This is the blog of Samie Sands, author of Lockdown. There will be many great books and projects reviewed here. For more, check out thelockdown.co.uk.

Monday 22 December 2014

Pool of Echoes by David G. Allen

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In this Inspirational Thriller, Nothing Is Certain But The Truth.

Jordan Mitchfield is heir to a media empire worth billions. He also sees and hears things that aren’t there. Then someone close puts him in an insane asylum against his will. 

When it looks like there is no way out but to take his own life, he is stopped. Is it a vision? Is what he’s seeing actually real? Is it even part of this dimension? Whatever it is, it opens his cell door and throws him into a dangerous time-travel adventure through his memories. As he goes deeper into the Pool of Echoes, he is forced to confront everything he has ever known, reconstruct his own mental health, and play a role in something much larger than himself.
Fans of Contemporary Science fiction, Action, Espionage, Christian fiction, and Fantasy with a Psychological edge will dive through each exciting moment. 
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Leaving hometown and innocence behind, David traveled to distant lands by Ship, by Sky, and by Mind. He returned with dangerous ideas, strange powder that explodes, and broken hearts (some parts of others' got mixed in with his own). He keeps most of it locked in a wooden chest preserved with tar and strengthened with iron bands and padlocks. The people in his village give him strange looks - travel has been both kind and cruel to the social outsider. When he returned to fight in the Great War, he found that up until then he was a puppet in a diabolical plan to defeat true justice. Now a double agent - he travels to multiple dimensions, foreign lands, and other worlds using wits, fists, and technological gadgets to collapse the Overlord's organization from within. Oh, and lasers - don't forget about the lasers. David is a believer in the Christian faith, which often acts as a guide in determining which tales are worth telling. If you or anyone you know has ever questioned their own self worth, get on board this life-changing thrill-ride. You will never be the same.
Review: Pool of Echoes is a fast-paced thriller filled with amazingly complex characters who drag you into their world and don't want to let you go. Once I started to read this book, I couldn't put it down. David G. Allen has an amazing way with words and I can't wait to read more of his work.

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Competition Time


Goodreads Book Giveaway

Monster Attack by Samie Sands

Monster Attack

by Samie Sands

Giveaway ends January 04, 2015.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

Great Holiday Gift Idea

To Parts Unknown by John Anthony Miller
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London, January 1942. London Times war correspondent, George Adams, is a tortured soul, devastated by his wife's death and rejected by all branches of the military. Destroyed by events he couldn't control, he can't face the future and won't forget the past. His editor sends him to Singapore, a city threatened by the Japanese, hoping the exotic location and impending crisis will erase his haunting memories. Within minutes of his arrival, George is caught in a near-fatal air raid that triggers a chain of conflict and catastrophes. Injured and sheltered underground, he meets Thomas Montclair, a crafty French spy, and Lady Jane Carrington Smythe, an English aristocrat, who are destined to share his adventures. When a Japanese general is murdered, Lady Jane becomes the prime suspect. The trio flees the enemy and their own troubled pasts, confronting personal demons as well as the Japanese. They chase their dreams and elude their nightmares, evading a manhunt that spans the islands of the southwest Pacific, their lives wrapped in a swirling kaleidoscope of death, doubt, and desire.
Review: To Parts Unknown is written in such a complex, descriptive way that it leaves the reader feeling like they are actually involved in the action that is rife through the pages. John Anthony Miller brings these believeable, relatable character to life in a brilliant way. They are unlikely heroes that are forced to do things, which makes them that much more lovable. For fans of action, thrillers and even romance, this is the perfect gift for the holidays!

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Unleash the Undead Author Interviews: Kayleigh Edwards

ME
1. Can you please tell me a bit about yourself and your work?
My name's Kayleigh, I live in South Wales and I'm a writer/bluecoat at Pontins Brean Sands. In those sneaky spare hours I manage to get I write, and by day and night I entertain children and adults by doing all sorts.
 
