Interview with K.S. Haigwood and reviews of "Save my Soul" and "Hell's Gift"

K.S. Haigwood, author of the totally awesome 'Save my Soul' series was kind enough to give us an interview for the release of "Good Side of Sin" (watch for our review on it here in the near future). So without further ado, here is our interview.

Is there a message in your novels that you want readers to grasp?
Love conquers all.

Are any of the experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No. Unfortunately my life isn't nearly as exciting as anything I write about :)

Do you believe in soul mates?
I believe God has a plan for everyone, so yes, I do. Maybe not to the extent I put into my novels, but I believe there is one person out there for everyone.

What book are you reading now?
Reflections - Book 2 in the 'Whisper Cape' series by Susan Griscom. (Buy links: Amazon , Barnes & Noble)

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in Save my Soul or Hell's Gift?
No. I couldn't imagine changing anything that happened in either of those stories. I'd be too afraid Kendra or Rhyan would hurt me in my sleep if I did. LOL.

Who designed the covers?
Patti Roberts from Australia is the cover designer for the 'Save my Soul' series.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?
Ha! Yes. That my imagination is a lot bigger than I ever thought it could be. I also learned that my grammar and punctuation was really poor when I first started writing. I have learned a lot from Ella Medler over the last 18 months.

Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I would write my stories regardless of whether or not anyone ever read them, but my readers have made my dreams come true. They are the ones that make what I love to do that much more enjoyable.

What books/authors have influenced your writing?
J. R. Ward, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Stephenie Meyer and countless Independent (Indie) Authors.

Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
Teresa Palmer to play the part of Josselyn, and Raffaello Balzo to play Thoros.

When did you decide to become a writer?
I was 29 years old before the passion to write took over me. I finally feel like I have found my purpose in life.

What was the hardest thing about writing Good Side of Sin?
Oh, wow...um, nothing really. I'm a pantser. I don't plot or plan or do much research for anything. I sit down at my laptop and the words just flow out.

If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
Green Eggs and Ham because Dr. Seuss is awesome!

Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven't included?
Save my Soul is free everywhere. Hell's Gift - Book 2 is $2.99 and Good Side of Sin - Book 3 is $3.99.

And that concludes the interview portion of this post. Now onto the really good stuff, my opinions of her first two books! (That is the good stuff, right?)

Save my Soul

So here's the situation, this chick, Kendra, is into some extreme sports, particularly mountain climbing which she can do a lot of near her hometown, and one day while out climbing with a group of friends she has a terrible accident and is rushed to the ER on the brink of death, seriously, only a miracle could save her. That's where a guardian angel comes in, just not hers. She makes a deal with this angel to try to save the soul of the surgeon who is currently trying to save her life, in exchange for a new lease on life, but she only has until Friday to convince this doctor to believe in God again, and she has to do this in spite of the influence of his guardian devil. Will she succeed before time runs out?

This story was great. It had romance, and suspense, and religion without being preachy. I couldn't help but root for Kendra to complete her mission and actually came away from the book with a renewed sense of faith. While Kendra is on her mission, she gets to meet her guardian angel Rhyan, who has kind of had a thing for her since she was born, and gets his assistance because she really got a raw deal from Coen, the angel she made a deal with. I'm just going to say that there were some sparks flying in a couple different directions in this book.

I did not feel a deep enough connection with any of these characters to become them in my dreams, but that's quite possibly because I am pretty much the complete opposite of an extreme sports enthusiast, so stepping into Kendra's shoes just doesn't even appeal to me. That being said, while reading the descriptions were so vivid that I had a nice little movie going on in my head.

Overall I give this book 5 stars for being well-written, descriptive and restoring my flagging faith.

Courtney says: Wow. I loved this book. It had an amazing story line and I fell in love with the characters. I actually read this book in just one day because I couldn't put it down. I think I read it for 6 hours straight, up until almost 3 AM. Kendra played a wonderful character and I loved that this romance book had a little paranormal and religion in it. The religion isn't very strong in the book but it begs my mind to contact the author and ask her a million questions about herself. Most of the time throughout the book, I felt the characters emotions. For the last ten or so chapters of the book, I had a smile on my face. Everything was going how I wanted it to and I love that about a book. I'm very excited to start the second book of the series, which focuses around Kendra's guardian angel.

Thanks again for writing an amazing book!!

