Into the Furnace by Geonn Cannon

Into the Furnace

By Geonn Cannon

Kelly Lake is one hot tempered, strong willed, blonde bisexual fire fighter with a mouth on her! And you will fall in love with her instantly. 

As we follow along, one week into Kelly’s life, in that time it just all seems to fall apart. It becomes a true test of her will, to see if she can and will make everything work.

She has a relationship, but does love always prevail? Her job, which as everyone knows, fire fighters become a family unit because they live together. But as with family-even work family, it too is a relationship that requires work.

The part that really pulled me in was reading the Arson, and how in depth it was, and how the lives were affected. Eleven people, and of course the fire fighters. You can just feel the pain. The writing was very descriptive, and it was almost as if I was right there watching it. Actually, in all honesty, I think this would make a descent movie. I mean- personally I can see it.

However, as I came to the end of the book, I just felt Kelly Lake could deserve more of her story being told. I felt her calling out to me, telling me she had more to tell me. I can feel her words, and needs as a character, and that she has more to tell.... I will ask the Author that when I ask questions, you can trust me on that!

This book was amazing, and I give it five stars. I just felt very drawn in, and I just could feel and see everything. As I said, it would make for an excellent movie. It was very well written, and very understandable. And it was a very different kind of read than I expected, especially when he told me it had to do with a bisexual woman. I was thinking it was going to be a sex book, and no, it wasn’t. It was all in all a very good literary read. And I am glad to see someone give recognition to the bisexual women! Well deserved! 

My questions for Geonn:

1. What made you write this story?

Everyone loves firefighters! There's just something about a female firefighter who can hold her own in one of the toughest, most physically daunting professions that appeals. And they look good in the uniform. The reason I made her bisexual was because of another author's blog conversations about how there's so little representation for the "B" in LGBT. I thought it would make an interesting aspect to her character, and it would be a fun perspective to write.

2. Don't you feel Kelly has more of a story to tell?

Oh, absolutely. I want Kelly to come back again and again, at least until she gets her happy ending. She's got a lot more stories to tell.

3. Do you have a photo or a description other then blonde of Kelly?

I cast all of my novels, just so I can get images of the person in my head and the scenes can play out right while I'm plotting. For Kelly, I used Emily Wickersham from NCIS, but I added a few details. I made her more muscular in the arms and I added dark eyebrows and a strong jaw because those are familial traits that end up having an important element in the plot.

4. Did you do any sort of research for this book?

Oh, very much. It's tough to just dive in and write a firefighter novel without learning their jargon, their codes, and their hierarchy. I knew a lot of it from the first firefighter novel I did ("World on Fire") but I had to dig back in for this one.

5. How long have you been writing?

I think I posted my first story way back in 2001, but I was writing in high school. I wrote something for a girl I had a crush on, and it made her laugh. That was when I realized I had Power, if I could just hone it. I could entertain women with my writing! That was my "in"! And then I chose a genre where 95% of my readers are lesbians. Go figure. ;)

6. Who is/are your favorite Author(s)?

So many! Neil Gaiman, Max Gladstone, Elizabeth Bear, Caroline Paul (a real life Kelly Lake!), Jonathan Evison, Greg Rucka... the list goes on and on.

7. Out of everything you personally have written- what is your favorite book you have written?

"The Rise and Fall of Radiation Canary" was my pinnacle, I think. Not that it's my best book, but because it was the culmination of everything I'd written, everything I'd learned, and it felt like the lynchpin of my career. It's a book about the formation and sudden rise to fame of a band from Seattle, and I just fell in love with the characters and their world. I really want to hear their music on the radio. ;)

8. What can you suggest to future writers out there?

Never give up! Never let people tell you that it's not worth trying or that you won't make it. I'm a straight man who writes lesbian fiction, and that's a heck of an uphill battle. But if you work hard on your craft, the doors will open. I'm the only man who has ever won a Golden Crown Literary Society Award, and as of this summer I've won TWO of them. I'm the only man with a webseries in production with Tello Films, whose tagline is "100% Women 100% of the time." I'm their diversity and I'm honored to be included. So never give up! And don't feel like you have to be restricted to one genre or type. I've written westerns, I've written historical steampunk with magical elements, I have a contemporary romance next to a supernatural werewolf mystery series. Write what you want and the readers will hopefully follow.

