Monday Morning Musings

I'm happy to be part of a cover reveal for Laura Eno's upcoming book Jewel of Shaylar. This is a terrific cover and proves once again the importance of a truly great cover.

Here is a bit about the book:

 

Archaeologist David Alexander investigates the cave where his father disappeared and hurtles into another world, one filled with magic and bizarre creatures. The mad ravings in his father's journals of icemen and dragons may not be fantasies after all.

Convinced his father may still be alive, David begins a treacherous journey to find him and discover a way home. Along the way, he encounters a few unlikely friends. A Dreean warrior, a beautiful thief and a satyr join him as he searches.

 

David's arrival into this new world sets off an explosive chain reaction of events. Faced with powerful adversaries and few clues, he may not get the chance to rescue his father before disaster strikes, condemning both of them to death. Or worse.

 

 

 Find Laura on: Website - Blog - Facebook - Twitter - Goodreads

 

In Oscar news, "Argo" won best picture and Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Oscar for best-actor for his performance as Abraham Lincoln in  "Lincoln." The award for best actress went to Jennifer Lawrence for her performance as a young widower in "Silver Linings Playbook." Anne Hathaway won the supporting-actress Oscar win as a doomed mother-turned-prostitute in the musical "Les Miserables."

Christoph Waltz won his second supporting-actor Oscar  a genteel bounty hunter in "Django Unchained." Tarantino also won his second Oscar, for original screenplay for "Django."

In a big surprise Taiwanese director Ang Lee won the best-director trophy, when many people expected it to go to Steven Spielberg  for "Lincoln." Another neat surprise was when Michelle Obama appeared to be one of the presenters for the best-picture award.

Normally I try to see most of the films nominated for awards, but this year I was not able to. Looking forward to seeing them on DVD in the future. What about you? Did you see them? Agree with the awards?

Ooops, I Goofed

On Monday I was supposed to put up a post about a terrific new cover for  Solomon's Compass by Carol Kilgore. It was part of a fun "cover reveal" that had a number of bloggers sharing her excitement over this awesome cover. My apologies, Carol, and even though it is a bit late, I did want to share your cover and your new release with my readers.

The quality of a book cover is important for drawing attention, and this one certainly does its job. Carol said in her e-mail that she and the cover artist worked a long time to get this just right, and I would say the work paid off.

Even though I love the cover, I wasn't sure I was going to buy this book until I read the short synopsis:

A missing belt—her uncle’s prized possession. The lure of buried treasure. And a sexy former SEAL who makes U.S. Coast Guard Commander Taylor Campbell crazy. What more could any woman want. Right?

Taylor is on a quest to unearth her uncle’s buried treasure—a journey so far out of the realm of her real life she can barely fathom it. There’s one other minor glitch. Taylor's certain the buried treasure was all in Uncle Randy's dementia-riddled mind. Now he’s dead.

All the same, Taylor is in Rock Harbor, Texas, to settle her uncle's estate, including following his directions to the treasure—even if doing so means trespassing. When someone tries to kill her, Taylor's quest becomes personal. She tosses Randy's official cause of death—Drowning Due to Accident—out the window and starts looking at his Rock Harbor acquaintances. Could Randy's treasure be real?

Jake Solomon is in Rock Harbor under false pretenses. He loathes the charade, but if he doesn't follow the plan, his dad will make Jake's SEAL training feel like a day on the monkey bars in kindergarten.

The plan is to protect Taylor Campbell from the fate that befell her uncle and the other members of a tight circle of Coast Guardsmen called the Compass Points who served together on Point boats in Vietnam.

Due to the danger involved, Jake’s dad has ordered him not to become involved with Taylor. Disobeying his father was Jake’s first mistake.

Taylor is attracted to Jake as well, but she refuses to wait for Jake to locate the killer when she knows her plan will force her uncle’s murderer into action.

But the killer's actions are just what Jake is afraid of.

Okay, I'm hooked. I can't wait for the book to be available. What about you? Does this sound like a story you would like to read?

Carol Kilgore is an award-winning author of several published short stories and many essays and articles. Solomon’s Compass is her second novel, a blend of mystery, suspense, and romance she calls Crime Fiction with a Kiss – always at least one crime; always a love story. Carol and her Coast Guard husband live in San Antonio, Texas, with two herding dogs that like nothing better than pack time on the patio.

You can find Carol here:

website . blog . facebook . twitter . goodreads . amazon