Tag Archives: Bauhaus

Review – Dominion of the Damned (Ebook)

May 19, 2016 sroche

I’ve been following, reading, and enjoying Jean Marie’s work for a while now. I consider myself a fan and we’re also friends via the usual social media channels. She blends fantasy and romance in a way that I enjoy. When she solicited reviews for this book, I immediately raised my hand. Does this meet my standards? Read on and find out!

Nursing student Hannah Jordan knows things are bad when her mother dies while giving birth to a son. She knows things can’t get much worse when her mother gets back up and tries to have the baby for breakfast. When she’s forced to put her mother down like a rabid animal, only one certainty remains: Hannah will do whatever it takes to stay alive and protect her baby brother.

The only survivors out of a family of survivalists, Hannah and the baby ride out the zombie apocalypse in their family’s backyard bunker, emerging months later to find a world taken over by the newly self-appointed saviors of humanity: a race of vampires hellbent on preventing the extinction of their food supply.

The Goods – Zombie vs. Vampires with humans stuck in the middle? Sign me up! This uses the typical horror tropes well, without abusing them a la Twilight. The romance angle is well written and I enjoy watching the principle love interests falling for each other. Hannah Jordan is the kind of kick ass heroine I think we all need to see more of. She’s strong, but far from a robot. She knows her way around a gun and isn’t afraid to go hand to hand. She’s also smart, though she makes plenty of mistakes of the sort you’d expect from any young person. So, she’s no Mary Sue. The pacing and amount of detail are both solid. JM knows how to keep the story moving, but she doesn’t sacrifice character development. It’s definitely a page turner and literally kept me up until midnight so that I could find out what happened.

The Bads – As much as I enjoyed the book, it’s not without its flaws. Hannah is in her bunker for five months and it seems to me that the world went from normal to post apocalyptic far too quickly. Things happen that probably should have taken longer than five months. When a prisoner is telling her what’s happened since the zombie outbreak, it sounds like everything fell apart too quickly. Speaking of too quick, while I applaud the pacing, there are a few scenes that seem to move the plot along a little too quickly. More time with her settling into life at the camp would have made what happened next a little more believable. By that, I mostly mean the relationships that she builds with the other humans. They go much too fast. In addition, everything at the human camp is a little too clean and nice. Hannah starts off paranoid and justifiably so, but she works through it too quickly.

There’s also something that bugged me about both this and another romance I read recently. People are too nice to each other. I’ll grant you that most of the vampires are evil buggers, but I don’t recall there being an ounce of tension between Hannah and the people she ends up befriending. She does things that should bother her new neighbors and there’s no huge reason for anyone to be so open and trusting. I suppose I’ve just come to think of the post-apocalypse genre as being chock full of anti-social behavior.

Finally, while I found the idea of the solution to the zombie problem to be interesting, it was also a little confusing. How it works is a mystery, as is how it was developed.

None of these by themselves hurt the book that much, but a few answers might be forthcoming in the sequel.

The Verdict I enjoyed this book. The vampires are mostly monsters, though the doctor has an interesting explanation as to why that is. The romance is heartfelt. And the plot and characters worked for me. The flaws pulled me out of the story a few times, but getting back in was never a problem.

I give this book four out of five silver bullets and look forward to the next in this series.

Amazon Link

Uncategorized

Interview with Jean Marie Bauhaus

August 27, 2015 sroche 4 Comments

I was so excited by the idea of a possible new book in this series and the Kickstarter campaign that I wanted to ask JM a few questions. Watch the video and then have a read!

1) Is the mystery genre one that you’ve always been interested in writing in? Who are your favorite mystery writers?

It’s funny, I’ve never thought of myself as a mystery writer. I didn’t set out to write a mystery with Restless Spirits, but I guess it definitely has elements of that. The sequel, if I write it, will be even more of a whodunit–that’s one of the things that really tripped me up when I tried to write the original draft without an outline. I got about 30,000 words in and had to throw it all out and do an outline to untangle the knots of the mystery aspect of that whole story.

I don’t really read the mystery genre, outside of Sherlock Holmes–although I’m a big fan of The Dresden Files and I guess those qualify as mystery (and were undoubtedly a big influence on my writing at the time). I also occasionally read suspense thrillers like Tess Gerritsen’s Rizzoli & Isles series, which definitely have a crime solving aspect. But for me, with this book, the mystery aspect was just a backdrop for the characters to be interesting. It wasn’t really at the forefront of my mind when I wrote it.

2) I like the way the romance is worked into the story very organically and how it ties into other plot points. It’s not just “tacked on”. Was that romance part of your early planing?

Restless Spirits happens to be the one and only book I’ve ever managed to successfully pants (i.e., write with no planning or outline). So everything did unfold very organically. Once I started writing Ron and got into her character and her voice, everything just clicked and I just let her tell her story. I was more or less along for the ride on that one.

3) What challenges have you faced getting this out there, as you aren’t only the author here but also the editor and publisher?