9. Have you met anyone famous since or because of your writing career?

I'm not hanging out with Stephen Colbert or anything, but I've met some movers and shakers in the industry. Probably the coolest celebrities I've met are Liz Vassey, who follows me on Twitter, and Max Gladstone, who I befriended when I got an early review copy of his first novel and got in on the ground floor of his meteoric career.

10. Please share with us links to follow you and read your work:

I have free stories on my website (http://www.geonncannon.com/). Squire's Isle may spoil some novels, but Underdogs is spoiler-free if you stick to Volume 1. All of my novels and the short story anthologies I've contributed to can be found in my website's store (http://store.geonncannon.com/) and you can subscribe to my Patreon to get exclusive stories and sneak peeks at future novels! (https://www.patreon.com/GeonnCannon). And follow me on Twitter! @GeonnCannon

Into the Furnace by Geonn Cannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kelly Lake is one hot tempered, strong willed, blonde bisexual fire fighter with a mouth on her! And you will fall in love with her instantly.

As we follow along, one week into Kelly’s life, in that time it just all seems to fall apart. It becomes a true test of her will, to see if she can and will make everything work.

She has a relationship, but does love always prevail? Her job, which as everyone knows, fire fighters become a family unit because they live together. But as with family-even work family, it too is a relationship that requires work.

The part that really pulled me in was reading the Arson, and how in depth it was, and how the lives were affected. Eleven people, and of course the fire fighters. You can just feel the pain. The writing was very descriptive, and it was almost as if I was right there watching it. Actually, in all honesty, I think this would make a descent movie. I mean- personally I can see it.

However, as I came to the end of the book, I just felt Kelly Lake could deserve more of her story being told. I felt her calling out to me, telling me she had more to tell me. I can feel her words, and needs as a character, and that she has more to tell.... I will ask the Author that when I ask questions, you can trust me on that!


This book was amazing, and I give it five stars. I just felt very drawn in, and I just could feel and see everything. As I said, it would make for an excellent movie. It was very well written, and very understandable. And it was a very different kind of read than I expected, especially when he told me it had to do with a bisexual woman. I was thinking it was going to be a sex book, and no, it wasn’t. It was all in all a very good literary read. And I am glad to see someone give recognition to the bisexual women! Well deserved!


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Daughter of Valor by Emily Mims

Daughter of Valor

By Emily Mims

The main reason why I personally wanted to read and review this book was because it has to do with the Military, and I feel that the Military doesn’t get enough justification. Sure we can support them, and hear about them, and know they are out there supporting us, and protecting us, but not many people want to write about, and tell a story or even share with you from their stand point. So when someone finally does, I want to be the one to share it with you. After all, it needs made public, and people need to see and feel from those whom have lived and dealt with things like this, from those of us who have, and from those of us who care for those of you who have.  I hope that makes sense.

As for this novel, it is very intense, and well worth the read, because it is going to make you see and feel things and understand many different aspects and views that you would have never thought possible.

Our main character: Holly gives you a look at her life, and she desires and needs for a military career, and what all her plans were, and how they ended up ruined by an ambush. She has to learn things about herself, and make choices she had never anticipated. Her Uncle, a Judge, after her rehabilitation and recovery, than helps Holly by finding her a Nanny position.  Because Holly doesn’t want to sit around and do nothing, she jumps at the chance to do it. 

Jimmy, the man she is now to Nanny for is trying to get elected. But in the midst of all of this, you wouldn’t expect to find murder in this book too, now would you? Yes, low and behold there is even murder! Why? Because someone is trying to ruin Jimmy’s chance at getting elected by framing him for what would or could be murders. 

In the meantime, Holly and Jimmy work on their communication skills, restructuring his family, and focusing on his campaign, and figuring out who could be doing this to him and why. 

I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone, because I am famous for being a spoiler alert specialist. So I will stop here. 

I will tell you, that I loved this book. It was very detailed, and intense, and leads you through a lot of emotions, and directions. It is worth your time and money to read this book. I give it five stars, and think everyone would truly enjoy it. If you want insight on Military, and knowing little things, politics, and how people feel and work, and recover, and what not- this is another plus for you. Truly I suggest reading this book. It is very different from most!

Thank you, Emily for the chance to read this!

Here are my questions for Emily!

1. What made you write this book? I wrote this book for several reasons.  I live in San Antonio, and because of SAMMC we have a lot of wounded warriors in our city-it's nothing to see a handsome young veteran chasing a toddler across the mall on a pair of prostheses or a severely scarred warrior in line at the grocery store.  I admire these courageous people so much!  I also began Holly and Jimmy's stories in the original book in the series (Solomon's Choice) and wanted a chance to tell theirs.

