Book Review: Struck by Clarissa Johal

Struck
by Clarissa Johal
Publisher: Musa Publishing
255 pages

January 15, 2015

The shadows hadn't been waiting. The shadows had been invited.

After a painful breakup, Gwynneth Reese moves in with her best friend and takes a job at a retirement home. She grows especially close to one resident, who dies alone the night of a terrific storm. On the way home from paying her last respects, Gwynneth is caught in another storm and is struck by lightning. She wakes in the hospital with a vague memory of being rescued by a mysterious stranger. Following her release from the hospital, the stranger visits her at will and offers Gwynneth a gift--one that will stay the hands of death. Gwynneth is uncertain whether Julian is a savior or something more sinister... for as he shares more and more of this gift, his price becomes more and more deadly.

An elderly lady that Gwynneth Reese had become friends with at the retirement home she worked at, passes away, and she goes to say her farewell at the funeral home. It was when she left it to head home that she is struck by lightening. 

Found later at the funeral home in only her underwear, she is taken to the hospital. There is a strange mark on her back and she remembers dimly being rescued by a stranger. But when she is released and back at the home she shares with her best friend, Seth, the stranger visits her, along with some terrifying shadowy creatures. The stranger is called Julian and tells her she must gives something of herself to him, in payment for the gift of stopping death. At first she thinks maybe it is all right, but more and more, she begins to wonder what Julian really is, as he and his shadows threaten not only her, but Seth and her other friends.

Darkly entertaining, Ms. Johal grabs you by the throat with this tale, and I suggest keeping the light on.

I give Struck 4 "demon" sheep 

By Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:
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Clarissa Johal has worked as a veterinary assistant, zoo-keeper aide and vegetarian chef. Writing has always been her passion. When she’s not listening to the ghosts in her head, she’s dancing or taking photographs of gargoyles. She shares her life with her husband, two daughters and every stray animal that darkens the doorstep. One day, she expects that a wayward troll will wander into her yard, but that hasn’t happened yet.

Book Review: Mermaid by Kate O’Connor

Mermaid
by Kate O'Connor
ebook
Published March 22nd 2013

by Musa Publishing 

How far would you go for freedom?

Harvesting seaweed for World Food Co. is the only life genetically engineered sea drone Coral has ever known. Nothing in her short, monotonous life prepared her for a chance meeting with a boatful of strangers who force her to question everything she is. When the opportunity arises to change her place in the world, Coral finds herself caught between a powerful company and the family she was so desperate to leave. Struggling to unravel the tangle of politics and love, time is running out as she fights to learn the hardest lesson of all – what it means to be truly human.

Corey, the main character became curious about humans the day she saved two from drowning. Even though Corey wasn't human, she felt she was not that much different from them but they were free where she was not. She was being forced to perform the mundane job of harvesting seaweed. Corey felt she was better than that. She had a brain and wanted to show she could use it but no one would listen. So, she set out to find answers and to try and fit into the human world, but not without a cost.

The book although slightly altered started out very similar to the Little Mermaid. Once you were able to get past that, the story really developed into its own and became enjoyable. The new twist in an otherwise familiar story made me want to know more. It did, however, leave out certain details about what they were harvesting seaweed for or what happens to them when they die. There was a great deal of emphasis around both but with no explanations. In the end it seemed to be fine because it did not really matter why, however they were so human like it did make you curious.

As for the romance, I can’t say it was similar to the Little Mermaid. In fact I am not sure I can even call it a romance. Without giving it away, it was more of a crush. Maybe even a first time crush. It was cute but hardly what I would consider a romance.

Even though it was similar to little mermaid which caused for a slow start. I still gave it 4 sheep because once it did change into its own story it became a fun easy read. All in all this was a decent book that I think young adults would enjoy

4 Mermaid Sheep

Guest Reviewer: TammyK

About the Author:

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Kate O’Connor was born in Virginia in 1982. She graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott in 2009 and now lives (and occasionally works) in the New York area.

Kate has been writing science fiction and fantasy since 2011. In between telling stories, she flies airplanes, digs up artifacts, and manages a kennel full of Airedales.