This was the first book I self-published. It was my NaNoWriMo project way back in ‘08 (the first time I “won” that event, too–lot of firsts with this book), and in 2009 I made my first foray into self-publishing by posting it on a blog (I come from a fan fiction background so that felt really natural at the time). When people complained that it was hard to read in that format, I posted it on Scribd, and after a while I tried charging for the full download.

Around this time, there was a big movement in postcasting, where folks like J.C. Hutchins and Scott Sigler and Mur Lafferty were doing really neat things with serial podcast fiction. So I tried that next, but I only got two chapters recorded and edited before I knew that podcasting and I just weren’t a good fit.

Fast-forward to 2011, when Kindle Direct Publishing and Createspace were starting to be seen as legitimate roads to publishing. By that point I had taken my book (back then it was titled This Old Haunt) off of Scribd because it wasn’t really selling, but I’d gotten a lot of good feedback on it. So I decided to do another revision and release it as an actual book under its current title.

It got some great reader reviews right off the bat, and sales were small but steady for about the first year. They picked up a bit after I wrote my second novel, but it didn’t really gain traction until I made it “perma-free” on Amazon. Since then, I’ve given away probably a few thousand copies, but it’s garnered a respectable number of positive reviews and has done a lot to drive sales and borrows of my other books.

4) You’ve decide to put together a Kickstarter to fund the second novel in this series. What made you decide to go this route?

People have been asking me to do a sequel almost since the current version was first published, but for a long time I just didn’t see where the story could go from there. I felt like Ron’s story was done, and I had other story ideas I wanted to write. But then last year I was struck with inspiration for not just a sequel, but a whole series–at least four books, if not more.

So I tried to write the second book, and hoping that lightning would strike twice, I attempted to pants it. As I said above, that didn’t go so well and I had to throw out most of that first attempt and do an outline. But unfortunately, I haven’t been able to write any more on it, because life.

I would really like to write this series, but although requests for a sequel have been passionate, they haven’t been great in number, and since work forced me to put it on the back burner I’ve had inspiration for a number of other books I’d like to write.

I thought doing a Kickstarter would kill three birds with one stone; if successful, it would let me cut back on my freelancing hours and finally write the book without having to worry about how we’re going to buy groceries for the next three months, and also provide the needed funds to produce a big-publishing-quality book. It would also tell me whether there’s really a viable audience for this series. If there is, then I’ll know what I’ll be working on for the next year or two. If there’s not and the campaign doesn’t reach its funding goal (or even come close), then I can move on to one of those other projects with no guilt.

5) How will you be using the funds that you generate?

Whatever’s left after Kickstarter fees, processing fees, and order fulfillment costs (i.e. shipping, etc.) will have a sizeable chunk set aside for book production costs–editing, mainly, but I’d also like to see what a professional illustrator could do with the cover. I’ve always designed my own covers and I’m kind of a control freak in that area, but I don’t have a lot of ideas for this one that I’d be able to pull off well with my graphic design skills alone.

If there’s enough left over (in terms of either money or time), I’d also like to re-format the original Restless Spirits. I made a lot of amateur formatting mistakes with the paperback version that I haven’t had time to go back and correct now that I know what I’m doing. If I ever put out a boxed set I want everything to be consistent in terms of quality.

If we reach my initial funding goal, then the rest will help cover living expenses while I actually make the book. If we go over, then I’ll put together some stretch goals and new prizes. I’d like to do fun stuff like swag–I know a local artist who creates awesome jewelry around literary and fantasy themes–and maybe some kind of book launch event. I think it would be a lot of fun to get together with the local paranormal society and do a ghost tour that culminates with a reading and book signing at this local haunted theater; but that’ll be a big stretch goal, if my campaign ever reaches that point.

Thanks for coming on the blog! I wish you great success.

Back the Kickstarter
Get the e-book!
JM’s Author’s Site
JM’s Twitter

Uncategorized

Review – Restless Spirits by Jean Marie Bauhaus (E-book)

August 25, 2015 sroche 2 Comments

I’ve known Jean Marie and worked with her on giveaways over the last year or so. When I saw that she was giving away one of her books, I decided to give it a look, even though the genre isn’t my cup of tea. What did I think? Read on.

A paranormal investigator becomes the subject of her own investigation after stumbling into the crosshairs of a malevolent spirit.

Veronica Wilson has her whole life behind her. At least, that’s what she comes to realize soon after waking up in the mysterious house she had come to investigate. A paranormal investigator by trade, Ron now finds herself investigating her own death with the help of a handful of helpful friendly ghosts — and one who’s just a pain in the ass. Unfortunately, being dead doesn’t keep Ron from noticing that he also possesses quite the nice ass, or from tingling in ways that almost make her feel alive whenever he’s near….

As if unwanted afterlife crushes weren’t bad enough, Ron soon discovers that she and her fellow ghosts aren’t the house’s only inhabitants. They’re all at the mercy of an entity named Sarah, who looks like a cute and innocent kid, but is in fact the reason each and every one of them died. Now Sarah keeps them prisoner and makes them her playthings, until she gets tired of them and… well, it turns out you can kill someone who’s already dead. Or at least Sarah can.