And seriously, get this book. What's better than free? I promise, you will love it as much as I have!

Hell's Gift

So this is Rhyan's story. After the events in Save my Soul, it is clear that Rhyan has no chance with Kendra anymore and he becomes quite depressed. So depressed that the Guardians in charge decide the only way to fix him is to make him find his soul-mate and bring her back to Heaven. And there's the catch. Not only is she in hell, but she's freakin' royalty down there. In a desperate attempt to save her soul, Rhyan strikes a bargain with Lucifer. All he has to do is go through Hell for his woman, but can he survive without going insane?

The second installment of the 'Save my Soul' series is much darker than the first, but it mostly takes place in Hell, so that's kind of to be expected I think. After his temporary banishment to Hell, it doesn't take Rhyan long to meet his soul-mate, although it does take him quite a while to learn who she is to him, but once he does, he wants nothing more than to get her out of Hell, in spite of the crime she committed to land herself there in the first place. 

This book was much more violently graphic than the first (again, it takes place in Hell so that's to be expected). This book also resonated much more deeply with me, so much so that I spent a few sleeping periods during the three days I was reading it, running through Hell in my dreams. I woke up exhausted! The descriptions were so vivid that I was there in Hell, right alongside Ryhan. 

This book gets 5 stars from me as well, because I laughed and cried and yelled at my Kindle like a crazy person. 

Courtney says: Would you make a deal with the devil himself for your soulmate?

That's what Rhyan did.

I was completely blown away with this book. I loved what K.S. Haigwood did when describing Hell. A little about this book, Rhyan was cast out from Heaven with reasons I won't explain, to end up in Hell with the purpose of saving his soulmate and bringing her and her soul to Heaven with him. Rhyan is such a strong character and the things he has to go through only show how strong of a man/angel he is. I'm not sure I would have been able to endure the things that he had too. While reading this book, it was all I could think about. I wanted to do nothing but read it and when I had even 10 minutes to spare, the kindle was in my hand. I would absolutely LOVE to see this book made into a movie. The best part about this book, is you can read it as a stand alone but reading Save My Soul first gives you so much to the other story of how Rhyan came into play and why he is feeling the way he is in the beginning of Hell's Gift.

At the time of posting this, Save My Soul is free!

But seriously, if you're looking for a good book to read that will keep you on the edge of your seat and begging to find out what happens next, grab it! You will love it, just like I did.

And here come the inevitable buy links, because you know you want to one click these books!

Save my Soul

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Hell's Gift

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Good Side of Sin

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Review of "Stalkers: A Collection of Thriller Stories" by various authors

Do you want a book that will have you on the edge of your seat? This book will do that. Do you want a book that will give you chills and nightmares? Yep, this book has that. Do you want stories that will surprise you? You'll find that here. Do you want stories with a happy ending? Guess what, this book even has a couple of those. In short, this book has something to appeal to just about everyone.

You may not know this about me, but I am a huge Stephen King fan. If you ask me who my favorite author is, the answer is Stephen King. My favorite book is a Stephen King book. "Stalkers" made me feel like I was reading a collection of King's short stories (except I don't think any of them are set in Maine). You'll be transported into seventeen different worlds where a mind playing tricks on you will be the least of your concerns. From Rene Folsom's "Every Thorn" where Brittany is stalked by a former flame to Phil Taylor's "Blog Stalker" where a case of cyber-stalking takes a very real turn for the worst you will not want to put this book down, except for about two hours before bedtime to pick up a happy go lucky book to avoid the inevitable nightmares.

The arrangement of this collection was brilliantly done. The stories woven together so that you don't know what will come next. A normal human stalker, a ghost that won't leave you alone, an ending where the good guys die, or one where the bad guys meet their demise. This book has it all, and even I didn't see most of the twists coming (and I'm usually pretty good at guessing those kinds of things from my years studying Stephen King).

I give this book five full stars. It made me laugh and it made me wish the house wasn't so dark and quiet at night. You do not want to miss out on this awesome collection, although you might regret it if you don't take my advice about the happy go lucky book before bedtime.

Buy Links:

Amazon

Review of Bound by Brenda Rothert

Synopsis: College senior Kate Camden has learned to adapt - to her last year of school, to the promise of motherhood, to the fact that she’s doing it all alone. But just when she’s learned to adjust, heartache threatens to break her apart. 

