Family Secret Book Blast & Review

Mother Daughter Book Reviews is pleased to be coordinating a Book Blast for the newly released young adult thriller "Family Secret" by Kay LaLone.

About the Book

Title: Family Secret | Author: Kay LaLone | Publication Date: September 29, 2015 | Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing | Pages: 229 | Recommended Ages: 12+


Summary:

On the road to solving his mother’s murder, sixteen-year-old Thomas Patrick Henry discovers a secret his father has kept from him for years. Tom thought Dad’s secret put him in danger. Mom’s secret is far worse. Magic. Witches. Ancient Book of Spells. Magical Amulet. Ghosts. Demons. Tom never thought these things existed until he is face to face with them. There is nothing else to do but destroy the demons before someone else Tom love dies. He already lost his mom and a close friend because this secret was kept from him. No one else will die. No one else will be possessed. Tom faces his demons. A mother’s love gives Tom the strength to slay his demons.

Amazon  *  Barnes & Noble  *  MuseItUp

 

The Early Buzz About the Book

"Once I opened this book, I couldn’t put it down until I came to the very satisfying ending. Family Secret is definitely a book I’ll read again and again.  I highly recommend Family Secret for teens who love the paranormal, especially boys looking for a good adventure." ~ Kathleen S., Amazon

"The world building was really well done and very immersive. The plot kept me guessing and was wrapped up very well." ~ Melissa, Goodreads

 

About the Author: Kay LaLone

I’m Kay LaLone, author of Ghostly Clues, my first MG novel. Family Secret is my first YA novel. Both published by MuseItUp. I live in Michigan with my husband and teenage son (two older sons and a daughter-in-law and my first grandbaby live nearby) and two dogs. I love to get up every morning and write about ghosts, the paranormal, and things that go bump in the night. I write PB, MG and YA novels. No matter the books I write, I want my readers to feel like they have met a new friend. I’m an avid reader of just about any type of book (mystery, paranormal, and ghost stories are my favorites). I do reviews and post them on my website and blog. I love to collect old books, antiques, and collectibles. You can find many of my antiques and collectibles selling on ebay and at fleamarkets.

MuseItUp  *  Blog  *  Website

Facebook  *  Goodreads  *  Twitter

My Review of Family Secret:

What I Liked:

I loved the paranormal aspects of Family Secret. The depictions of the demons were extremely well done. The story is filled with twists and turns and some unexpected elements that added to the thrill. The secrets of the family are woven well into the story. The scope of those secrets surprised me as well as other characters in the story. Tom's longing for his mother comes across as genuine, and young readers will be able to relate to that as well as to the complete character of Tom. This is a clean read that ages 12 and up will enjoy. I enjoyed reading this. I give it 

✮✮✮✮

What I Didn't Like: 

I thought the story started off slow. It wasn't until chapter seven that I found myself caught up in the action. Tom's continual protestations of being called a kid could have happened less. I think there were other aspects of his character—like his genuine love of his mother and his puzzlement and anger of his father—that served better as descriptions of him. As always, the English teacher in me cringes at the misuse of the English language, particularly when the wrong words are used and problems in sentence structure.

** Book Blast Giveaway **

Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize, winner's choice

Giveaway ends: December 15, 11:59 pm, 2015

Open to: Internationally

How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by Kay LaLone and is hosted and managed by Renee from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send an email to Renee(at)MotherDaughterBookReviews(dot)com.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Meet YA Author/Screenwriter Joe Gazzam

Carpinello's Writing Pages welcomes Joe Gazzam and his debut YA novel Uncaged. I warn you now, Uncaged is not like any other YA novel you've read or heard about.

First, a bit about Joe:

Screenwriter/Novelist Joe Gazzam was born in Baltimore, MD, grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and graduated from the University of Florida. Soon after college he moved to Los Angeles with one script under his arm, never having been to California in his life.

Since then, due to good luck and the support of friends and family, he’s been a working screenwriter for 8 years. Joe has worked on such films as 21 Jump Street,
 Barbarella, 
Step Up: Revolution, 
Disney’s Hawaiian Adventure, 
It Takes a Thief,
 Anubis Tapestry
, and others.

He is represented by Harley Copen of ICM and managed by Ava Jamshidi of Industry Entertainment. His debut novel Uncaged was released on Oct. 22, 2013. He currently lives in Southern California with his wife and son.

