Wednesday, December 06, 2023

The Insecure Writer's Support Group, Rattlesnake, and Conduction


It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

The question for today: Book reviews are for the readers. When you leave a book review, do you review for the Reader or the Author? Is it about what you liked and enjoyed about your reading experience, or do you critique the author?

I confess, I don’t do a lot of book reviews. For the past ten+ years, that’s been in part because most of my reading involves Dancing Lemur Press titles and submissions. (Little unethical to leave a review for a book published through my company.) The past two years have involved reading my own new titles, too. Ultimately, I don’t have time to read much outside of those areas. I have been reading a lot of cookbooks, so I do need to get on the stick and review some of those.

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Now, here’s C. Lee McKenzie and her new book:


Rattlesnake wasn't my first tittle. I think I had three others before I settled on that venomous sounding one. Each previous title had ghosts included—No Such Thing As Ghosts, Ghost Dreams, and one other that must have been so bad I can't remember it. I think the word, Gulch, was involved. Fortunately, I dispatched all of these, and once I settled on Rattlesnake, I was happy. It had the flavor of the desert, a hint of the old west, and it was also ominous.

What the book called Rattlesnake is about:

The desert town of Rattlesnake isn't a destination. It's a last resort. Seventeen-year-old Jonah Guthrie's aunt sold their home in New England and fled to this place to escape the humiliation of his dad's indictment for embezzlement and subsequent disappearance.

While their late uncle left them a house and a silver mine, the house is a shambles and the mine is defunct. They're almost out of money, so they have no choice but to stay in Rattlesnake. And then Jonah discovers they've inherited something else. Her name is Catherine, and she's been dead for over a hundred year. Now, she needs his help.

Excerpt:

For a moment, the sun balanced on the tip of the tallest peak, then slipped behind the mountains, turning them black against the sky. They were out of options all except for going back to Old Cemetery Road and dealing with the property. From somewhere far out in the desert came the loneliest sound Jonah had ever heard. That high-pitched yowl caught him at the center of his stomach. Suddenly, he felt eyes on him from every direction, and the shadows grew teeth.


Buy Rattlesnake at Amazon / Smashwords / Kobo / B&N

Find Lee at Website / Substack / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / LinkedIn

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And Tara Tyler has a new book!

CONDUCTION by Tara Tyler
Sci Fi Detective Thriller or Techno Thriller
Book 4 in Pop Travel series
Preview of MAGNETRON, Book 5 included

In 2085, cutting edge technology is the most valuable currency, and the black tech market offers high pay-offs for diamond-level code. Jared Nertz is an easy-going ex-juicer gone legit working for Pop Travel Technologies, and just when he finishes his long-awaited Conduction project--the process of storing data in the brain--someone immediately steals it and kills his mentor, framing him for the murder. Now it's up to his lawyer/wife Miki and their resourceful friends, Geri and Cooper to prove Jared's innocence by recovering the stolen tech before the criminal killer sells it. But that's only the beginning, as they discover a darker threat when they dig deeper into the case.

Find Tara at her blog

And Conduction on Amazon



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

33 comments:

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Congratulations Lee and Tara!

I don't review books unless I like them. I feel pretty leery about giving authors poor reviews. Even my good reviews are given under a pen name profile on Goodreads.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats to Lee and Tara on their new books. I'm like Elizabeth. I only review books I enjoy.

Loni Townsend said...

Grats to the new releases!

I know I don't do as many book reviews as I should. Usually if I can't rave, then I don't say anything at all.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

I can't tell you enough how much I love the Rattlesnake cover. It's unique and eye-catching. I would definitely pick it up off the shelf and take a look. Happy IWSG Wednesday, Diane!

J.Q. Rose said...

Congratulations to Lee and Tara!! Wishing you success with your new releases!

Jemi Fraser said...

Congrats to Lee & Tara! Looking forward to reading both of these :)

Toi Thomas said...

I get not leaving a book review when you are a publisher. I think it's cool you might be reviewing some cookbooks. I've only reviewed one of those, though I've read more.

Congrats to C. Lee on her release. It sounds like a cool Western story.

Congrats to Tara T on her release. I may have to go back to look into this series.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Big congratulations to Lee and Tara!

Tyrean Martinson said...

Congratulations to C. Lee and Tara!
Merry Christmas - I hope you get a chance to relax and read a little for fun. :)

Leigh Caron said...

Big congrats to Tara and Lee. Gotta say..."and the shadows grew teeth." Super scary!!!

Melissa said...

Congrats to Tara and Lee!

Patricia JL said...

I don't review as much as I should either.
Congrats to Lee and Tara!

Olga Godim said...

Congrats to C.Lee and Tara.
I never read a review of a cookbook. But then, I don't really read cookbooks. I would be extremely interested to read your reviews of cook books.

emaginette said...

I tend to review things I buy through Amazon. Not books though. The rules interfere with that. Authors reviews can be removed at their discretion and that kiboshed it for me. :-)

Anna from elements of emaginette

cleemckenzie said...

How great to share this space with Tara today! We've been on this journey for a long time together.

Thanks, Diane!

Fundy Blue said...

Lee and Tara's books look awesome, Diane! Thanks for featuring them. I do love cookbooks ~ I hope you have found some great ones. Take care!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

I'm not surprised you haven't written many reviews. You're sooooo busy! Busy in a good way, of course.

Rattlesnake is a GREAT title. And I love the premise.

Conduction sounds interesting too.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Toi, I need to go back through my huge catelogue and review some cookbooks.

Anna, sadly they can.

Liz A. said...

Yay on new books.

Cathrina Constantine said...

A huge Congratulations to Lee and Tara!!!

Have a Very Blessed Christmas!

kimlajevardi.com said...

Congratulations to C. Lee and Tara!

Steven Arellano Rose Jr. said...

Having to read for Lemur as an editor is as lot. I can see why you wouldn't have time to read outside of that and leave reviews!

J Lenni Dorner said...

Thanks for the book mentions! Growing my TBR just before the holiday season...

It does make sense that it'd be difficult to review books when you're in the publishing business. I enjoy reviewing cookbooks on occasion, even though my spouse will tell you that I should never be allowed near a kitchen.

What book did you most enjoy this year?
May joy, peace, and goodwill be with you this season and always.

J Lenni Dorner (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZchallenge

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane - it's great to read posts about new publications from blogging friends - I can only wish Lee and Tara all the best - cheers to you - Hilary

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

So many great new books to read. Congrats to the authors. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

H. R. Sinclair said...

Congratulations Lee and Tara!

chickangell said...

That was the worst part of working in a publishing house.

It has been hard to get back into the routine of leaving reviews.

www.heidiangell.com

Rajani Rehana said...

Great post

cleemckenzie said...

Thanks again, Diane. I loved being here this month on your #IWSG post.

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats to both authors.
Lee's was an excellent read and Tara's intrigues me....

Sandra Cox said...

There's no lack of reading material in your life, is there? Heh.

Sandra Cox said...

Wishing you a blessed holiday and new year.

Tara Tyler said...

sorry it took me so long to stop by — I’ve been annoyed by sickness for 3 weeks in addition to all the chaos of the holidays and traveling this year. Just too much stress! I hope you had a much better holiday!

And thanks so much for the plug and for all the congrats! I love Lee’s new exciting release and wish her well too!

Happy New Year!
Tara Tyler Talks