Review of Steven James's The Queen

The Queen, by Steven James

2011. Revell

A Patrick Bowers thriller

It’s Wisconsin. It’s Winter. It’s a gruesome double-triple-quintuple? homicide spread over two cases near each other. Patrick Bowers is home, but it’s not for any sweet family reunion.

The fifth entry into the Patrick Bowers, FBI geospatial profiler and coffee snob, case files is a twist-your-guts ride.

You have to discover what a person regrets the most in order to understand him, Bowers’ love interest and FBI profiler, Lien-hua, says. This book is full of regret, and some redemption, as Patrick seeks to understand, forgive, and be forgiven of the circumstances that caused the rift between him and his brother, Sean. Patrick’s step-daughter deals with the regret of the circumstances that led her to kill in self-defense in the previous case. The murderer deals with the regret of…well, you’ll just have to read the book.

James deviates a bit from his previous stories in that the bad guys are identified right away in The Queen, instead of making us wait to figure out what’s happening and why. Although there’s a pretty good twist, it’s still not a huge stretch to follow Patrick’s winding path to get to the bottom of things. And this is where I have to say the clunkiness of this novel tends to get in the way of the timeline and the immediate need to solve the murders. The initial murder thread trails off; the secondary case peters out until it comes back to smack the reader in the face, and by then I had nearly forgotten about it. The devastation of the murders that end up being the major plot of the story keep us all busy, in between worrying over Patrick’s headstrong teenaged step-daughter’s jaunt through a blizzard, his sister-in-law’s fragility, the growing body count, and whether the intimate details of the weapons being used or the minute description of the interior of the ELF station really has anything to do with the outcome. I put this book down several times, despite the fact that I love the first novels and will read the rest of them; despite the fact that I went to the nearby University just about the time the Navy station set up to use Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) radio waves to signal submarines was encountering the worst protests; and despite the fact that I was pretty sure I had the real murderer pegged (I was wrong).

Patrick Bowers is a great character, the adversary in The Queen was daunting, the plot was a little windy but it worked, and the end was…intriguing. James manages to draw in several former cases to twine this story and I look forward to the next installment.

“Available September 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”

Tournament of Champions!

Science Fiction, Fantasy and Supernatural

Kia Ora from New Zealand and hello from Splashdown!

Lots of goings-on this month, so let's dive right in...

Now Available

Finding Angel, the first novel by veteran author Kat Heckenbach, is here!

It's aimed at middle-graders and young adults, but fantasy-minded grown-ups will love it too.

Perfect for reading with or without kids!

Angel doesn’t remember her magical heritage…but it remembers her.

Magic and science collide when she embarks on a journey to her true home, and to herself.

Angel lives with a loving foster family, but dreams of a land that exists only in the pages of a fantasy novel. Until she meets Gregor, whose magic Talent saves her life and revives lost memories.

She follows Gregor to her homeland…a world unlike any she has imagined, where she travels a path of self-discovery that leads directly to her role in an ancient Prophecy…and to the madman who set her fate in motion.

Available at Amazon (in Kindle too). Other retailers are taking their time to list it, but you can get Epub for Nook at Smashwords right now along with many other formats.

New Look

http://www.splashdownbooks.com/ has a new face. Check out the new-and-improved, easier-to-navigate website. Find books faster. See what's new with your favorite authors. Handy drop-downs and a splashy backdrop are just a few of the upgrades. Drop by and dive in!

Splash Hit

Splashdown's first group anthology made a big splash at Amazon, rising to #1 in Bestselling Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthologies shortly after going public! See what all the fuss is about with stories from all the current Splashdown authors - Fred Warren, Caprice Hokstad, P.A. Baines, Adam Graham, R.L. Copple, Travis Perry, Mike Lynch, Keven Newsome, Kat Heckenbach, Grace Bridges and Ryan Grabow, with narration from Walt Staples.

$5.98 in print or $2.99 in e!

E-book Sale!

The Crystal Portal e-book by Travis Perry and Mike Lynch is available for $2.99 this month only. Check it out at Kindle and Smashwords!

We're also launching a cool new spin on the cover - up now in ebook formats, and coming soon to the print version:

 

 

Award Finalist

 

Caprice Hokstad's Nor Iron Bars a Cage finaled in the Global eBook Awards! The full list is here - look for the Speculative Fiction: Fantasy category.

Congratulations, Caprice!

 

In Brief

• Keven Newsome's Winter now wears 22 five-star reviews at Amazon!
• Next month sees the release of The Seer by Fred Warren - the long-awaited sequel to The Muse. It's a doozy, I can tell you!
• Avenir Eclectia has passed a total of 75 mini-stories in its shared world. Why not get on board?

Grace Bridges

 

The Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers Summer Tour

                  

Hey, everyone! Summer isn’t over until September 21, ya know. However, I do understand that most of you are out of “Summer” mode at this point. But don’t let that stop you from picking up some pretty awesome reads and cuddling on the deck for a few hours of bliss.

I see I’m in history mode, as I often am, with my picks to share with you.  

Wounded Spirits by April Gardner was a delight to find. From the little-explored time in American history, the early nineteenth century era of expansion and settlement, Gardner tells an evocative, thoughtful, and sensitive tale of pioneers, warriors, and Creek Nation people battling for identity in an innocent land. Gently exploring touchy issues such as slavery, romance in all the unusual places, pride and fall, readers will ask for more when finished. And you’ll be glad to know that you won’t have long to wait.

Yesterday’s Tomorrow was my surprise exciting read of the year. Cathy West’s awesome debut will knock your socks off so you can wiggle your toes in the sand. If you like true characters, the grit and the emotional pit of modern warfare in the Vietnam era, blood and guts and dirt in your wounds, you’ll be entranced by this gripping read. A young woman reporter finds more than other people’s stories when she goes to cover the war.

