Every disaster has a backstory, none more thrilling than this one. Set during the great San Francisco earthquake and fire, this page-turning tale of political corruption, vendettas, romance, rescue—and murder—is based on recently uncovered facts that forever change our understanding of what really happened. Told by a feisty young reporter, Annalisa Passarelli, the novel paints a vivid picture of the Victorian-era city, from the mansions of Nob Hill to the underbelly of the Barbary Coast to the arrival of tenor Enrico Caruso and the Metropolitan Opera. Central to the story is the ongoing battle—fought even as the city burns—that pits incompetent and unscrupulous politicians against a coalition of honest police officers, newspaper editors, citizens, and a lone federal prosecutor.
With the appeal and texture of The Alienist, Carter Beats the Devil, and the novels of E. L. Doctrow, James Dalessandro weaves unforgettable characters and actual events into a compelling epic.
“loaded with admirable historical detail and raptor civic corruption as murderous as the San Andreas Fault.” –Oakley Hall (author, the Ambrose Bierce mysteries)
“…will keep you at the edge of your seat.” –The New York Sun
“..action packed…exciting and vivid.” –Kirkus
“A riveting account of corruption, greed and murder…” –Dallas Morning News
About James Dalessandro
James Dalessandro was born in Cleveland Ohio, and educated at Ohio University and UCLA film school. In 1973 he founded the Santa Cruz Poetry Festival with Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Ken Kesey, the nation’s largest literary event. He has written for Playboy, the Examiner newspapers, San Francisco magazine. He was writer of the House of Blues Radio Hour and created the nationally syndicated program “Rock On” with Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek. He has published four books: Canary in a Coal Mine (poetry); Bohemian Heart (noir detective fiction); Citizen Jane (True Crime); and 1906: A Novel (Historical Fiction). He is award winning writer/director/producer of the documentary film THE DAMNEDEST, FINEST RUINS (PBS/KQED), and writer/producer of the Hallmark Movie “Citizen Jane,” based on his book. He is screenwriter of “1906” the upcoming Pixar/Warner Brothers live action film based on his novel of the same name. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Katie and best pal Giacomo Poochini.
This giveaway is for one ebook and is open internationally. This giveaway ends on May 27, 2016. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only. a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Tiffani Gibson of Meryl Moss Media, I’m giving away one print copy of Beauty, Beast, And Belladona by Maia Chance.
Description of Beauty, Beast, And Belladona by Maia Chance
From the author of Cinderella Six Feet Under, a beauty must solve a beastly murder.
Variety hall actress Ophelia Flax knows how to win over an audience. That’s why she’s accepted the marriage proposal of the brutish Comte de Griffe to nettle her occasional investigative partner—and romantic sparring partner—the pompous if dashing Professor Penrose.
But with his boorish table manners, wild mane of hair, and habit of prowling away the wee hours, the comte has shredded Ophelia’s last nerve. She intends to disengage from her feral fiancé at his winter hunting party—until Penrose, his lovely new fiancée, and a stagecoach of stranded travelers arrive at the comte’s sprawling château. Soon she can’t tell the boars from the bores.
When one of the guests is found clawed and bloody in theorangerie, Ophelia is determined to solve the murder before everyone starts believing the local version of Beauty and the Beast. But until the snows melt, she can’t trust her eyes—or her heart—since even the most civilized people hold beastly secrets…
About Maia Chance
MAIA CHANCE writes historical mystery novels that are rife with absurd predicaments and romantic adventure. She is the author of the Fairy Tale Fatal series, The Discreet Retrieval Agency series and the Prohibition-era caper,Come Hell or Highball. Her first mystery, Snow White Red-Handed, was a national bestseller. Maia lives in Seattle, where she shakes a killer martini, grows a mean radish, and bakes mocha bundts to die for. She is a Ph.D. candidate for English at the University of Washington.
Giveaway of Beauty, Beast, And Belladona by Maia Chance
This giveaway is open to the U.S. only and ends on March 4, 2016 12 am pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
During that last summer, as if in punishment for being happy, Kate was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
The last time we used the wishing stone was at the hospital the morning she died.
On that day, all three of us made a silent wish, certain the others had wished the same. Kate died that afternoon and I never thought about it again. It was the last time I believed in magic, in love or in the existence of God.
Then, after three miserable lonely years, the unthinkable, a second chance . . . Warwick.
