Demon’s Blood has an awesome new cover that I’m excited to share with you!
Author: sharisakurai
Shari Sakurai is a British author of paranormal, horror, science fiction and fantasy novels that almost always feature a LGBT protagonist and/or antagonist. She has always loved to write and it is her escape from the sometimes stressful modern life!
Aside from writing, Shari enjoys reading, watching movies, listening to (loud!) music, going to rock concerts and learning more about other societies and cultures. Japanese culture is of particular interest to her and she often incorporates Japanese themes and influences into her work.
Shari loves a challenge and has taken part and won the National Novel Writing Month challenge ten times!
Review: Wind Down by Mark Ewig
Wind Down by Mark Ewig
Aaron Starks survived a near death experience when he was stabbed by an unknown assailant. All of his college roommates were suspects. However, investigators could turn up nothing to catch the attempted murderer.
Fifteen years later, Aaron is all grown up with a family. Things are going great until he starts experiencing strange blackouts and other paranormal visions. During the blackouts he still interacts with others, but he cannot remember anything he said or did. Doctors are unable to provide an answer. It is not until Aaron has an encounter with Ju’van, a local shaman, that he realizes what he needs to do. He is sent on a journey to meet up with all his old roommates to discover the truth on what really happened the night he was stabbed in the back.
Purchase Link: Amazon.com
Review
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *
Rating: 2 Stars
Fifteen years ago university student Aaron Starks was stabbed in the back and left for dead. His attacker was never caught and Aaron had always suspected that one or more of his friends and flatmates may have been involved. Fifteen years on and Aaron is married to his university sweetheart, has three children and his dream job. Then his perfect life is shattered when he starts experiencing blackouts. When doctors are unable to find a reason for these, Aaron learns that his blackouts are connected to the attack on him all those years ago.
I really liked the concept of this novel. The ideas are very clever and original, and this had the potential to be an excellent paranormal/mystery. Unfortunately there were quite a few things that let it down.
The grammar is very poor. It jumps between tenses almost constantly making it very difficult to read, and also punctuation has been used incorrectly throughout. Whilst the characters have potential they are undeveloped and very immature for their age. They act more like primary school children than university students. The writing itself isn’t bad, but it yo-yo’s from either rambling long descriptions to very short sentences.
However, as I said this has great potential. In my opinion it needs to be longer with a lot more time taken to character build (especially the university part of the novel). A revision that adds to this good start combined with addressing the points I made above would make this a really unique and page-turning read.
And I loved the twist at the end! I never saw that coming!
Review: Those Who Remain by Ian Blackport
Those Who Remain by Ian Blackport
Mallory travels forests and abandoned towns with her little sister as a lone companion, scavenging for meager food scraps. Almost one decade has passed since civilization collapsed in the wake of an incurable pandemic, leaving behind a ruined world without meaning or hope.
Only one thing in this unforgiving existence is worth protecting, and no line exists that Mallory is unwilling to cross for her sister. Compassion is a fatal weakness when each day might be her last and the only protection comes by way of a loaded gun. Every stranger is a threat and each human an adversary. In this bleak life, Mallory follows one rule: trust will get her killed. There can be no alternative, because she learned long ago that survival meant sacrificing her humanity.
Purchase Link: Amazon.com
Review
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *
Rating: 4 Stars
Those Who Remain is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has almost been wiped out by the stricken. Sisters Mallory and Mckayla are taking a perilous journey across America to reach the cape in the hopes of finding a permanent and safe home. Mallory is the older sister and forced to grow up at a young age she will do whatever it takes to protect her sister. Mckayla is younger and possesses more compassion and empathy than her older sibling. On their journey they come across a group of fellow survivors and for the first time the sisters are divided. Mallory wants to push on to the cape whilst Mckayla wants to make a home with their new friends.
Those Who Remain is predominately an action novel with generous descriptions and well-crafted scenes that draw you into the dystopian world. The sisters and their comrades are well-developed characters whom you find yourself really caring for and hoping they all survive.
The only thing that I found slightly disappointing was the ending, which felt to be somewhat abrupt and I would have liked to have this extended somewhat.
Overall, Those Who Remain is a gripping and action-packed read and a great addition to the post-apocalyptic genre.
Support Indie Author’s Presents ‘Spring into Indie Free and Bargain Books Event’
Don’t forget you can download loads of awesome free and bargain ebooks today only including my novel Demon’s Blood for 99¢!
Support Indie Author’s Presents ‘Spring into Indie Free and Bargain Books Event’
My novel Demon’s Blood will be discounted to $0.99 as part of the event on 1st April. Click here to purchase on Amazon.com.Review: God of Ruin by Michael John Grist
God of Ruin (Ruins Sonata #3) by Michael John Grist
In the battle to defeat King Ruin and protect the Bridge between souls, ex-Arctic marine Ritry Goligh tore his own soul into pieces. Now those pieces, embodied as six rugged marines spread across the tsunami-blasted world, are adrift without Ritry to guide them.
Their captain, Me, is addicted to dying in raids against the remnants of King Ruin’s army. Ray longs for the love he lost. Far seeks the mythical heart of the Bridge, So is lost to her calculations, while twins Ti and La have split as far apart as possible. They trudge from bunker to bunker blinded by loss, mopping up holdouts from the war.
But the war isn’t over. It’s only just begun. From the ashes of King Ruin’s defeat a godlike power rises, one that understands the Bridge better than Ritry ever did, and means to bring a flood so vast it will erase every soul from history. Me’s only hope is to ascend to godhood himself, before everyone he loves is washed away forever.