2.  Do you have any photos or descriptions of Holly and/or Jimmy to share?Just what's on the cover

3. How long did it take you to write this book?I began work on it before I'd even sold 'Solomon's Choice'.  I wrote a version that my agent told me was terrible (ouch) so I went back and rewrote it in the form it's in today.  So the answer would be over a couple of years.  Now that I have a publisher and am writing regularly, that same book would take maybe four months.

4. What all have you written prior? I wrote a string of novels and novellas for Candlelight Ecstasy in the 1980's, three of which Boroughs has re-released.  I have a full-length novel and two short stories in the Texas Hill Country series that precede 'Daughter of Valor; in the story line, and have another short story, two novellas and a full-length novel that come after it in the series.  I recently finished the last book in the Texas Hill Country series and planted two heroes to go to Appalachia for a series of stories set in the bluegrass and folk music world.

5. Who are all your favorite Author(s)? Hmmm.  I love Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz and Heather Graham (Jayne and Heather wrote with me at Candlelight).  Cynthia Eden hits the spot as does Lori Wilde and Lori Foster.  And just about everybody in the Boroughs stable is a favorite of mine.  Oh, and let's not forget Roxanne St. Clair.

6. What are you working on now? I just finished 'Second to None' in the Texas Hill Country series and am plotting the Appalachian series. (I'm a serious plotter-this does a lot to prevent writer's block.)

7. What are your hobbies? I play 5 musical instruments-piano, organ, guitar, dulcimer, and ukulele-and play the ukulele with two performing bands.

8.Have you ever served in the Military? No, but my son is career Army.

9. What suggestions do you offer to future writers? Don't let ANYBODY tell you that you can't do it.  When I was in college my creative writing profs told me I had no talent and to go back to the science department.  I invited them to my first autograph party.

10.Any ways to reach you and follow along with you: I'll list my website and contact info below.  I usually send my readers to Amazon but am also available on the Boroughs website, Allromance, Smashwords and Nook.  Plus, Daughter of Valor is also available in print from Amazon.

11. Any info you’d like to add: Just that I love and appreciate every one of my readers!

Links

Website:  http://www.emilymims.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EmilyMimsAuthor

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Valor-Emily-Mims-ebook/dp/B00S0H8LBA

Smashwords:  www.smashwords.com/books/view/508976

Allromance:  https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-daughterofvalor-1720943-149html

And thanks again!  Be sure to send me the link so I can share on all of my media sites.

Undertow: Death's Twilight by Claudette Melanson

Undertow: Death’s Twilight

By Claudette Melanson

The cover art of this book is so beautiful, once I received my copy I just simply admired the artwork on the cover for a bit. There was a lot of work that went into that beautiful cover!

Personally, I have been a long time waiting for this book. Which let me add, if you haven’t read the first book, you might not be able to follow along as well as the rest of us. The two books flow together as “Forrest Gump” says: like “Peas and Carrots!”

Maura, thanks to her mother Caelyn, grew up with a big family secret. She is a Vampire and didn’t know it until she became a full grown adult and moved abroad, and finally met her Father, which she met only by what seemed to be by accident. However, her Mother planned on informing her and explaining everything and what not, but unfortunately Maura then, had an accident-so to speak.

But again, that is from the other book. Her Father Maxwell as you may notice was not in her life as a Child, and now they are attempting to make it as a family. They want to try to be the family they never were. But once they start working on their family unit, tragedy seems to follow. It’s like something always has to ruin the good things, you know?!

While still trying to work on her family, Maura is also trying still working on her love life with Ron. So she uses Christmas to reunite with him and bring her family in closer. 

Caelyn is still trying to deal with the Vampire lifestyle of her daughter. She truly hoped that this might not come to pass, you could just tell, deep down, she didn’t want it to be.

Thankfully, while everything is going up and down, and up and down, all these changes, Susie is here to listen and offer a listening ear. 

I found this story so … heart wrenching, I screamed in my twitter at Claudette. I have always been in love with Maura and Ron, no offense I have insider secrets, and Maura and Ron remind me of Claudette and her husband. And they just can’t fall apart. So I’m reading this, and I scream. My dogs look at me. I grab my cell and scream at the writer. No, this is not happening. THAT is all I am saying because I get in trouble for being a spoiler blower.