Praise for Machines of the Little People (The Eve Project- Book 1)
“The plot is unique, I must say that I haven’t read a Sci Fi book so original in a long time. It has everything, mystery, suspense, romance, eccentric characters, conspiracy theories, and of course the little people with their machines! Crazy, Wild, Excellent Written. Highly Recommended!!!”- Julia Damatto, Romorror Fan Girl
“the real joy of this book is not the plot itself. The real joy is the way in which Maus keeps his readers constantly off guard, stringing them along for pages before flipping the situation on its head and forcing readers to reevaluate whatever they thought they knew. Normally, that just pisses me off, but the way Maus manipulates his readers makes us squeal with delight at every turn. There is an energy to his novels, a sense of urgency tinged with wonder. We trust that wherever he takes us–and it won’t be somewhere we expect–it will be an adventure in the truest sense of the word. And then we have the characters. At the end of the day, it’s the characters that make a Maus book what it is. Definitely recommended for anyone who just wants a cracking good story. “-Jonathan Cook, Author ‘Youth and Other Fictions’
“Anyone who loves a good science fiction/fantasy story would have a hard time putting this one down.”- Lisa Binion, Author ‘Softly and Tenderley’
Praise for Wishing Stone (The Eve Project- Book 2)
“More great Sci-Fi adventure from Tegon Maus. He doesn’t just give us a good Sci-Fi story. He gives us a story with great characters and a unique story and is able to include many other genres in his Sci-Fi stories. Comedy, drama and action. Let’s pray for a book three in the series.”-Erik Nelson, Author ‘Unlawful Protection’
“This is a great science fiction story, which follows on nicely from The Eve Project: Book 1, Machines of the Little People, however could easily be read as a stand-alone. It has it all for science fiction fans, top secret scientific projects, a great storyline, twists and turns round every corner, yet, at its very core lies, dare I say it, a love story. It has a great finish, however, at the end, all I wanted to know from the author – is there is another book in the series coming? I hope so”-Susan Keefe, Author ‘Toby’s Tales’ Series
“I enjoyed The Wishing Stone even more than the first book, even though, again, it’s not my usual read. I really liked the eccentric scientist characters Ben meets at Warwick, and as with book one, Tegon Maus did a great job of keeping me guessing what was really going on right to the very end. I look forward to finding out what book 3 has in store!”-Nick Stead, Author ‘Hybrid’
My Thoughts on Wishing Stone by Tegon Maus
‘The Wishing Stone’ is the 4th book I have read by Tegon Maus. In my opinion is is tied for his best with his book ‘Bob’. It has his trademark quirky characters and humor in spades! We get to know Ben and his brother in-law, Roger so much more than we did in book 1. We find out much more about the condition Ben has that makes electronic devices stop working and sometimes even explode, B.C.E.D. (Bio-Chemical Electrical Discharge). This is a really condition some people have and I have discovered that I am actually one of them! However, I have a very mild form. All battery operated watches stop working within a day or two of when I start wearing them. I use to think it was just the fairly cheap watches I bought but even when I wear expensive ones, they stop. I have found that I can only safely wear digital watches. It’s very frustrating but no where near as frustrating as the condition is for Ben!
Roger has put inhibitors on Ben to help counteract his condition but they no long help like they use to. It is with desperation for a cure or at least a way to better control it, that Ben finally agrees to go with Roger to a place that can better help him. He has never been away from Southern California before. Roger and Ben’s girlfriend, Audry, drive Ben to a facility out in New Mexico. They don’t dare fly, knowing that is possible for Ben’s condition to interfere with a plane. Once there, they are greeted by old kinds of odd people. When he is brought to where he is to sleep for the duration of his stay, it turns out to be an exact replica of his house, down to every last detail, including the dishes he left in his sink.
Two of the lab workers, Marcie and Digby befriend Ben and come to his quarters just about every morning and have breakfast with him. They are both very talkative but when he tries to find out what the facility is and does, they just ignore him and keep on chattering. He can’t get straight answers from anyone, including Roger, who it turns out runs a secret lab on the campus and is well known by everyone who works there.
I could go on and on however, I risk giving away spoilers if I did. As I read on, I like Ben was in the dark and had the same questions he did. I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out! What is this place for? What is in Roger’s secret lab for and why has he really brought Ben there? Ben is only suppose to be there for 4 days but that time slips by quickly and he is still there.
I enjoyed Book 1 of ‘The Eve Project’, ‘The Machines of the Little People’ however, as often happens with book 1 in a series, it was slow to start while it introduced the character, etc. However, book 2, ‘The Wishing Stone’ takes of like a rocket and I feel the G-force all the way through! It is a great character study but with action. This book has it all. I recommend it for those who love science fiction but I also think those who enjoy dystopian and even literary fiction, like myself, will love this book! I can hardly wait for book 3!
I received this ebook for my honest review.
5/5, it really can’t get much better than this!
About Tegon Maus
Tegon Maus was raised pretty much the same as everyone else… devoted mother, strict father and all the imaginary friends he could conjure. Not that he wasn’t friendly, he just wasn’t “people orientated”. Maybe he lived in his head way more than he should have, maybe not. He liked machines more than people, at least he did until I met his wife.
The first thing he can remember writing was for her. For the life of him he can’t remember what it was about… something about dust bunnies under the bed and monsters in my closet. It must have been pretty good because she married him shortly after that. He spent a good number of years chasing other dreams before he got back to writing.
It wasn’t a deliberate conscious thought, it was more of a stepping stone. His wife and himself had joined a dream interpret group and we were encouraged to write down our dreams as they occurred. “Be as detailed as you can,” we were told.
He was thrilled. If there is one thing he enjoys it’s making people believe him and he likes to exaggerate. Not a big exaggeration or an outright lie mind you, just a little step out of sync, just enough so you couldn’t be sure if it were true or not. When he writes, he always write with the effort of “it could happen” very much in mind and nothing, he guarantees you, nothing, makes him happier.
He has consistently placed in the top 3 in 189 writing contest in a variety of genres and has been featured in magazines a couple of times to raise money for Saint Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Note: The Wishing Stone is currently on sale for only $0.99. Take my word for it, that is a steal! The sale ends the end of March, so go grab it!
Giveaway of The Wishing Stone by Tegon Maus
This giveaway is for the ebook and is open worldwide. It ends on March 19, 2016 at 12 am pacific time. If you buy the book and then find out you have won it, we will gladly send it to the friend of your choice! Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
1906: A Novel By James Dalessandro
Thanks to Tiffani Gibson of Meryl Moss Media, I’m giving away one print copy of Beauty, Beast, And Belladona by Maia Chance.
