People love Unexpected Entrapment! It’s filled with surprises and mystery, and I’m already getting asked when Unexpected Peril will be available. After meeting and speaking to some of my readers, I am extremely happy with the feedback I’ve gotten. I’ve even been told by some that I’m their favorite author. (Okay, wow!) I’m still winning my little game I like to play with them, as each of them were highly surprised by the happenings in my latest novel, and the plot continues to thicken for this series.

I’d like to take this time to thank each of my readers. Unexpected Metamorphosis was my first novel, and although it’s receiving high ratings, I can’t help but think my writing is getting better with each novel I take on. I can even see the difference with Unexpected Peril, my third book. It’s coming out much faster, and I’m ending each chapter with a little punch to it.

The most feedback I’ve gotten from this series–and I guess my writing, overall–is how creative it is, and people love the world I’ve built. I often get asked how I come up with these things. For me, I’d rather create my own world and creatures than have to do a ton of research on history or other things within our current world. (I truly hate following rules and would much rather do things my way.) Instead, I keep my research limited to fun things–how wolves socialize, knife throwing, self-defense lessons, ways to kill a person slowly, and fashion. (Those ball gowns have to match the hair color, size of the woman, and jewelry she wears. I’ve learned a lot!)

If you haven’t yet read Unexpected Entrapment, it’s now available at the major online bookstores, and you can also get a signed copy mailed to you. Unexpected Metamorphosis is now free in all eBook formats so be sure to let your friends know.

I have started on Unexpected Peril and have even shared a small blurb on my Facebook page. I’ll soon be working on the cover design so stay tuned for that. Please be patient with me. When I get into writing mode, it’s hard for me to pull myself away, and I get behind on emails and the social part of my life.

Thanks for all your support, and please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon if you have not already–even if you bought a paperback from one of my signings.

I will admit to reading this trilogy in less than a week, and I highly recommend it to both adults and teens. My daughter read the first book in the series, and then she continuously told me I should read it. I was curious to see what kind of story had captivated her attention so I took her recommendation and dived in.

This series is based in London and is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Gwen. Although I usually don’t like to read or watch anything having to do with time travel because I almost always find a mistake in the plot, this one was different. After getting to the end, I thought over the entire story and did not really find any time traveling mistakes. It’s a hard subject to write about, and I applaud Kerstin Gier for how well it was done.

The author is from Germany, and this series has been translated into many languages. I’m a bit jealous because it’s been turned into a television show in Germany, and I would definitely watch it if it were in English.

Ruby Red is the first book in the series, and I give it a full five star review. Although this series is a fantasy romance, the romance was not strong in the first book. I would also say it’s a mystery read, with the main character chasing down answers to one big question. We follow her along her journey into the past and present in search of clues.

Sapphire Blue is the second book in the series, and although I still loved it, I have to give it a four star review. Everyone treated Gwen horrible in this novel, and I just could not relate to how she dealt with it, kind of like a doormat. I understand it goes with her personality, but everything within me would have lost it and put everyone in their places, while she said nothing and cried. However, a new mystical creature was added, and I loved him. The mystery plot thickened, and the adventure continued. The romantic relationship was complicated, and overall, I loved this novel and immediately went into the third one.

Emerald Green is the third book in the series, and I give it a four star review also. This series had an advanced plot and lovable characters. The adventure, romance, and mystery–it was all there! The only thing I found fault with was how the climax to the story happened. It had built up for three novels so I was surprised and somewhat let down at how fast the author dealt with it. I compare it to having a firework that doesn’t turn out as big as you had been expecting. The ending was perfect and fit the story. However, the author could have added more detail to make it go slower and give it more suspense. Instead, there were three books building that suspense, and it was taken care of within a page or two. I was like, “Oh, it’s over. Alrighty then.”

The entire story was outstanding with a completely surprising ending that I really don’t think anyone could have guessed, and I highly recommend this series to adults and teens who love mystery, sweet romance, and thick plots with time travel.

As for the clean rating, there were quite a few minor curse words throughout. It did have some drunk scenes. Although there were no sex scenes, the main characters were not against it. In the end, I’m not uncomfortable with my daughter reading it, and I’m more conservative than most. The story was not dark, taking the reader’s mind to negative places. It truly was a clean mystery read with some fantasy and romance.