Undercurrent. What can I say? Lust, Vikings, Blood, ships, medieval history. Time travel. I’m on reading cloud ninety-nine. Michelle Griep is so excellent in her research, which I discovered with her first novel, Gallimore. Griep takes us back to the early days of Viking exploration, a time when petty kings ruled by magic, dark power, lust and the strength of their bodies and spirits. When a contemporary history professor is caught in a eddy of time, she must use her training and wits to survive and return to the 21st century.

Meander Scar: well, I guess I’m tooting my own horn here, but if you’re in the mood for an almost squeaky clean tale of forbidden love and faith, a twist of fate and a gasping ending, perhaps you’ll consider this contemporary love story of missing persons and love for all the right reasons. I’m also delighted to announce that A Summer In Oakville is releasing this week from the same publisher. Shellie Neumeier and I wrote a story that might have taken place in our own back yards. It’s gotten some great early reviews, has a blow-out fantastic cover and will transport you down a country lane full of angst, pride, love and faith while making peace with the past and welcoming a new future.

The Birthday Party Planner for Kids

SIMPLE GIFTS By Sharen Pearson As a mother of five and now grandmother of seven, I’ve planned my share of birthday events. I am a creative person, so my problem is “going over the top.” My expectations supersede those of the birthday child. So, I have to step back and say, “Whose birthday is it anyway?” And, therein lies the key to a successful birthday party. I recently assisted with my grandson, Waylon’s party. He was reaching that big-boy age of 5 years. He knew what theme he wanted: Herbie the Love Bug. He wanted a backyard campfire and a cake with Herbie on it. Simple—Herbie, campfire, cake. Got it! My daughter complied. She invited a few families from church that Waylon knew well and was comfortable around. Since entire families were represented, parents were there to help with crowd control. Bowls of chips and dip provided a place to gather around as people arrived. Children scattered to play in the back yard, parents grouped to watch and chat. Easy, huh? Daddy lit a small fire in the campfire ring in the yard. More talk, more easy playing. The cake was a simple giant chocolate chip cookie with a frosting “Herbie.” Waylon thought it was wonderful. Mommy announced that it was gift-opening time and everyone pulled up lawn chairs and sat in family groups. Waylon sat in the middle of the circle on the grass and guests watched as he opened each gift and thanked the giver. He received many nice gifts, but to everyone’s delight, a small, inexpensive VW bug toy car was his favorite. He opened it, raised it above his head as if it were a trophy and yelled in delight. Waylon slept with his “Herbie;” woke up and greeted it; placed it on the edge of the tub so he could see it. He had the birthday he wanted. Simple party, simple gift, simple fun! Some suggestions to consider when planning your party: If your child is old enough to have input, allow it. For ages 1-5 years, simple is best. Simple decorations, simple food, simple games. Invite only one party guest per age of the child. Young children are very intimidated by many children of the same age. Remember, “Whose birthday is it?” If guests include family/friends with older children, add activities especially for them. Home is the best place for children ages 5 and under. Big party venues are confusing, scary and do not position the “birthday child” as the center of attention as he should be. Some traps that parents fall into: Making the party so complicated that you, as the parent, no longer enjoy it. (Been there, done that.) Allowing young party guests to get close to and grab for gifts as as the birthday child is opening them. (Admit it, you’ve seen this haven’t you?) Spending too much money. (Guilty as charged.) Preparing food for adults and not age-appropriate to the guests. (The only thing to show off today is your wonderful child) Engaging in sleepover parties before the age of 9 years. (Children younger than 9 or 10 years often find sleeping at someone else’s home frightening and uncomfortable.) Author Bio

Sharen Pearson’s Goof & Giggle classes and materials continue to provide a quality Mom/Tot interaction. Widely popular, Goof & Giggle’s child-focused play plans are offered in various Arizona communities. She’s also created a variety of Goof Juice DVDs and filmed episodes of Baby D.I.Y. and written workbooks for BabyFirstTV. Arizona Midday (NBC) tapes monthly segments with Sharen to provide their audience with a variety of original and creative “easy to do” activities for babies and preschoolers. Sharen’s creativity reaches a combined audience over 200 million viewers worldwide. Goof & Giggle classes and products encourage green living, repurposing materials from around the house into affordable objects for play and learning. Learn more at: http://sharenpearson.com/   **This article is used by permission from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications

Tomato canning time!

I'm learning new tricks with our abundance of garden tomatoes. Last year it was tomato jam. This year it's canning tomato soup. I tried it yesterday with a batch, and will definitely make more. I love tomato soup for lunch on winter afternoons. I took a class my senior high of college in preserving, got this book, Keeping the Harvest; still use it and buy it for gifts.

This tomato soup for canning recipe came from my home shopper paper, and is by Beth Desens, a neighbor over in Fredonia. I only had five quarts of tomatoes yesterday, so I didn't make this entire batch. She also didn't specify making a roux with the butter/flour, so I didn't.

Tomato Soup for Canning

14 qrts fresh tomatoes, cut up
14 stalks of celery
a good size clump of parsley (I used dried)
20 whole cloves
12 bay leaves
7 sweet onions
medium sized clump of basil
1 c. sugar
4 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. paprika
3/4 pound melted butter
3/4 c flour

Boil tomatoes, celery, parsley, bay leaves, cloves, basil and onions together for about an hour. Stir frequently. Put through a food mill and put back in pot.
Mix together sugar, salt, paprika and flour and butter, add to liquids, stirring continuously. Cook another fifteen-twenty minutes. Pour into hot jars and process fifty minutes in the pressure canner, 5 pounds. Makes 10 quarts.

covers!!

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