Purchase Link: Amazon.com
God of Ruin on GoodreadsGod of Ruin on Goodreads
Review
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *
Rating: 5 Stars
God of Ruin is the final instalment of the Ruins Sonata Trilogy and picks up where King Ruin left off. The seamless transition means that you are immediately drawn back into the struggle for all humans’ souls.
For me God of Ruin is the perfect conclusion to this outstanding trilogy. Action-packed with underlying poignancy throughout, this final instalment cannot fail to disappoint. I’m reluctant to say too much as I don’t want to give away any of the twists, but I will say that Ritry’s chord are determined to ensure that his sacrifice at the end of Book Two will not be in vain. Their determination against seemingly insurmountable odds and much personal loss makes this novel almost impossible to put down.
I highly recommend the Ruins Sonata trilogy to fans of science fiction, that is filled with action, suspense, loss and plot twists aplenty!
Author Spotlight: E.J Fisch
This month’s Author Spotlight features E.J Fisch, author of the Ziva Payvan series.
Interview with EJ Fisch
1. Please tell us a little about yourself?
Hello, world! I’m EJ Fisch, indie sci fi author, artist, and huge nerd. I first decided to publish almost exactly two years ago, and since then I’ve released three full-length novels, an omnibus edition of that series, and a collection I’ve collaborated on with two other sci fi authors (more on all of that in a bit!). This has been a great adventure, and after spending years being self-conscious and hiding my writing from the world, it’s been incredibly liberating to finally share it with everyone. I’ve loved getting to know other writers and readers from all around the world, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Review: Operation Earth (Project Ark 2) by L.T. Gibbons
Operation Earth (Project Ark 2) by L.T.Gibbons
Can a team of teenagers from another planet help change the world?
Six months after fifteen year old Mia McAdams lands on the secret planet Usonia, a shipment of Earth’s most brilliant individuals descends on the colony. Tasked with speeding up progress on the utopic planet, the determined and ambitious new arrivals aren’t afraid to ruffle a few Usonian feathers.
Meanwhile, Mia is preparing to say goodbye to her idyllic new life on Usonia, leaving her boyfriend and first love, Noah behind. Joined by her best friend Stella, her devilishly charming new teammate Kale, and a host of Usonians, Mia is set to fly to Earth on a mission to change the world. But will they succeed?
Operation Earth is the second book in the teen sci-fi trilogy, Project Ark.
Purchase Link: Amazon.com
Review
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review *
Rating: 2.5 Stars
Operation Ark picks up where Project Ark left off and Mia McAdams is about to leave her new home on Usonia for Earth together with fellow Usonians who are tasked with assisting with the migration.
I was looking forward to reading about Mia’s mission and hopefully how she could bring together two planets with very different views and ways of living. Unfortunately the direction was lacking somewhat and too much time was spent on ‘filler’ scenes and not enough on the important ones such as their time in Scotland and Japan.
Whilst it was good to see some more of the friends that Mia had left behind it just felt to me that she was looking down on them and didn’t really care about them at all. Her treatment of her best friend Ellie, whom understandably was a bit upset that she hadn’t seen Mia for a long time and when she finally does Mia’s brought someone else along (Stella who has also taken Ellie’s place as Mia’s best friend), was really horrible. Mia should have tried to put herself in Ellie’s shoes but instead she just wrote off the friendship like it meant nothing. Mia’s mother’s advice about their friendship was the worst advice I have ever read and I hope that no one’s parent ever really encourages their child to give up on a friend like that! That being said I do wonder if this was what the author intended as Mia’s mother is a pretty poor parent and example; after all she dumped Mia with a relation Mia hardly knew in favour of her career! Mia’s father’s presence was felt a lot more in Operation Earth and it was great to see his character developing further and also the much more positive example he set for Mia.
For me Operation Earth suffered most from missed opportunities. I think it’s a great idea that on Usonia everyone gets to have a say and that being a teenager doesn’t automatically exclude Mia and her friends from getting involved in the migration and helping to unite both planets. I really enjoyed the parts that were mission-focused and seeing young people make such a difference. It was amusing reading Stella’s adjustment to life on Earth and Operation Earth was a great opportunity for her character to shine and develop further. Ideally Operation Earth should have been longer so that more time could be taken on all aspects of the novel; Mia’s former life and the mission. Despite aspects for me feeling somewhat flawed, Operation Earth is a well-written read and the cliff-hanger leaves me wanting to know how the series ends.
So You’ve Just Self-Published Your First Book and it isn’t Selling?
Indie writers, eh? We’ve all been there, we’ve put the finishing touches to our first novel, our veritable masterpiece, we’ve uploaded the files and ticked the boxes to complete …
Source: So You’ve Just Self-Published Your First Book and it isn’t Selling?
Shari Sakurai 
Until then, you can learn more about these talented authors and the books they are offering by clicking on the links below:
http://www.annliviandrews.com/ramblings/2016/3/26/did-someone-say-free-and-99-books
https://missyflits.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/sia-free-and-bargain-book-event/
https://rileyamoswestbrook.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/its-time-for-the-siafbb-to-happen-again-supportindieauthors-asmsg-iartg-bookboost/
http://ellisonblackburn.com/events/we-are-not-fooling/
http://mcmullenwrites.blogspot.com/2016/03/support-indie-authors-free-bargain.html