Musa Publishing releases

I wanted to share with you some titles I found over at Musa Publishing. A couple of them I have gotten for review.
This one caught my eye immediately, cause it has Gnomes, mean nasty ones...

Suburban Gnome Invasion

$1.99

Word Count: 8000

Author: Julie Jansen

ISBN: 978-1-61937-196-5

When a gnome family takes up residence under a house in a suburban neighborhood, a human family realizes the creatures aren’t your normal garden variety. They’re a new breed, a mutated invasive species infiltrating North America. The animals are worse than rats, bats, possums, or raccoons. They’re extremely territorial and skilled with bows and poison arrows. When an unemployed dad is tasked with ridding his house of the nasty little pests he realizes he’s got his work cut out for him. The chore proves one that endangers not only his property value, but the lives of his family.

This one sounds like a blast to read. I got a review copy :)

The Wrong Sword Book 1

$4.99

Word Count: 90000

Author: Ted Mendelssohn

Heat Level: 1

ISBN: 978-1-61937-195-8

Genre Epic Fantasy

For a thousand years, Excalibur has been the sword of heroes. Unfortunately, its new owner isn’t one.

Ever since he arrived in Paris, Henry the Rat has made a pretty good living selling“magic” swords to gullible knights. But when Henry sells one to Geoffrey Plantagenet, brother to King Richard, his happy days are over for good. Geoffrey forces Henry into a dangerous, uncomfortable quest for the most famous magic sword of all time, Excalibur, even though Henry is certain that it’s just a myth.

Then Henry actually finds Excalibur - and his troubles really start: For Excalibur is not just the sword of heroes…it’s also the sword that won’t SHUT UP. It communicates with its owner, it knows what kind of owner it deserves, and Henry doesn’t even come close.

To keep Excalibur and the world safe from the appalling Geoffrey, Henry will have to masquerade as a knight, crash a royal wedding, rescue a princess, break a siege, penetrate the secrets of the Perilous Brotherhood, and find Excalibur’s rightful bearer, all while trying to reach an accommodation with a snotty, aristocratic hunk of steel that mocks him, takes over his body, and keeps trying to turn him into the one thing he hates most…a hero.

If you love Gini Koch, she writes for Musa under the name Anita Ensal.

The Neighborhood 2: Being Neighborly

$1.99

Word Count: 5500

Author: Anita Ensal

ISBN: 978-1-61937-204-7

When Little Mams and Junior suspect there’s trouble brewing in the big city, Big Mams, armed with an old iron skillet, comes to investigate.

When their neighbors are disappearing and acting strangely, Junior and Little Mams know it’s time to call in for reinforcements—Big Mams.

Things aren’t usually what they appear to be for anyone from The Neighborhood, and the neighborhood where her daughter and son-in-law are living in the “big city” is harboring something very nasty. But Big Mams didn’t come to visit alone…and she won’t be going home alone, either.

I also got this one for review- one of the characters is named Sharon <G>

The Druid

$2.99

Word Count: 17200

Author: S.G. Rogers

Heat Level: 1

ISBN: 978-1-61937-179-8

Genre Spec Fic, fantasy

An adventurous woman meets a romantic hero from the pages of a book, bigger than life and twice as Elvish.

Kidnapped from Earth and abandoned in Asgard of Norse mythology, Dani Avery must fight to return home. When she stumbles upon a band of outlaws, Prince Rein agrees to take her to the Rainbow Bridge personally. Although Dani is attracted to the handsome elf, his only interest seems to be in separating her from the magical sword and shield at her side. In Asgard City, rules, regulations and bureaucrats stymie Dani’s quest. Increasingly frustrated and desperate, she seeks help among powerful immortals. Unfortunately, Dani becomes ensnared in a devious trap that may leave her stranded and alone in Asgard forever.

3 Star Rating Event - authors and publishers speak out

This is day two of the 3 star rating event (you can find day one post here) and we have authors Dani Harper and Sean Cummings and editors/publishers Amanda (Strange Chemistry), Patrick (Sea Lion Books) and Dominique (Musa Publishing).
They have some interesting things to say and give some insight to the other side of the reviewing coin .