Pro hockey player Jason “Ryke” Ryker has it all: adoring fans, a promising career, and a beautiful wife. But when his seemingly perfect life is shaken by tragedy, he’s left questioning whether having it all is ever more than an illusion. 

When circumstance brings Kate and Ryke together, they discover they don’t have to hurt alone. Bound by a grief that haunts them both, they must rely on one another to survive heartbreak. But that grief is more powerful than they realize, and the tie that binds them together may ultimately tear them apart.
This book blew me away. I would have never thought I would enjoy a book starring a hockey player because I've never really been a fan of jocks, that's probably the nerd in me, but Jason Ryker made me fall in love with him and hockey. I'm seriously going to find a way to watch some hockey games now. I felt an immediate connection with Kate, possibly because we have very similar names, but I would never want to be in her shoes, well except for when she's with Ryke maybe.

"I kissed you. Or tried to anyway. And it made you 

cry, which was a first for me." Ryke

This book made me laugh, cry and swoon, all in a matter of like five minutes. It also pissed me off and made me jealous and suspicious. And at times it even had me yelling at my Kindle like the lunatic that I apparently am. Kate has intimacy issues and Ryke has been burned one too many times in the past, so they both bring a lot of baggage into things, making them feel like they don't deserve each other, which I think is pretty common in relationships anyway.

Fully clothed hand-holding in a parking garage was the 

equivalent of dirty sex for me now. - Kate

I give this book a full five stars for making me love something I'd never imagined loving before, and keeping me enthralled by the drama and sexual tension. Ryke made me realize that even testosterone ridden alpha male hockey players can have real feelings too, and maybe, just maybe we should care. Katie

Buy Links:
Amazon

Review of "Blood Claim" by Magen McMinimy

This is the first book of the Half-Blood Princess saga by Magen McMinimy. Prepare to be enthralled as you follow the life of Sophia Daletsky, half-human and half-vampire daughter of the very first vampire. Ms. McMinimy's imagination has provided us with one of the most unique vampire origin stories I've ever read, and I've read a lot of vampire books. It even puts my own personal idea for a vampire origin story to shame so it's back to the drawing board for me to write a vampire book of my own.

I was personally a bit disappointed at first that these vampires don't have to follow most of the classic vampire rules, like not going out in sunlight, but the author added so many other little details about vampire life that I actually forgot that her vampires don't fit the classic vampire bill. And at least they don't sparkle!

I was intrigued by the story line and stayed up until way past my bedtime last night reading before finally making myself go to sleep to dream of Dante Baikov. Read the book and you'll know why I was dreaming of this sexy vampire. I even tried to get my minions to bed early this evening so I could return to Sophia's story and give it my full attention, but they didn't cooperate. I fully look forward to dreaming of Dante again this evening.

Overall I'd give this book 4 1/2 out of 5 stars because the story was so engaging that it made me forget the vampires don't follow the classic rules, and it had the perfect amount of romance and suspense to make for a thrilling read.

Buy Link:
Amazon

Review of Dark Secrets by AM Hudson

So this book had me feeling all different kinds of emotions. I love a good romance book, but if you throw a vampire in there too, I'm all for it! This book is more for a younger audience with mild sexual scenes. The main character is Ara, she is a 17 year old girl who has just suffered a tragedy in her life that forces her to move to the United States and live with her dad. After meeting David, they fall in love. Somehow, she gets thrown in a feud between brothers. But you will read more about that when you buy and read the book ;)

Now let me tell you how I felt......I kept getting angry while I was reading because it wasn't going the way I wanted it to, which makes me want to finish the series even more so I know. But by the end of the book, I was in tears, angry at what was happening, and then relieved. One thing you should know about this book is that it is over 700 pages long. I didn't realize that when I started reading it and around day 4, I was wondering why I wasn't finished with it yet. So expect to be reading this book longer than any normal paged book, which I usually estimate around 250 pages. There are times you will want to throw your kindle, nook, or iPad. I know I did. Ara comes off different than any character I've read which is why I liked her so much. She reminded me of a 17 year old version of me. She was full of emotion and feelings and sometimes didn't make any freaking sense. But what teenage does at that age? I felt very connected to her. I would give this book 4 stars. I would have given it 5 if some parts just doesn't seem so drawn out. But overall very good book. -Courtney

Dark Secrets on Amazon

Dark Secrets on B&N

Also, add it to your TBR list on Goodreads by click here

Review of "Fixer of Deceit" and "Promiscuous" from the Fixer series by Alyson Raynes

I would like to start out by saying holy hotness! These books were like 50 Shades of Grey squared. All the excitement and intrigue without the repetitive bondage. It took me four days to finish both books because the little people that I live with insist that I feed them on a regular basis and I'm trying to at least keep up on my word counts for NaNoWriMo because one day I would love to be the one having my books reviewed by some silly woman that thinks her opinion matters, and every single night I dreamt of Dylan, although my Dylan looked a lot more like Channing Tatum, but just about every book boyfriend looks like Channing in my head.

