SS: Interview with Jamie Quaid + Giveaway!

Today I am super happy to have author Jamie Quaid by my side. Her Saturn’s Daughter series rocked my world and I’m glad that she accepted to join us to celebrate the release of the second book, Damn Him to Hell! Make sure to stick around for a giveaway at the end!
----------------------

1- I really like the first novel in the series, Boyfriend From Hell, and I'm sure everyone would like to know if the second installment, Damn Him to Hell will be just as funny and action-packed?

Thank you, kindly! I’d like to believe it’s funny and action-packed-- I certainly notch the action up another level. But humor is in the eye of the beholder, so unless you know you like frog humor, you’ll have to answer that one for me after you read it.

2- How would you describe the main characters to someone who's unfortunate enough to not have read the first book?

Does bizarre, insane, lusty, and concerned cover it? <G> Tina—she of the weird Saturnian abilities— is obsessed with justice, and not precisely in the legal, rational manner of the lawyer she is. Then we have the invisible gay teenager, the snake-producing investigator, the handsome US Senator returned from hell, and Andre—the gorgeous but seriously freaky and paranoid Special Ops hunk. Just your usual chemically-polluted neighborhood.

3- You remained pretty hazy on the Gods mythology in BFH, will we finally learn more about it and Clancy's abilities?

Tina won’t come into her full abilities until her 28th year, so she’s still learning what she’s capable of and really starting to worry herself. She develops a few more serious quirks this time around (frogs are involved!), and reaches out to another Saturn’s daughter. The problem is that Saturn’s daughters are so busy staying alive that they really don’t have time to write down what they learn.  It takes time to research a mythology no one is telling them about—and granny still isn’t too helpful. But it’s looking like whole new dimensions are involved…literally.

Let me ask this of your readers…what would you like to see happen? Do you really want a god to step down out of heavens with a rule book? Or do you want the Daughters to be their own force?

4- Andre turned out to be one of my favorite characters, will we get to know him more in book 2?

Oh YEAH! Andre gets in way over his pretty head this time around, and we learn a little more about those dimensions I mentioned…  He’s just a bit more than an all-around, average guy.

5- The folks in The Zone are pretty weird, do you think they'd be the kind to celebrate the summer solstice?

They’re mostly a pretty cynical lot, and the solstice is about celebrating life, not hell—which kind of haunts our polluted neighborhood—but if you can show them a good reason to celebrate, they’re all over it. Can the gargoyles come, too?

6- Have you ever attended this kind of celebration yourself?

Let’s just say I’ve created my own bonfires a few times and not go into details, okay?

-----------------

Thank you so much Jamie for stopping by <3 It’s always such a pleasure to have you on board!

More about Damn Him to Hell:

Justice is blind. Justine isn’t. Book two in the Saturn's Daughter series, in which Tina Clancy is gifted with the power to dispense justice...for good or evil.

Tina Clancy is adapting to her new life as one of Saturn’s Daughters while living in the toxic part of Baltimore known as The Zone, and occasionally acting as a champion of the downtrodden, the weird, the innocent...and the sometimes not-so-innocent.

Just when she finally lands a real law job, the Zone is blasted by poisonous gas and her sometimes-boyfriend starts receiving visitors from Hell. He’s none too pleased about that, or in Tina having sent his granny to Hell in his place. For that matter, neither is granny…

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Previous books in the series:

Jamie is generously offering  2 copies of Damn Him to Hell to 2 lucky winners!

Open internationally

Fill the form to enter, ends July 5th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-------------------

“As a fan of urban fantasy and kick-ass heroines, I’ve often wondered why we’re drawn to fangs and fur when there are so many grim realities our heroines can conquer.  While pondering the possibilities of fighting evil in a real world, I created Justine Clancy, a woman who has fought the bullies of the world all her life, without realizing she was pre-destined to be an arbiter of justice—until she accidentally sends her lying boyfriend to hell. And the devil handsomely rewards her.

But along with power must come knowledge—and for Tina, that includes learning not only the difference between good and evil, but all the shades of gray in between. Because sending the wrong people to the Underworld could have grave consequences, literally. But not doing her job can hurt the people who have taken her in and accepted her. For the first time in her life, she has a home, but it’s going to require a whole lot of housecleaning to drive out the demons hiding there.”(source)

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Posted by Tynga at 06:57

 giveaway, Interview, Jamie Quaid, Simon Schuster, Supernatural Solstice  16 People left their mark

Damn Him to Hell by Jamie Quaid

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release date: June 25, 2013

Series: Saturn's Daughter #2

Source: Edelweiss

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Justice is blind. Justine isn’t. Book two in the Saturn's Daughter series, in which Tina Clancy is gifted with the power to dispense justice...for good or evil.