As for my review, I personally have a problem with Maura calling Maxwell “Dad.” The Dude wasn’t in her life, I mean, maybe it wasn’t all her fault, maybe it was also Caelyn’s but still. He wasn’t there. To call him Dad from the beginning bothered me. But that’s just me.

I also had a problem with her Mother keeping a secret like that from her. (The vampire part!) Yeah we keeps secrets from our Children like Santa and the tooth fairy, and where the presents are hid. But what about when she became a teen and you gave her the safe sex talk? Why not tell her then? 

But as we all know, this is the choice of the writer, and so be it...

I dearly loved both of the books, and how close they are. They are wonderful and you need to read them both. The first one was called: “Rising Tide: Dark Innocence” and it can also be found in this blog as well. (Search on the left side of the blog.)

This book, just like the last one, which is five stars. I truly enjoyed it. It pulled me in, making me feel everything. I cried, I screamed, and I wanted more, and I became involved. I could see and imagine the characters and their feelings. They are a wonderful family, and they deserve to work things out, all families do. And you want what is best for everyone, trust me. And you will want to read this, all the way through. And you will not be able to put it down. But make sure you read both books! They belong together! They are amazing! And you will be glad that you have read them, and you will be a fan of Claudette just like I am, trust me! I give this book five stars! Now go buy your copy!

My questions for Claudette:

1. Who designed the beautiful cover? Rachel Montreuil from Montreal, QC in Canada. The covers were hand painted. She can do anything! We are going to be working on a children's book together starring my Holland Lop, Butters, in the coming months. This is her Deviant Art page:  http://rasherusuzie.deviantart.com/ .

 2. Any pictures of Maura, Ron &/or Maxwell you can share or even describe how they look? Well, the Maura on the cover of the Rising Tide book is exactly how I've always pictured her in my head. I don't know how Rachel did that, lol. I do have a visual board on Pinterest that has pictures of how I see them:  http://bit.ly/1pTacsv

There is also a rendering Rachel did of Ron, and she is going to be doing all the characters:

This is a picture of the REAL Ron, my college boyfriend, who I originally based the character upon:

3. Will there be any more of these books?

Oh yes! The third book in this trilogy will be coming out early in the year. It’s half written now. I’ve discovered there is a lot more to Maura’s story than I thought, so there will actually be a series of trilogies focusing on a particular element. This current trilogy is about Maura’s transformation. I think the next will focus on her and Ron. I also plan to write the backstory for her parents meeting and even take it back to when Maxwell first turned, back in the 1600’s. There is much more of Maura to come J

 4. What are you working on now?

Right now I am working on Riptide, the third book in the Maura DeLuca trilogy. I’m also starting to put the bunny children’s book together. I also have a love gone wrong story and one about my time living with an utter psycho in Vancouver. I do a lot of editing for other authors and that has gotten so busy, I need to force time to write. I’ll be cutting back on that somewhat in the new year to make sure I have more time to work on my own books. My editing site can be found at: http://bit.ly/cmeditor .

5. You are the writer that has bunny rabbits running around the house like me, right?! How are they? (If not disregard- but I think you are lol)

The bunnies are very good. Getting ready for Christmas. We have two Holland Lops, Butters and Beckett. Beckett has some Lionhead in her, so she has interesting hairdos, haha. Tegan and Pepper are full-sized rabbits, English Spot mixes. They have their own room off our living room in our house and have more toys than you could even imagine. Very spoiled rabbits, but they deserve it, as most of them came from abusive homes or bad situations. They eat all organic, so I’m hoping all of them will be around a VERY long time.

6. How is hubbies band doing?

Hubby’s band is doing good. They didn’t get to play on the Fan Fridays for the Blue Jays this year—budget cutbacks. But they have a gig this Friday night (tomorrow, December 4^th) at the Linsmore Tavern in Toronto.

7. Tell us again how you came up with this/these great stories!

Well, I’ve always written everything that went on around me inside my head since I was a little kid. Maura I dreamed about so many times and the dreams started to put a whole story together in my head. It just grew and developed from there. A lot of things come from dreams or even real-life experiences. Or other books or shows will inspire an idea. I just LOVE stories and it’s never hard for one to come to life  inside my imagination J

8. Who are/is your favorite Author(s)?

My favorite author is Stephenie Meyers, and I am in love with the Twilight novels. I think everyone forgot how much they loved that story when those books came out after the horrible first movie, but they were truly magical for me. I grew up with Stephen King and Grimm’s Fairytales—the real ones that are more gruesome. Maybe that’s where my flair for the macabre comes from. I love the new wave of Indie Authors. TS Dann is fabulous. Adam Booth’s The End is so fresh and deep, especially for a zombie novel. Sherri Wingler and Tima Maria Lacoba rock. There are just too many to list! Oh and one more traditional book…if you haven’t read You by Caroline Kepnes, do…now! She is a phenomenal writer. That book was perfectly executed and I was overjoyed to find out there would be a sequel.