2. Can you tell me about your story in Unleash the Undead?
Leather was inspired by my sister, although she has no idea that she was my inspiration. One day, whilst pondering how she and I would manage in a zombie apocalypse, I imagined her to be wearing a catsuit, and her justification for it (hard material, weather proof, etc)... and so... Leather was born.
 
3. How do you think you would survive the zombie apocalypse?
I would kill all the zombies in the brain. And I'd survive, obviously.
 
4. What are you currently working on?
I'm currently working on a story about an ethnographic researcher who accidentally stumbles into an upper-middle class family of cannibals. I'm also working on that 'pesky first novel'.
 
5. Where can people find out more about you?
I don't have a website yet, but do keep a blog at kayofthedead.wordpress.com. You can also reach me at ofthedead@hotmail.co.uk
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Tuesday 9 December 2014

Sheila Roberts Christmas Collection

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Two people are about to discover that when it comes to finding love, sometimes Christmas magic isn’t enough…sometimes it takes a pesky orange cat named Ambrose.
When a guy is in trouble, he starts making deals with his Creator…and Ambrose the cat is no exception. In danger of losing his ninth and final life, Ambrose makes a desperate plea to the universe.  He’ll do anything—anything!—if he can just survive and enjoy a nice long, final life. His prayer is answered when a stranger comes along and saves him—and now it looks like he has to hold up his end of the bargain.
The stranger turns out to be a firefighter named Zach, who’s in need of some serious romantic help. If Ambrose can just bring Zach together with Merilee, the nice lady who works at Pet Palace, it’s bound to earn him a healthy ninth life.  Unfortunately for Ambrose, his mission is a lot harder than he ever thought.  Merriliee is way too shy to make the first move on a ladies man like Zach, and Zach thinks he’s all wrong for a nice girl like Merrilee.  Now it’s going to take all of Ambrose’s feline wiles—and maybe even a good old fashioned Christmas miracle—to make them both realize that what they’re looking for is right in front of their eyes.
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At Christmas time, it seems as though a woman's work is never done. Trimming the tree, mailing the cards, schlepping to the mall, the endless wrapping - bah humbug! So this year, Joy and Laura and the rest of their knitting group decide to go on strike. If their husbands and families want a nice holiday filled with parties, decorations, and presents - well, they'll just have to do it themselves.
The boycott soon takes on a life of its own when a reporter picks up the story and more women join in. But as Christmas Day approaches, Joy, Laura, and their husbands confront larger issues in their marriages and discover that a little holiday magic is exactly what they need to come together.
 
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On a blustery afternoon, Kylie Gray wanders into an antique shop and buys an enchanting snow globe.  “There’s a story behind that snow globe,” the antique dealer tells her.  The original owner, he explains, was a German toymaker who lost his wife and son right before Christmas.  When the grieving widower received the handcrafted snow globe as a Christmas gift, he saw the image of a beautiful woman beneath the glass—a woman who would come into his life, mend his broken heart and bring him back to the world of the living.  For years, the snow globe has passed from generation to generation, somehow always landing in the hands of a person in special need of a Christmas miracle. 
Kiley could use a miracle herself.  This year, all she wants for Christmas is someone to love.  A hopeful shake leads her on an adventure that makes a believer out of her. When Kylie shares the story of the snow globe with her best friends—two women with problems of their own—they don’t believe it.  But they’re about to discover that at Christmastime, sometimes the impossible becomes possible and miracles really do come true.
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Sheila Roberts lives on a lake in the Pacific Northwest. She’s happily married and has three children. She’s been writing since 1989, but she did lots of things before settling in to her writing career, including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Her band days are over, but she still enjoys writing songs. Sheila's books are best sellers and often appear as Reader's Digest Condensed Books. Her novel "Angel Lane" was named one of Amazon's top ten romances in 2009. Her novel "On Strike for Christmas" was a Lifetime Network movie and her novel "The Nine Lives of Christmas" is now a Hallmark movie, scheduled to air November 8th.