Tina Clancy is adapting to her new life as one of Saturn’s Daughters while living in the toxic part of Baltimore known as The Zone, and occasionally acting as a champion of the downtrodden, the weird, the innocent...and the sometimes not-so-innocent.

Just when she finally lands a real law job, the Zone is blasted by poisonous gas and her sometimes-boyfriend starts receiving visitors from Hell. He’s none too pleased about that, or in Tina having sent his granny to Hell in his place. For that matter, neither is granny…

Clancy finally managed to bring back her late boyfriend from hell but it didn’t quite go as planned. His soul his now in his evil cousin’s body and to say it complicates things is an understatement. Unfortunately, there are bigger problems to deal with. Acme, the chemical plant, released a green with pink sparkles gas onto the zone. Driving people to great violence followed by a coma, the gas, and its victims, is Clancy’s main concern. But how can one little lawyer shutdown a big company such as Acme?

I really liked Boyfriend from Hell, but I have to confess I have mixed feelings about this second instalment. Maybe it suffers from the ‘second-book-curse’? I’ll start with the elements I liked. First, I still like the world, and the ghetto that is the zone. It’s originality still commands attention and I enjoyed it. Also, the characters I came to love are still very much present and their sense of humour is as ironic as ever, kudos Jaime. And last, I love Clancy’s dedication to everyone from the zone and I command her for it!

Now onto the aspects I liked less. First, I feel like everything is at a standstill. The novel is action filled and Justina is focused on stopping acme and curing the ‘zombies’, as she call ‘em. While this is all good and well, it prevented overall story progress. What I mean is, by the end of the novel, we still don’t know much more about Justina’s powers, the rules surrounding them or their origins. Also, while we now know how Andre gets impressions from the future, he is still very mysterious. And lastly, their is no progress what so over in the romantic aspect of the story. Clancy is no closer to choosing between Leo or Andre, and the standstill is frustrating. In summary, the plot arc of the novel progressed smoothly, but the arc of the series feels stationary.

Another aspect that bothered me was the constant repetition. In this novel, Justina is resolute to control her emotions and think through before she damns anyone to hell. While this maturity is welcome, she mentions it every chapters or so. I felt like, ‘ok we got it, no need to keep repeating over and over again’. It really annoyed me and I hope this issue won’t be redundant in the next novel.

All in all, Damn Him to Hell is a good but flawed sequel to a series that started great. It’s an interesting and highly original urban fantasy and I still suggest you give it try.

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Posted by Tynga at 05:41

 Jamie Quaid, Review, Simon Schuster  Leave your mark

SS: Interview with Jamie Quaid + Giveaway!

Today I am super happy to have author Jamie Quaid by my side. Her Saturn’s Daughter series rocked my world and I’m glad that she accepted to join us to celebrate the release of the second book, Damn Him to Hell! Make sure to stick around for a giveaway at the end!
----------------------

1- I really like the first novel in the series, Boyfriend From Hell, and I'm sure everyone would like to know if the second installment, Damn Him to Hell will be just as funny and action-packed?

Thank you, kindly! I’d like to believe it’s funny and action-packed-- I certainly notch the action up another level. But humor is in the eye of the beholder, so unless you know you like frog humor, you’ll have to answer that one for me after you read it.

2- How would you describe the main characters to someone who's unfortunate enough to not have read the first book?

Does bizarre, insane, lusty, and concerned cover it? <G> Tina—she of the weird Saturnian abilities— is obsessed with justice, and not precisely in the legal, rational manner of the lawyer she is. Then we have the invisible gay teenager, the snake-producing investigator, the handsome US Senator returned from hell, and Andre—the gorgeous but seriously freaky and paranoid Special Ops hunk. Just your usual chemically-polluted neighborhood.

3- You remained pretty hazy on the Gods mythology in BFH, will we finally learn more about it and Clancy's abilities?

Tina won’t come into her full abilities until her 28th year, so she’s still learning what she’s capable of and really starting to worry herself. She develops a few more serious quirks this time around (frogs are involved!), and reaches out to another Saturn’s daughter. The problem is that Saturn’s daughters are so busy staying alive that they really don’t have time to write down what they learn.  It takes time to research a mythology no one is telling them about—and granny still isn’t too helpful. But it’s looking like whole new dimensions are involved…literally.

Let me ask this of your readers…what would you like to see happen? Do you really want a god to step down out of heavens with a rule book? Or do you want the Daughters to be their own force?