Dani Harper
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I confess, that my initial reaction to a 3-star rating is not a happy one. My inner critic cackles in my brain, “There, you see? I told you that you can’t write worth a darn – they didn’t like it!” But after applying some emergency chocolate, I get in touch with my more sensible side. The side that checks out what a 3-star rating means to that particular blogger. It’s a perfectly good rating on many sites! It makes me recall some teachers I used to have in public school. Mrs. Joiner was generous with A’s. Mrs. Sydenham seldom EVER gave out A’s. It meant different things to each of them. So I consider the source first.

The second thing I consider is personal taste. We are all individuals. What one person raves about, the next person may completely hate. I have several friends who recommend books to me. Often I really like the book too. But sometimes I wonder what on earth my friend possibly saw in it. Different tastes. Bloggers have different tastes too.

The third thing I do when I get a 3-star rating is read the review very carefully. What is the reviewer saying and is it possible that they’re right? Could I have improved the pacing? Did I put in too much backstory? Maybe yes, maybe no. But I definitely think about what the reviewer is saying in case I can learn something that will help a future book be that much better. And I appreciate that the blogger took the time and made the effort to review my work -- it's a job I'm not sure I could do.

I think my only concern about a 3-star rating is what it means to a possible new reader. Do they think my story is sub-par because it’s not a 4 or a 5? Do they pay much attention to ratings at all? I don’t know the answer to that one. All I can do is try to improve my craft and make each book the best it can be.

Sean Cummings

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"I'm not overly concerned about three star reviews because the review process is entirely subjective - I've got 5 star reviews of my books and 1 star reviews. Big deal. That said, refusing to offer ARC's to bloggers who give out three star reviews is publishers trying to game the rating system, particularly if that review is on a book buying website like the one that starts with the letter A. I understand that a lot of this has to do with how a book places in comparison with other titles and it's probable there's a business reason for doing it, but it's dumb, dumb, dumb. The only people really talking about books these days are book bloggers - they're passionate about books and they're an integral part of book promotion. Publishers need to remember that bloggers do what they do because of that passion - they could easily stop - or worse, organize via social media to decry the policy... no wait, that's happening right now, isn't it?"

Poltergeeks (from Strange Chemistry) (coming Oct. 2, 2012)

Amanda at Strange Chemistry
editor
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Strange Chemistry is a global imprint dedicated to the best in modern young adult science fiction, fantasy and everything in between.
My name is Amanda and I am the editor of Strange Chemistry, the YA imprint of Angry Robot Books. Before taking on this job I used to review books on a personal blog. In my opinion, a 3 star review is letting a reader know that a book is straight down the line - it has good points, but isn't magificent. It has bad points, but isn't worth avoiding. I can see that some people would find a 3 star review rather negative, but for me this is where a novel starts out from when a reader turns the first page. The extra stars have to be earned by a certain quality of writing or plot; the novel can lose stars if it becomes derivative or lacks that writing quality. I can safely say that no blogger would be ostracised for giving a Strange Chemistry novel a 3 star review - in all honesty I will just be grateful that people are talking about the books and caring enough to review them!

Patrick at Sea Lion Books
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Sea Lion Books is a publishing house dedicated to bringing readers new stories by some of the biggest names in publishing and entertainment, while re-imagining some of their classic works in visual format.
“Personally, when a blogger rates one of our titles with a 3 star, to me it means they believe it’s a very good book, but it simply isn’t their cup of tea. There’s a high probability they will not want to read the second book of that series. As a publisher, I’ll always kindly offer the second book in the series to them in the hopes they might discover it was their cup of tea after all. In conclusion, a 3 is a good and respectable rating.”

Dominique at Musa Publishing
Director of Promotions

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At Musa Publishing the story comes first. First, foremost and always Musa Publishing is focused upon the satisfaction of the reader, the growth and success of the writer, and the quality of the product.