When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or at conferences or hanging out with her girlfriends she can be found writing about those things near and dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate.
Review: There is nothing nicer than reading festive books in the Christmas period to get you in the mood, and these are brilliant for that! All three books look at very different people and the way the season affects them and the people around them. Christmas miracles are lovely to think about and Sheila Roberts creates them through her stories in very believable ways.

Friday 5 December 2014

Forty Days Without Shadow by Olivier Truc

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The international award-winning, bestselling phenomenon, now available in English for the first time. 

Tomorrow, the sun will rise for the first time in 40 days. Thirty minutes of daylight will herald the end of the polar night in Kautokeino, a small village in northern Norway, home to the indigenous Sami people. 

But in the last hours of darkness, a precious artifact is stolen: an ancient Sami drum. The most important piece in the museum's collection, it was due to go on tour with a UN exhibition in a few short weeks. 

Hours later, a man is murdered. Mattis, one of the last Sami reindeer herders, is found dead in his gumpy. 

Are the two crimes connected? In a town fraught with tension--between the indigenous Samis fighting to keep their culture alive, the ultra-Lutheran Scandinavian colonists concerned with propagati-ng their own religion, and the greedy geologists eager to mine the region's ore deposits--it falls to two local police officers to solve the crimes. Klemet Nango, an experienced Sami officer, and Nina Nansen, his much younger partner from the south of Norway, must find the perpetrators before it's too late...
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Olivier Truc was born in France in 1964. He has worked as a journalist since 1986, and has been based in Stockholm since 1994, where he is currently the Nordic and Baltic correspondent for Le Monde and Le Point. As a reporter, Olivier Truc covers subjects from politics and economics to social issues like immigration and minorities. He has also produced TV documentaries, including one that portrays a group of Norwegian policemen in Lapland ("The Reindeer Police," 2008). He has previously published two non-fiction books. Forty Days Without Shadowis his first novel, and was published in the original French by Éditions Métailié in September 2012.
Review: When I started to read Forty Days Without Shadow, I wasn't entirely sure how much I was going to enjoy the Artic thriller, but I was absolutely blown away! Olivier Truc clearly has knowledge of the Arctic because the way he described it made me feel like I was actually there. The story line became more gripping, the deeper and more involved it became and before long I couldn't put it down - I was absolutely desperate to find out what happened! Now that I've finished it, I already want to read it again!

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Monster Attack Author Interview: Cecilia H.Doldan

CeciliaHDoldan
I was born during the Argentinian dictatorship in 1977, in the city of Buenos Aires. My parents were both the children of immigrants who emigrated to Argentina during and after WW2. My education was focused in Humanities, I´m fluent in 5 Languages and studied Philosophy and Journalism. I have worked as a teacher, translator and English interpreter. As a journalist I’ve written articles for publications all over the World, from Planeta Urbano (www.epu21.com) to Trax (www.magazinetrax.com), starting at legendary heavy metal magazine from Argentina Madhouse when I was only 16; Italian Soul fanzines such as La Pelle Nera, Interactive DVD magazines like GAZ mag or the prestigious FACT magazine in the UK (http://www.factmag.com/). I have worked as an Editor at Danceworld Magazine, Ediciones Dorsitel (now subsidiary of Editorial Planeta) and Vice magazine. I have interviewed artists as diverse as the Chemical Brothers, Jeff Mills or Ryuichi Sakamoto and organized press conferences for Hip Hop legends such as Grandmaster Flash, Q-Bert or Rob Swift.
I have produced art exhibitions in collaboration with Exposed (http://www.exposed.co.uk), Levi’s Antidote, the project 24 London (http://www.24london.info) and Shoot Experience (http://www.shootexperience.com) a joint effort with London’s Tate National Gallery.
I have also worked as Press Manager for several venues in Barcelona, among them City Hall, Otto Zutz, Le Kashbah, Club Catwalk, Danzatoria, Sidecar, RAUM, and Bugged Out! At the Razzmatazz. Eventually I became artistic curator of many such venues and booked both the DJs and Live acts that performed in them. I have been doing this until today through my own company La Rèsistance.
For the past 5 years I have devoted myself to writing, from articles in popular newspapers and magazines to all sorts of copywriting and ghost writing. However, I still promote events, book artists and write my own poetry, which is featured in my blog www.ladyastorteaparty.blogspot.com
I´m now looking forward to publishing my bilingual poetry anthology.
Monster ebook 