4- Andre turned out to be one of my favorite characters, will we get to know him more in book 2?

Oh YEAH! Andre gets in way over his pretty head this time around, and we learn a little more about those dimensions I mentioned…  He’s just a bit more than an all-around, average guy.

5- The folks in The Zone are pretty weird, do you think they'd be the kind to celebrate the summer solstice?

They’re mostly a pretty cynical lot, and the solstice is about celebrating life, not hell—which kind of haunts our polluted neighborhood—but if you can show them a good reason to celebrate, they’re all over it. Can the gargoyles come, too?

6- Have you ever attended this kind of celebration yourself?

Let’s just say I’ve created my own bonfires a few times and not go into details, okay?

-----------------

Thank you so much Jamie for stopping by <3 It’s always such a pleasure to have you on board!

More about Damn Him to Hell:

Justice is blind. Justine isn’t. Book two in the Saturn's Daughter series, in which Tina Clancy is gifted with the power to dispense justice...for good or evil.

Tina Clancy is adapting to her new life as one of Saturn’s Daughters while living in the toxic part of Baltimore known as The Zone, and occasionally acting as a champion of the downtrodden, the weird, the innocent...and the sometimes not-so-innocent.

Just when she finally lands a real law job, the Zone is blasted by poisonous gas and her sometimes-boyfriend starts receiving visitors from Hell. He’s none too pleased about that, or in Tina having sent his granny to Hell in his place. For that matter, neither is granny…

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Previous books in the series:

Jamie is generously offering  2 copies of Damn Him to Hell to 2 lucky winners!

Open internationally

Fill the form to enter, ends July 5th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-------------------

“As a fan of urban fantasy and kick-ass heroines, I’ve often wondered why we’re drawn to fangs and fur when there are so many grim realities our heroines can conquer.  While pondering the possibilities of fighting evil in a real world, I created Justine Clancy, a woman who has fought the bullies of the world all her life, without realizing she was pre-destined to be an arbiter of justice—until she accidentally sends her lying boyfriend to hell. And the devil handsomely rewards her.

But along with power must come knowledge—and for Tina, that includes learning not only the difference between good and evil, but all the shades of gray in between. Because sending the wrong people to the Underworld could have grave consequences, literally. But not doing her job can hurt the people who have taken her in and accepted her. For the first time in her life, she has a home, but it’s going to require a whole lot of housecleaning to drive out the demons hiding there.”(source)

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Read More

Posted by Tynga at 02:57

 giveaway, Interview, Jamie Quaid, Simon Schuster, Supernatural Solstice  16 People left their mark

Damn Him to Hell by Jamie Quaid

Book stats:
Reading level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release date: June 25, 2013

Series: Saturn's Daughter #2

Source: Edelweiss

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

Justice is blind. Justine isn’t. Book two in the Saturn's Daughter series, in which Tina Clancy is gifted with the power to dispense justice...for good or evil.

Tina Clancy is adapting to her new life as one of Saturn’s Daughters while living in the toxic part of Baltimore known as The Zone, and occasionally acting as a champion of the downtrodden, the weird, the innocent...and the sometimes not-so-innocent.

Just when she finally lands a real law job, the Zone is blasted by poisonous gas and her sometimes-boyfriend starts receiving visitors from Hell. He’s none too pleased about that, or in Tina having sent his granny to Hell in his place. For that matter, neither is granny…

Clancy finally managed to bring back her late boyfriend from hell but it didn’t quite go as planned. His soul his now in his evil cousin’s body and to say it complicates things is an understatement. Unfortunately, there are bigger problems to deal with. Acme, the chemical plant, released a green with pink sparkles gas onto the zone. Driving people to great violence followed by a coma, the gas, and its victims, is Clancy’s main concern. But how can one little lawyer shutdown a big company such as Acme?

I really liked Boyfriend from Hell, but I have to confess I have mixed feelings about this second instalment. Maybe it suffers from the ‘second-book-curse’? I’ll start with the elements I liked. First, I still like the world, and the ghetto that is the zone. It’s originality still commands attention and I enjoyed it. Also, the characters I came to love are still very much present and their sense of humour is as ironic as ever, kudos Jaime. And last, I love Clancy’s dedication to everyone from the zone and I command her for it!

Now onto the aspects I liked less. First, I feel like everything is at a standstill. The novel is action filled and Justina is focused on stopping acme and curing the ‘zombies’, as she call ‘em. While this is all good and well, it prevented overall story progress. What I mean is, by the end of the novel, we still don’t know much more about Justina’s powers, the rules surrounding them or their origins. Also, while we now know how Andre gets impressions from the future, he is still very mysterious. And lastly, their is no progress what so over in the romantic aspect of the story. Clancy is no closer to choosing between Leo or Andre, and the standstill is frustrating. In summary, the plot arc of the novel progressed smoothly, but the arc of the series feels stationary.