9. What do you suggest to someone wanting to write their first novella?

A novella is a good place to start. Develop your characters and hire an editor. The biggest problem with Indie books come from the ones that aren’t professionally edited. And keep writing. The only way you can fail is to give up.

10. Please provide for us your info to follow you & all your work:

Website: http://bit.ly/1DVaL7x (www.claudettemelanson.com)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cmelansonauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bella623

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7881896.Claudette_Melanson

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/claudemelanson/

Tsu: http://www.tsu.co/vampyauthor

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/authorcmelanson

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cmelansonauthor/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=18797567&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Google Plus:  https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/104844624163397590666/104844624163397590666

Stumble Upon: http://www.stumbleupon.com/stumbler/cmelanson623

Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/cmamzauthor

Book Gorilla Author Page: http://bit.ly/1BfSp0L

11. Anything to add?

Thank you for doing this review! I really appreciate it. Best of luck to you and warmest wishes for a very Merry Christmas and Spectacularly Happy New Year to you and all your readers!

Undertow: Death's Twilight by Claudette Melanson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The cover art of this book is so beautiful, once I received my copy I just simply admired the artwork on the cover for a bit. There was a lot of work that went into that beautiful cover!

Personally, I have been a long time waiting for this book. Which let me add, if you haven’t read the first book, you might not be able to follow along as well as the rest of us. The two books flow together as “Forrest Gump” says: like “Peas and Carrots!”

Maura, thanks to her mother Caelyn, grew up with a big family secret. She is a Vampire and didn’t know it until she became a full grown adult and moved abroad, and finally met her Father, which she met only by what seemed to be by accident. However, her Mother planned on informing her and explaining everything and what not, but unfortunately Maura then, had an accident-so to speak.

But again, that is from the other book. Her Father Maxwell as you may notice was not in her life as a Child, and now they are attempting to make it as a family. They want to try to be the family they never were. But once they start working on their family unit, tragedy seems to follow. It’s like something always has to ruin the good things, you know?!

While still trying to work on her family, Maura is also trying still working on her love life with Ron. So she uses Christmas to reunite with him and bring her family in closer.

Caelyn is still trying to deal with the Vampire lifestyle of her daughter. She truly hoped that this might not come to pass, you could just tell, deep down, she didn’t want it to be.

Thankfully, while everything is going up and down, and up and down, all these changes, Susie is here to listen and offer a listening ear.

I found this story so … heart wrenching, I screamed in my twitter at Claudette. I have always been in love with Maura and Ron, no offense I have insider secrets, and Maura and Ron remind me of Claudette and her husband. And they just can’t fall apart. So I’m reading this, and I scream. My dogs look at me. I grab my cell and scream at the writer. No, this is not happening. THAT is all I am saying because I get in trouble for being a spoiler blower.

As for my review, I personally have a problem with Maura calling Maxwell “Dad.” The Dude wasn’t in her life, I mean, maybe it wasn’t all her fault, maybe it was also Caelyn’s but still. He wasn’t there. To call him Dad from the beginning bothered me. But that’s just me.

I also had a problem with her Mother keeping a secret like that from her. Yeah we keeps secrets from our Children like Santa and the tooth fairy, and where the presents are hid. But what about when she became a teen and you gave her the safe sex talk? Why not tell her then?

I dearly loved both of the books, and how close they are. They are wonderful and you need to read them both. The first one was called: “Rising Tide: Dark Innocence” and it can also be found in this blog as well.

This book, just like the last one, is five stars. I truly enjoyed it. It pulled me in, making me feel everything. I cried, I screamed, and I wanted more, and I became involved. I could see and imagine the characters and their feelings. They are a wonderful family, and they deserve to work things out, all families do. And you want what is best for everyone, trust me.

And you will want to read this, all the way through. And you will not be able to put it down. But make sure you read both books! They belong together! They are amazing! And you will be glad that you have read them, and you will be a fan of Claudette just like I am, trust me! I give this book five stars! Now go buy your copy!



View all my reviews