Monday 1 December 2014

75+ College Tips by Melissa 'The Great'

75+
Blurb: This is an informative book for a college freshman, taken from personal experience, and written with a little bit of humor mixed in. It also includes a few extra tips like party recipes and tailgating.
About the Author: Melissa 'the Great' was born in upstate New York, but grew up in the south. She studied theatre and drinking at a very prominent University. She thanks her parents for her motto to live life to the fullest. She derives her comedy from observing herself through key moments in life and people watching. She calls herself Melissa 'the Great' because, well, she's great!
Review: This book is as funny as it is useful! The author is uses her own experiences to help others about to go to college, and the more you read, the more equipped you feel. I have never laughed so much reading a non-fiction book.

Monster Attack Author Interviews: M.J. Hamblin

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Can you please tell me a little bit about yourself and your work?
I’m a freelance writer and video producer… I guess. I just left an utterly unfulfilling job making sandwiches in order to make use of an above average affinity for written English and a piece of paper alleging I have a degree in Film and Television Production.
I’m trying a lot of different stuff, writing and video wise, I can’t quite judge if any of it is working yet.
Can you please describe your story in Monster Attack?
Jacob is running drugs for the mob with a bleeding stump of a pinky finger and a head full of Clint Eastwood quotes. In a bid to hide from the law he takes an abandoned back road through an untouched forest. A fateful encounter with a buck elk leaves him stranded in the woods with his drug addled wits and a .357 magnum. Limping through the night he feels the forest closing in around him. Is it the drugs, the paranoia or the forest itself that’s making his blood run cold?
It’s a psychological tale with creepy imagery and a questionably reliable narrator.
How do you think you think you would fare against the monster featured in your story?
To be honest, not well. The thing about Horn Face and its siblings is that you’d normally have no good reason to expect to defend yourself against him. Even when you step deep into the forest and you’re all alone and feeling the woods closing in you are terrified but you’re not steeling yourself against a 9ft tall eldritch abomination. You’ll tell yourself you’re paranoid, that its all a trick of the light. You should trust your instinct to flee. Despite having dreamt them up my shock at these disgusting creatures hunting me down in the night would give them the brief chance they needed. I’d spend the rest of eternity rotting in some dank, wild forest.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on some factual articles for Cracked.com and continuing to add to my YouTube channel after finishing a month of daily 60 Second horror reviews. By the New Year I’m debuting a new show Whats the Worst you Got? where I hunt down the worst films the internet has to offer and its more positive counterpart Why Aren’t you Watching..?
At some point I’ll also be finishing my NaNoWriMo, which is nowhere near 50,000 words, A Very English Zombie Invasion. Six months after the dead have wiped out most of England a quaint little village wages a cold war against their zombie neighbours across the river. It’s a powder keg; neither side can survive while the other “lives”.
Where can people find out more about you?
I pimp YouTube videos, writing opportunities and video production tips and sundry ramblings of my own at https://twitter.com/MJGHamblin
I review the good and bad of cult film, try to launch the odd meme and operate the 2nd most popular The Walking Dead themed choose your own adventure game (of the two that exist),The Sensible Dead, at https://www.youtube.com/user/HiringHamblin
Monster ebook 

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