Another aspect that bothered me was the constant repetition. In this novel, Justina is resolute to control her emotions and think through before she damns anyone to hell. While this maturity is welcome, she mentions it every chapters or so. I felt like, ‘ok we got it, no need to keep repeating over and over again’. It really annoyed me and I hope this issue won’t be redundant in the next novel.

All in all, Damn Him to Hell is a good but flawed sequel to a series that started great. It’s an interesting and highly original urban fantasy and I still suggest you give it try.

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Posted by Tynga at 01:41

 Jamie Quaid, Review, Simon Schuster  Leave your mark

Boyfriend From Hell by Jamie Quaid

Boyfriend From Hell by Jamie Quaid

Book Stats:
Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Publisher: Pocket Books
Release date: September 25, 2012

Series: Saturn’s Daughter #1

Source: Edelweiss

Reviewed by: Tynga

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

They say justice is blind. But Justine isn’t.

Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it. That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.

Much to her surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?

Life has been hard on Justine Clancy. Her mom moved her around all the time then ditched her to move to Europe, she’s been physically crippled by a police officer and spent months in the hospital afterward and kept a limp as a reminder and has to work in The Zone to survive while finishing law school. Let’s say she had enough on her plate, but everything got worst when her boyfriend tried to kill her then died, right after she witnessed a couple of students being run over and her cash deposit had been stolen. To say it was a bad day doesn’t cover it.

I would lie if I said I was sold to this book right away, but after a few chapters I was really into it! The Zone is a post chemical spill area good –and smart- people usual avoid. Glowing in the dark buildings might have its charms, but if the building glows, you can’t help but wonder what it will do to your DNA. Quaid introduce an original Lore where people living in the area for a while changes, on top of mystical Gods involvement. I have to say, even after finishing the novel the God part is still pretty hazy to me, so hopefully Jamie will reveal more about it – and Justine’s powers- in the following novels.

The characters were most definitely my favourite part of this urban fantasy novel. Clancy is a loveable and capable woman with good intentions but questionable methods. Her rather unusual technics makes for a highly entertaining read and I really liked her “hands off the annoying but oh so sexy boss” policy. Said boss is quite a mystery and I really can’t wait to learn more about him because I thougth he was awesome and his exasperation toward Justine is simply priceless. Tina is surrounded by an amazing selection of characters and I don’t what to mention every one of them, but her cat is worth a howler!

I truly enjoyed the plot and The Zone citizens’ twisted sense of justice. The novel is action-packed from beginning to end, sparkled with a great dose of humour and just a touch of romance. I really think Boyfriend From Hell has everything to please urban fantasy lovers and I would definitely recommend it. Jamie is offering us an highly original tale, because quite frankly, I can’t think of any other novel I could compare it to. I’m anxious for the second instalment!

Read an Excerpt

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Posted by Tynga at 07:20

 Gods, Jamie Quaid, Review, Simon Schuster  4 People left their mark

PSC: Interview & Giveaway with Jamie Quaid

Jamie Quaid, a.k.a. Patricia Rice has hit the bestselling charts with her contemporary and historical romance novels and she’s now debuting her urban fantasy career under her new pen name. I’m really excited for Boyfriend From Hell (pre-ordered my copy months ago!) so I was super excited when she accepted to join us!

-------------------------

1. Justine Clancy, your main character, is one of Saturn's daughters. What does it mean and where did the inspiration come from?

While brainstorming my idea for this story, one of my buddies told me that the planet Saturn takes roughly 28-29 earth years to circle the sun. She pointed out the astrological implications, which suited my character perfectly. I’ll leave it to your readers to Google “Saturn transit” to grasp the effects on Justine as she inches toward her 27th year. Saturn is also one of the great Roman gods connected with strength, time, and justice. Justine hasn’t quite learned what it means to be a daughter of Saturn, but she’s catching onto the justice schtick pretty quickly. But inheriting this faulty DNA or whatever it’s called affects different characters in different ways, as she’ll soon discover.

2. Boyfriend From Hell is set in "Baltimore’s radioactive Zone" what happened to make it radioactive and would you consider your novel a mix of Urban Fantasy and Dystopian?