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

Well, for one I just think YA fits me the best. I have a hard time reading books that take a long time to get going or that spend inordinate amounts of time describing non-essential stuff. If you take five pages to describe how the sunlight is hitting off a tin can, I’m probably not going to keep reading.

With screenwriting you ALWAYS have to be moving the plot. In fact, if you have a scene that doesn’t forward the plot in some way – you better delete it. YA, in a way, is somewhere between. It’s very much about character, mood, and such, but you better keep it moving.  I love that.

What types of books do you like to read?

I am all over the place. Pretty much every YA bestseller you can think off, but also Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, and a whole lot of biographies. I’m like a moth to light, once something interests me, I totally get sucked in.

But that also means I put down a lot of books. I need to get hooked and hooked quickly or I get impatient. Not my best quality, but what can you do? I just hate wasted movement.

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

I like to draw and paint and obviously, I love to go to the movies. But probably my main focus right now is my baby boy. He just turned two, and I am utterly obsessed with this kid. I never really had a dad growing up, so I literally can’t stand to be away from him.

Tell us about Uncaged and how the story came to be.

The story came out of my own, unmitigated fear of prison. Prison and sharks pretty much scare the crap out of me. The prison part, stemmed from an old documentary I watched when I was probably way too young to watch it. My dad had it on an old videotape; it was called “Scared Straight.”  Named, obviously, after the program (the same program in my fictional book). It was this program for repeat juvy offenders—kids they couldn’t get to stop committing crimes. They’d put them in a real jail for a day, and these real convicts would explain (in the most terrifying manner ever) what life would be like in prison if they ended up there.

It honestly gave me some of my worst nightmares growing up. And that seed just stuck in my head.  So when I decided I wanted to do a YA thriller—it was already there.

In the documentary, as scary as it was, those convicts were all volunteers. Guys who had a new attitude and wanted to help reform these kids. So there was always an imaginary line you knew they couldn’t cross. No matter how much they threatened these kids, you knew they weren’t really going to hurt them.

But, in my head it was always—what if that imaginary line was gone? What would it be like to be one of those kids in the most terrifying place on the planet with some of the most dangerous people on the planet? And the writing pretty much flowed from that.

Here's a peek at Uncaged:

Jason Holden has been skating on thin ice since his mother died. If there’s a rule to break, he’s broken it. After capping off a burglary and a bar fight with a car wreck, he quickly finds himself on the wrong side of the law. And since his father's the governor, that means his punishment is about as public as it gets. Jason's thrown into the first Scared Straight program Florida has ever run in their updated, state-of-the-art Blackenbush Penitentiary. Along with a documentary crew led by Sasha, a young woman in way over her head, and five other boys a year and a strike away from jail, Jason comes face to face with his inevitable future on the other side of a heavily guarded prison wall.

But that's just the beginning. The tour has barely begun when one of the inmates makes a move. Before long the entire penitentiary is under siege, surrounded by the feds and overrun with prisoners let loose from their cells. Jason slips away with Sasha in the chaos, but they won't be able to escape without help. And the only thing worse than being stuck in prison, is being stuck in a prison run by the inmates.

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.
Uncaged is actually my debut.  I’ve probably written thirty screenplays, but this is my first novel.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I just finished a first draft of a new YA series. Uncaged is pretty much a one-off—a self-contained story. So, I’m really excited about getting a series going where I can take characters on a continually journey.

I don’t want to say too much about them yet, but it’s an attempt to take YA in a slightly different direction. I think there are plenty of vampire and dystopia books out there. Maybe too many. I think YA can do so much more. My idea is to write a YA that feels like a big, action blockbuster. My two protagonists are brother and sister, and let’s say they get into some pretty crazy stuff. The story is heightened somewhat, but still very grounded and real world. No unicorns, no fairies, no zombies.

Big, fun, action, some romance—my goal is to have the reader gripping the next page ready to turn because they are flying through it so fast.

What advice do you have for other authors?

Very simple:  write, write, and write. And don’t be too hard on yourself in the beginning. Writing is a craft that you get better at with practice!

Anything else you want readers to know?

Just how much I appreciate them. You work so hard and just hope people will enjoy what you do.  I’ve been stunned by the overwhelmingly and effusively positive reviews the book has received. Not to mention all the super nice people that have reached out and told me how much they enjoyed it.