"It amazing how quickly a 3 star rating has received a bad rap. To me a 3 star means that the reviewer liked it, they enjoyed the story and felt like they didn't waste their time reading it. Perhaps the three star is because there were technical errors that distracted the reviewer or perhaps the story just didn't resonate with that one person. Every book can't be on the scale of Pride and Prejudice for every person. For that matter P and P for me is a 5 it's what I hope one day to achieve but many people don't love the book and would give it a three. Does that make my love of the book any less? No. Am I curious to read why it got a three? Heck ya. I tend to read the three reviews more then the others. And I tend to believe reviews more on places like Amazon where it isn't all 5 star reviews, because it tells me people who don't know the author left some reviews too.

Am I hoping to get the big 4 or 5 reviews of course I am, but I am happy when a three comes in. What I think a lot of people don't get is the huge chasm between a 2.5 and a 3. To me I find a 3 closer in review to a 5 then I do its neighbor the 2.5. In a three the reviewer is saying look I enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to people who like the genre. That is a win in my book."

I would like to thank our guests for giving taking the time to give us their views. And thanks to Bitten By Paranormal Romance for organizing things. Be sure to check out what different authors and publishers said on the other blogs participating in this event.

Sheep Review: The Neighborhood 1: Contingency Plan by Anita Ensal (AKA Gini Koch)

The Neighborhood 1: Contingency Plan

Word Count: 8590

Author: Anita Ensal
Musa Publishing

A desperate mother is offered an unusual opportunity by an even more unusual person -- but should she take the offer or go with her contingency plan?

Sharon’s running out of time and money. She’s got a plan for how to save herself and her two children after their deadbeat dad and the rest of their family have deserted them. But what will her contingency plan do to her soul and the souls of her children?

Mr. Mann carries burdens most couldn’t—the visible, odd arrangement of connected boxes on his back, and the hidden guilt for deeds done long, long ago. The end may be in sight, but not a happy one if Sharon chooses the wrong path.

Someone’s contingency plan will be put into effect, but whether it leads to a happily ever after or dark despair will require intricate maneuverings by the white witches of the Neighborhood. But even they can’t stop a good woman from going wrong.

Gini Koch wrote this hope-filled fairy tale under the pen name of Anita Ensal for Musa Publishing. I was thrilled to review it because the main character is named Sharon, after me. (Okay, that is a big fat lie, but I can pretend. It is a fairy tale after all ;) Did you ever wonder what happens to the villain after a fairy tale ends? This story explores that question, but I can’t tell you which fairy tale the author expands upon because that would be a spoiler.

Sharon (me! remember I can pretend because it is my review) has hit rock bottom and is about to make a decision that will ruin her life as well as the lives of her children. But Sharon meets an unusual man whose fate is connected to hers. She is shown a world of magic and possibilities as well as learning of her own hidden special ability. I love the touching way this story is told and how the author gets the readers invested in the characters in the brief time allotted in a short story.

While this is an original twist and a good story, I do feel that short stories should be in sold in collections rather than separately, but that is just my opinion. I hope there will be more stories in The Neighborhood.

you can buy a copy of Contigency Plan on Musa's Website

and amazon.com

3.5 Sheep

SS (edited by BAK)

http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/

At Musa Publishing the story comes first. First, foremost and always Musa Publishing is focused upon the satisfaction of the reader, the growth and success of the writer, and the quality of the product.

Grand opening for Musa Publishing

I Smell Sheep wants to welcome Musa Publishing. 

Congratulations on your launch!

Check out what they have to offer. Sheep friend Gini Koch is releasing a Sci-Fi with Musa.

Ebooks,Penumbra eMag, and so much More

Musa Publishing Opens its Electronic Doors

After months of editing, designing, contracting, and formatting Musa Publishing launches on October 1, 2011. The E-publisher opens with a large catalogue including Penumbra Speculative Fiction eMag, new works by three bestselling authors, and the full backlist of Aurora Regency, featuring traditional Regency romances and historical fiction.

Penumbra eMag 

Penumbra's inaugural issue is a collection of speculative fiction stories that encompass the arts--the arts we love and revere. Some of these stories deal with the arts we're familiar with. Some create arts we haven't thought of and some resurrect arts buried in the depths of the past.  And yet, all of these offerings celebrate the creative process, which makes them a fitting theme to launch Penumbra--an enterprise that will showcase the creative work of speculative fiction authors each month with a new collection of works within the genre.