The Zone was established when a chemical plant that made nerve gas and shampoo goo flooded the streets and harbors in an industrial accident. Most of the events grow out of that—quite literally.
I try not to think too hard about stuffing my insanity into categories, but let’s see what fits. Wikipedia says dystopian fiction explores social and political structures and often gives humanity the choice of two different futures. That’s a pretty broad palette and could even apply to love stories if stretched far enough, so my environmentally hazardous zone could qualify as dystopian with the possibility of an apocalyptic outcome. Urban Fantasy often includes werewolves, vampires, and the fey. I have a chimp shapeshifter and a snake charmer, so I’m coming up a little short there. <G> The demons tend to be human in form and action, but yeah, they’re evil. And hell exists in some dimension. Probably purgatory, too. If I must be categorized, Dystopian Urban Fantasy could work. Can I create a new genre called Non-Vampiric Dystopian Urban Fantasy?

3. Justine seems to have quite an eclectic group of friends, which one is your favorite and why?

Unfair! They all have their good and bad sides, as well as their human and non-human sides in some cases. Murderous Sarah is kind of fun, but I wouldn’t want her for a friend. Cora and Jane are both the kind of friends I’d like to have, although Cora’s snakes might be a little offputting, and Jane’s reporter life is a little dull. Scwhartz is steadfast and sexy, and Bill is a big, but dangerous, teddy bear. Will I be smacked if I go for Andre, who has so many levels that it’s impossible to plumb his depths?

4. The cover of your novel is simply stunning, did you have any say in it?

I was asked for a description of the character and any important scenes, weapons, etc. I think I laughed. I told them my heroine was a crippled Middle-eastern shrimp with buck teeth and stringy hair. But I grudgingly admitted she improved with time, except the only weapons she ever wielded were law books and a tire iron. I don’t make it easy on cover artists, so they retaliated by making her sexy as…well, hell with a tire iron. And they added a touch of the Zone’s blue neon and naturally, her Harley. So they took what I gave them and ran with it. It really is a spectacular cover.

Now onto some Summer Camp questions

5. Did you ever go to summer camp when you were younger? If so, what's your fondest memory?

This is one of the reasons I couldn’t play your camp game. The closest I ever came to a summer camp was one summer when I attended Girl Scout camp. It got rained out the first night, so I didn’t even have a chance to cook s’mores. Now if camping with my family counts, ask me about the trip in the Great Kahuna!

6. What your favorite camping meal?

Hamburgers with bacon and cheese smoked to perfection over a wood fire. Gotta have that protein when hiking and swimming! (The vegetarians in the family will kill me, so don’t tell them I said so. Mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes are pretty good as grilled cheese sandwiches but there are limits!)

Thank you so much Jamie for joining us :)

And thank you for asking me to stop by. Go with Saturn!

-------------------------

More about Boyfriend From Hell:

They say justice is blind. But Justine isn’t.

Justine (Tina) Clancy is just an ordinary law student with a faulty arrest record, a part-time job in Baltimore’s radioactive Zone, and a family secret so bizarre even she doesn’t believe it. That is, until in a fit of fury she damns her boyfriend to hell—and it’s exactly where he ends up.

Much to her own surprise, Tina is apparently one of Saturn’s daughters, with the power to wield vigilante justice. But poor Max didn’t deserve to go up in flames, even if he did almost run her over with her own car. Tina’s convinced someone cut the brakes—and now a relentless nemesis is stalking her through the Zone’s back alleys, where buildings glow, statues move, and chemical waste exposure comes with interesting consequences. Tina’s usually a loner, but now she needs a posse like no other: a shape-shifting kitten, an invisible thief, a biker gang, a snake-charming private detective, a well-meaning cop, and her sleazy, sexy boss. But in between freeing Max from hell, saving her own neck, and solving a mystery that threatens the Zone and her newfound friends, how is she ever going to study for finals?

Pre-order: Amazon | Book Depository

-------------------------

Jamie is offering two (2) copies of Boyfriend from Hell to two lucky winners!

To enter the giveaway, fill out the Rafflecopter form below.

Open Internationally (where BD ships)

Ends Wednesday, August 5th, 2012
(like all of our Paranormal Summer Camp giveaways)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-------------------------

“Jamie Quaid is a pseudonym for best-selling romance author Patricia Rice. This is her first novel under the name Jamie Quaid.

With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today's bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice is one of romance's hottest authors. Her emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances have won numerous awards, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards.

A firm believer in happily-ever-after, Patricia Rice is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. A native of Kentucky and New York, a past resident of North Carolina, she currently resides in St. Louis, Missouri, and now does accounting only for herself. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and Novelists, Inc.” (source)

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Posted by Tynga at 06:52

 Interview, Jamie Quaid, Paranormal Summer Camp, Simon Schuster  41 People left their mark