That stuff just makes my day and is so appreciated.

Where can readers find you and your books?

My personal website.

As for where to buy Uncaged, I am trying to send most people to Amazon to try and rise up the charts. 

Amazon

But I'm also on most book sites,including Barnes and Noble.

Meet YA Author Mark A. Cooper

Carpinello's Writing Pages is pleased to welcome Mark A. Cooper, author of the tremendously popular YA series Jason Steed.

First, a bit about Mark:

Mark A. Cooper was born in Dulwich, London. The arts always played a major part of Mark’s early life. He performed as Oliver in a Stage production and sang on two records in the mid 1970’s. In 2003, Mark moved his family to Sarasota. He spends his spare time with his family and writing.

Why did you pick to write books for YA?

The first novel was written for my son he was 13 at the time, and it fit the YA genre.

What types of books do you like to read?

Young Adult novels. As a child, I grew up reading Enid Blyton novels. I think she is the biggest influence on my work. (For those of you unfamiliar with Enid Blyton, some of her books include the Adventurous Four, Adventure Series, Alligator Books, and the Barney Mysteries.)

When you are not writing, what do you like to do?

Florida is absolutely beautiful. My wife and I walk for hours along the beaches. Sunrise or sunset are my favorite times.

Tell us about Jason Steed Absolutely Nothing and the Jason Steed series.

This is the third book of the Jason Steed series. I am still stunned by how successful the series has been. This novel took me the longest to write. I re-wrote 70% of it as I was not happy with the story. In Jason Steed Absolutely Nothing, 12-year-old Jason Steed once again finds himself embroiled in danger and a thrilling international adventure when his father is taken captive along with a UN peacekeeping force.

The first book Fledgling Jason Steed introduced readers to 11-year-old Jason Steed as he faces a threat of nuclear attack and the horrible deaths of his friends. He struggles not only survive, but also with how to save his country.

The second book Revenge Jason Steed finds Jason trying to survive attacks from Boudica and his Triads and protect the daughter of the Chinese Commissioner.

Here's a peek at Jason Steed Absolutely Nothing:

After going under cover and uncovering a child trafficking organization in Britain, 12 year-old Jason Steed settles into an elite American Military School for boys and finally feels normal.

When a peacekeeping force working for the United Nations are taken hostage, it was just another boring news story that Jason ignored until he is informed his father is among the captives. Repeatedly he is told not too worry, someone will do something. Jason decides he is that someone and discovers more than he bargained for when he unearths a group of American-fathered children deep in the Vietnamese Jungle. Unwanted by the Americans and shunned by the Vietnamese, they are left to die and hunted by a ruthless Vietnamese General. Can anyone rescue the prisoners and help the children?

Have you written other books? If so, tell us a bit about them.

The Jason Steed series are the successful novels. I've also written Edelweiss Pirates Operation Einstein. The story follows a group of German teenagers during WW2. A group of fun loving rebellious German teens, calling themselves the Edelweiss Pirates, witness something so deplorably sickening they decide to take action when a six-year old Jewish girl is left orphaned. Torn between patriotism for the country they love and their own rights and freedoms, they have to try and do the unthinkable. With the Gestapo and Hitler Youth hot on their trail, will it be too late?

The novel received great reviews and is a hit among the Jewish community who actually welcomed a novel with the German family POV. I have not yet decided whether or not to write a second adventure novel with the Edelweiss Pirates.

What’s next for your writing? Are you working on a new story?

I have two projects: Book 4 in the Jason Steed series and another novel that is partially science fiction. Both are YA stories

What advice do you have for other authors?

Never give up and stick to your ideas. When I first wrote Fledgling Jason Steed (Book 1), I self published it, and I had a huge success with it. An agent and publisher picked me up. They edited the novel, cut out 23,000 words and changed how an aircraft with damaged undercarriage landed. I had email after email of complaints regarding the aircraft landing and why it was changed. Many reviewers had actually mentioned the landing in the first edition. This is the largest regret I have. Never again will anyone tell me what to write. The editor ruined a good ending to a story, but when you are new and you get picked up by a big publisher, you think they know best. My advice would be stick to your guns.

Where to find Mark and his books:

Mark's website

Amazon

Barnes & Noble