Please welcome this week’s guest author, P.J. MacLayne:

When the idea for The Marquesa’s Necklace came to me, I didn’t think it would be a series. In fact, I didn’t know it would turn out to be a cozy mystery. I thought I was going to write a straight-up love story. The original working title was The Ghost Who Loved Me!

But the more the characters started talking to me, the more I realized how wrong I was. I don’t seem to be very good at simple love stories. I enjoy writing action and adventure. My characters may be your next-door-neighbor type of people, but their lives are anything but ordinary.

For example, take Harmony, my main character. She lives a simple life, spending her time doing research in the local library or on the internet, but her life gets turned upside down when she and her boyfriend are arrested for drug trafficking. She’s innocent, of course, but it’s just the beginning of a string of events that require her to use all her skills to figure out who or what is behind them. She has to, if she ever wants her simple life back.

When I started writing the book, I didn’t expect that it would be anything more than a single book. But here I am, halfway through writing a second one, and knowing that I want to write a third as well. I liked Harmony that much. She was too fun to write, and readers have let me know that she’s fun to read about as well. I’m hoping to release the second one in January 2015, but please don’t hold me to it!

Bio: I’m a computer geek by day and a writer by night. I grew up among the rolling hills of Pennsylvania, and love to use that area as a backdrop to my stores. I currently live in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, and think that I must have been a mountain man in a previous life.

Harmony Duprie enjoyed her well-ordered life in the quiet little town of Oak Grove—until her arrest for drug trafficking. Cleared of all charges, she wants nothing more than to return to the uneventful lifestyle of a historical researcher she once savored.

But when her beloved old car “George” is stolen and explodes into a ball of flames, it sets off a series of events that throws her plans into turmoil. Toss in a police detective that may or may not be interested in her, an attractive but mysterious stranger on her trail, and an ex-boyfriend doing time, and Harmony’s life freefalls into a downward spiral of chaos.

Now she has to use her research skills to figure out who is behind the sinister incidents plaguing her, and why. And she better take it seriously, like her life depends upon finding the right answers.

Because it might.

Excerpt:

            “Have a seat, please,” he said, indicating an armless office chair—at least its seat was padded. He sat on the other side of a desk covered with an assortment of files and paperwork, and picked up a file from the top of the stack.

“Harmony,” he said tentatively.

“Detective Thomason,” He might be trying to be friendly, but I still hadn’t forgiven him for arresting me.

He cleared his throat, and set the file back on his desk. “Did you let anyone borrow your car today?” he asked.

“No, my keys are right here.” I started digging through the contents of my purse.

“I’ll take your word for it,” he said, after I pulled out my checkbook, a packet of pink tissues, and a paperback with an almost-naked man on the front cover and piled them on the corner of his desk. His mouth twitched. “Have you made any new enemies recently, Miss Duprie?” I guess he got my message about the terms of our relationship.

“Besides a certain insufferable cop?” Even in the artificial fluorescent light, I saw the red rising in his cheeks. I could almost hear him counting to ten as I pretended to consider the question. “I think Larry, the florist, is ticked off that I’m not receiving flowers anymore. And Bart at the grocery store yelled at me last week when I went through the ten items or less line with fourteen items. But what does that have to do with someone stealing and wrecking my car?”

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Now’s the perfect time to start the Alissia Roswell Series. Get it now for free:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iBooks.

Since I may try my hand at writing young adult fantasy in the future, two of my recent reads were in that genre. I chose Alora by Tamie Dearen because she is a fellow Clean Indie Reads author. I had also read some of her work on her blog. She is currently writing a romantic comedy serial story called Elyssa Rose as weekly blog posts, which means she’s posting the story each week as she writes it. I find that brave! She can’t exactly go back and add or make changes like I so often do with my writing.

Alora is a fun read, with the main characters being fifteen to seventeen years old. Tamie kept the kissing scenes passion free, and I found that the characters acted true to their young ages. What I liked most about this YA novel, is that the author did not give many clues out as to what would happen next, and that added to the intrigue and mystery. The last few YA novels I’ve read were fun; however, I knew exactly what would happen next and how it would end–not so with Alora. Fun, adventure, an alternate reality, and some sweet teen romance filled the pages of this book.

I would definitely recommend this to teenagers that enjoy fun fantasy romances, as this one fits into that category, and it is very well written. As for adults, I would recommend you try this author’s Best Girls Series. Although I have not yet read them, I understand the series to be a romantic comedy, with the romance being between a variety of adult ages. You can also get a taste of her writing style by reading Elyssa Rose on Tamie’s website.