New Works by

Gini Koch

The Martian Alliance 1: The Royal Scam

Things aren’t what they seem to be when Princess Olivia of Andromeda jumps aboard a spaceship to escape a loveless marriage.

Join the crew of the Hummingbird as they take on the rich, famous and sleazy of the galaxy. They're also on a long-term secret mission, so it's a good thing they're the best con artists, spacers, and roughnecks in the Milky Way, because they need all their skills to pull off this particular Royal Scam.

Cindi Myers

West with the Wind

More than gold awaits two lovers at the end of the trail.

Mariah Tate and her dog, Worthy, persuade veteran guide Campbell Jefferson to let them join his expedition headed to California. Camp can't say no to the beautiful widow, but his need to protect her soon clashes with her need to keep secrets. Mariah left more than bad memories behind in Pennsylvania and her growing attraction to the stoic but surprisingly sensitive Camp forces her to face up to the consequences of the choices she's made. Camp doesn't know what Mariah's hiding, but he's determined not to let the only woman who ever made him want to settle down get away. He pursues her across the prairies, through stampedes, Indian raids, desert drought and mountain snows. In the gold camps of California, Camp will discover Mariah's secret, and prove the love she wants most isn't out of reach.

And the return to writing after five years for USA Today Bestselling Author

Sharon De Vita

The Estrogen Posse

"The Estrogen Posse is a hoot! I laughed, I cried, I couldn't put it down! For every woman who needs a pick me up, this is the book for you!"
Janet Evanovich, NYT bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum mystery series

Once upon a time Ellie Briotti had a quiet life as a suburban housewife.

Until…she confronts her wealthy husband Nicky about doing the pecker polka with another woman, and Nicky tosses Ellie out of his life like some misbehaved household pet.

Until…Gram Crackers, her dotty mother begins passing out house keys to homeless bums.

Until…Joey, her eleven-year old son starts on a new career path: breaking and entering.

Until…Rina, her best friend, a single, successful, entrepreneur learns she's about to become a mother.

Until…Candi, Nicky's 22-year-old mistress turns up murdered with traces of furniture polish on her bare backside!

A rip-roaring ribald mystery about a woman’s journey to discover what she really wants in life. Now, if Ellie can keep her son from becoming a second-story man, while trying to hide everything from the gorgeous cop who’s started sniffing around, Ellie might be able to get a new life.

That is—if she doesn’t go to jail for murder first!

Aurora Regency

Musa has acquired Aurora Regency and Aurora Regency Historicals. Within the next month over forty books in this line will be available to Regency and Historical Romance buffs to enjoy.

Stop by www.MusaPublishing.com check out the books already for sale as well as those coming soon. Over the next few weeks, Musa will offer literature geared for every reader's tastes. Musa aims to offer well writing, interesting stories, all at a price that doesn’t bite into your check book.

“Hearts set upon song, spirits free from care”~ Hesiod

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If you'd like more information about Musa Publishing, please contact Elspeth McClanahan at Promotions@Musapublishing.com or go to our blog http://musapublishing.blogspot.com/

Sheep Book Review: 'Gini Koch' Royal Scam... count me in!

Gini Koch has done it again! This teaser for her new series, Martian Alliance, was brilliant! As soon as I read the first page, I was hooked. So many stories revolve around the vampire/shape-shifter scene, so Gini has really brought us a breath of fresh air with her creativity. I have been a huge fan of Gini's since her first book, and this teaser just goes to show what amazing taste I have when it comes to authors. Lol.

Royal Scam, the first teaser for the series, grabbed me in the first scene with a princess escaping her ugly suitor (love!) and it never let go. This was followed by a daring skirmish between spaceships, a love I'm dying to know more about, characters with a real twist and witty action that left me craving more! If the book is as good as the teaser, it's going to be sensational! Bravo Ms. Koch!

To purchase your copy of Royal Scam click on the Musa Publishing link here.

4.5 Sheep

AC