With the help of her still-living sister, a psychic medium who can talk to the dead, Ron and her ghostly housemates must unlock all of the mysteries that the house has to offer and find the way to defeat Sarah once and for all. Only then will they be free to move on to the other side. But is Ron really ready to go, especially now that she knows there’s a lot of living to do after death?

The Goods – I will freely admit, walking into this, that I was biased, and not in a positive way. I don’t generally read ghost stories, unless I’m guaranteed that they’re solidly in the horror genre. I don’t generally read romance. I’ve been branching out, though. I also don’t read very many stories where the heroine isn’t a bit more ass-kicky in the purely physical sense. There didn’t seem to be anything in the positive column, other than the fact that JM is a good writer. Well, let me tell you, I didn’t get two chapter in before I was hooked.

The thing I enjoyed most about this story were the characters. Ron and her sister were well fleshed out. I’d love to see more of her sister in future books (and if you want to help there be future books there’s a Kickstarter). The other ghosts that inhabit the house Ron is haunting are also engaging. Ron develops, not only as a ghost, but as a character. Some of the spirits we meet are a little more see through, but the main bunch are also well developed.

The plot was a very solid mystery. It kept me guessing all throughout with some great red herrings and a satisfying conclusion. The love story at its heart had nice tension and given the differences between Ron and her beau there was a bit of conflict. I really blazed through this story, so if you’re looking for a mystery with fantastic pacing and fresh, interesting characters this is a good find.

The “big bad” and the resolution to the mystery were very satisfying (and heart string tugging). In a mystery, that is, of course, required. And even though most of the characters were ghosts she did a good job of making me feel like there was true jeopardy attached.

The Bads – There was nothing “bad” per se in this story. I did find that the romance felt a little rushed. I would have liked to see it develop over time. I also would have liked to see more conflict, but given that this is more of a mystery than a romance, I don’t feel that it hurt the story.

Verdict – This is certainly not a terribly deep exploration of human nature and or what the next life holds, but it’s also not just a bit of fluff. There’s action, danger, romance, and laughs. If you want an engaging mystery with well done characters that’s a fun read then you need to snap this up. And for the next month or so, you can grab it at no cost.

I give this book four and a half out of five red rubber balls.

Amazon
Author’s Site
Twitter

pimpage

Halloween Memories and Giveaway

October 24, 2014 sroche 5 Comments

Many of you know that the thing I like doing almost as much as writing is introducing people to new authors. As a result at the end of the week I’ll be giving away some fiction in cooperation with Jean Marie Bauhaus. Her book is called Midnight Snacks:

From the author of Dominion of the Damned and Restless Spirits come four bite-sized tales of terror. Jean Marie Bauhaus spins a mesmerizing and haunting world in which monsters roam the post-apocalyptic streets of New York, scavenging for their next meal, vengeance finds room for compassion in surprising places, and even the vending machine down the hall begins acting shifty.
Also features the novelette Eucha Falls, a spellbinding tale of Lovecraftian horror. It’s been a year since Melanie Fisher’s little brother Scottie disappeared without a trace, and investigators are no closer to learning what happened to him. Determined to get answers, Melanie and her boyfriend, Shane Campbell, journey to the site where Scottie’s car was found abandoned and burned — a strip of gravel road leading to the long abandoned theme park once known as Eucha Falls.
Melanie and Shane’s explorations lead them to a lost video camera. What they find on the camera is shocking evidence that not only was Scottie there, but that he had succumbed to some sort of inexplicable madness. As Melanie and Shane dig deeper, they find that the madness is catching. But is it really madness, or evidence of something much more real, and much more sinister than they ever could have imagined?

We’re also giving away Dead Ends, featuring six awesome authors and myself.

For this anthology I’ve assembled seven bloody, stark horror stories by myself and six other talented writers of horror and suspense. A sinister power in “In The Deep Dark” by Justin R. Macumber is overtaking men at the bottom of a West Virginia coal mine. A golden liquid sur-rounds a boy’s treehouse in Edward Lorn’s “Morning Dew” and its taste for human flesh is standing between the boys and safety. Reggie in Scott Roche’s “Power in the Blood” discovers that his thirst for blood can give him strength, but may cost him his soul. Philip Carroll brings us a tale of “Getting Even” where the wealthy Mr. Hasbrook must pay for his sins of greed and murder. Paul E. Cooley’s “Breakers” remove the broken ‘cogs’ from society’s machinery as ruth-lessly as possible. In J.R. Murdock’s “Breakup”, Ruby wants to leave her boyfriend Victor, but he wants eternity or nothing. Finally, Jake Bible reminds us in “Blister” that going to the doctor early is a good idea, particularly if your affliction makes you a happy little psycopath.

And we’re giving away not just one copy of each but THREE! How can you enter to win? Use the widget below to tweet about it. Leave a comment on this here blog post letting us know your favorite Halloween memory. Join our mailing lists (hers here and mine here). And follow us on Twitter.

The contest will run until Halloween. Thanks for helping spread the word and have a spooky holiday!

a Rafflecopter giveaway