the series, and into the wannabe gangster speech that much of the Brotherhood uses I really enjoy the stories. I had been waiting for Thorment’s story for sometime, and it was well worth the wait.

What I’m Reading ~ Fair Game ~ Patricia Briggs

Posted: March 14, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

This is book three in the Alpha & Omega series.

Charles is struggling with his guilt over the killings he has had to do for his father, and the ghosts that that guilt feeds, and in the process he is withdrawing from Anna. Anna is desperate to help Charles but it seems her pleas to Bran are falling on deaf ears. When Bran sends Anna on a diplomatic mission for the werewolves he may have actually found something that could help Charles, or will hit hurt him more?

 

What did I think? I enjoyed it, it wasn’t something I couldn’t put down, or something that haunted me to pick it back up when I had to lay it down (or maybe my brain is just so buried in the story I’m trying to tell,) but I could easily loose myself in the story and I really enjoyed the tale of these two characters I’ve come to care about.

What I’m Reading ~ Wrath ~ Laurann Dohner

Posted: March 11, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This is the sixth book in the New Species series.

Wrath joins the task force to hunt down and capture humans who worked for Mercile and bring them to justice. The task force captures Lauren, believing her to know where one of the men they’re after is. When Wrath realizes she is just in the wrong place at the wrong time he does every thing he can to protect her.

What did I think? This is the sixth book in the series, I’ve read them all. I enjoy the series, despite knowing that they are a softer, gentler version of Lora Leigh’s Breed series. They have an intriguing (if hauntingly similar) story line and steamy, erotic (if tame) love scenes.

What I’m reading ~ 50 Shades of Grey ~ E. L. James

Posted: March 7, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , | 6 Comments

or at least I tried to.

I know that the book is about Dominance and Submission, I was prepared for that, and honestly it wouldn’t have been my first book on the theme.  If I were really honest, it probably wouldn’t have been the 50th (though, admittedly I haven’t counted.)

So why couldn’t I make it through 50 Shades of Grey? Because I found it so poorly written I couldn’t stand to read it any longer. It was like Stephanie Meyer wrote a BDSM novel. *gag* Only worse.

First problem? The story is told in first person, present tense. Why is this a problem? Because it is REALLY, REALLY hard to do well. And this wasn’t done well. I felt it was shallow, stilted and emotionless. I read about five chapters in and I rolled my eyes and wanted to spork my eyes out about twice a page (screen, I read on a kindle.)

The characters had about as much depth as Bella Swan. By that I mean no personality at all. I wanted to slap Anastasia at least once a screen for some stupid or childish thing.

About the fifth time I wanted to throw my kindle across the room and tell them both to get over themselves I found a new book to read.

What I’m Reading ~ Scent of Passion ~ Elizabeth Lapthorne

Posted: March 4, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

This is the first book in the Rutledge Werewolves series.

Artemais spent years searching far and wide for his True Mate, when doubting that he’d ever find her he scheduled the band he shared with his brothers to play in the nearest city. He was aware of Sophie the minute she walked into the bar, but he didn’t dare to hope she could be his mate.
Sophie had acted out of character that night in the bar, and she’d been unable to forget him in the time since. When she discovers she’s pregnant she has a whole new set of problems.

What did I think? Light, quick, entertaining read. Nothing deep or earth-shattering, but fun and hot, which was the point.

What I’m reading ~ Moonlight in the Morning ~ Jude Deveraux

Posted: March 4, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , | Leave a comment

This is an Edilian book.

Jecca had been to Edilian once, as a teenager getting ready to go back to college, now, years later, she’s going to spend the summer with her best friend, Kim. What she didn’t count on was Tristan, one of Kim’s many cousins, tripping over her in the dark. She strikes up a friendship with him, but is it more?

 

What did I think? I enjoyed it, it’s a fun, easy read. No big mysteries, no storyline to work out, just a fun story to get lost in. 

What I’m Reading ~ The Game ~ Mackenzie McKade

Posted: March 1, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: What I'm Reading | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

This is the first book in the Ecstasy series.

Chastity Ambrose is desperate for money, and she’s willing to do anything, even become a contestant in a game that sets her as a sexual slave to her ex-fiancé. But is she prepared for what will be required of her? Can she handle being that close to the man who still holds her heart?

How did I like it? It was alright. A quick read and a good escape, it will get your juices flowing if your into BDSM. It helped me to relax some and not stress so much about what I’m working on.

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