Photo Borrowed (Swiped?) from https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dylan-Prescott

This series has me hooked, and I'm a bit upset that I have to wait until 2014 to read the next installment in the Brooke and Dylan saga (and that is the only way in which I wish this series were more like 50 Shades of Grey, in that all the books would already be published and I could read them all and be SAT-IS-FIED). This series is funny, and original (I know I've already compared it to 50 twice, but that's beside the point). Ms. Raynes has a way with words that really put me in Brooke's shoes. I was pissed, and sad, and fell in love and felt every little delicious detail right down to my toes, among other things. 

If you like Adult Romance's and have not read these books yet, you should go one click them like right now. You will not regret it. Happy reading. - Katie

Amazon:

Fixer of Deceit

Promiscuous

Nook:

Fixer of Deceit

Could not find Promiscuous for the Nook.

Welcome!

Welcome to our blog. This is a new endeavor started by myself, Katie, and my friend Courtney (she has done most of the work though, so she gets most of the credit.) We met as Army wives in Germany and share a love of books. We especially like supporting indie authors and their books.

A little about me. I have two children, M is the four year old clone of his father, and L is a 2 year old daughter of Satan, in other words my clone. They are polar opposites; M being shy, quiet, and reserved, and L being outgoing, spunky, and entirely uninhibited. They definitely keep me on my toes. I've been married to my wonderful husband J for 7 years now (in case you were keeping track our initials really are J K L M and that was NOT intentional). J is slightly unreasonable and insists on limiting the number of physical books I own, so I'm very thankful for ereaders and digital books. He is supportive of technology though and has provided me with three different devices on which I can easily transport and read the thousands of books I have downloaded from Amazon. I am an aspiring writer currently taking part in NaNoWriMo (and I'm even on track with my word counts, but I'm pretty sure most of what I've written is trash, but maybe not.) I read all types of books, but enjoy Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror books the most. Sometimes my inner teenager rears her gorgeous head and I just have to read a good romance to appease the "romantic" in her. I think that's just about all there is to know about me.

A little bit about Courtney (I'm sure I'm going to get a bunch of this wrong, but she'll correct me). She has a two year old son, K, who is the perfect blend of her and her husband H appearance wise at least. Seriously, he's adorable, her son, not her husband. She's currently in school for something medical related (I really should know this but it's escaping my memory at the moment) and she still finds time to read somehow. I'm pretty sure she's a vampire and doesn't need to sleep, but she'd be a sparkly Twilight vampire because I've seen her in daylight. I believe her favorite genres of literature are paranormal and romance.

From ME! (Courtney) Katie got most of it right. I tend to think K looks more like his daddy but he is definitely a mommas boy. As Katie said, I do go to school for something medical related (medical assisting). I graduate in March!!! WOOHOO!!! I've been with H for 3 years. We met in the Army when we were both in AIT or training for those who don't know what that is. We were best friends who decided to get married literally overnight. Just one day I said "hey, you're leaving in a few days. We should get married." And so we did. As Katie said, she thinks I'm a vampire. Just don't tell anyone, but I really am. I don't need sleep. I usually run on 4 or 5 hours of sleep at night. Between taking care of my son, doing homework, and my obsession of books, I just don't have time for silly things like sleeping. I'll read any good book but my favorite genres are paranormal and romance. Blend both of them together and I'm in heaven! I don't know why I read romance though. Most of the time after reading a romance book I want to slap my husband across the face. Why can't you be like that!!!??? LOL. But I think that's all there is for me too.

We are just starting out on this, so it's probably going to be a bit bumpy at first, but bear with us and we'll get better, I promise. Please feel free to give us suggestions on what we could be doing better. And if you have any indie author or book suggestions for us to read, we welcome those as well. In the meantime, happy reading. ~Katie