Hard Day's Night by John G. Hartness - A Review

Children are missing.

The police are stumped.

Halloween is coming, with an ancient evil on the horizon.

The vampires are the good guys.

This is not your ordinary fall weekend in Charlotte, NC. Vampire private detectives Jimmy Black and Greg Knightwood have been hired to keep a young client from being cursed for all eternity, but end up in a bigger mess than they ever imagined.

Suddenly trapped in the middle of a serial kidnapping case, Jimmy and Greg uncover a plot to bring forth an ancient evil into the world, and enlist the help of a police detective, a priest, a witch, a fallen angel and strip club proprietor to save the world. This unlikely band of heroes battles zombies, witches, neuroses and sunburn while cracking jokes and looking for the perfect bag of O-negative.


What a fun read! Well written with a great pace and hilarious yet endearing lead characters. Hard Day's Knight holds twists and turns that will surprise you over and over again.

As the book starts off you find yourself in the head of James Black (where you stay for the whole novel), vampire extraordinaire, who is in quite a predicament. He's been kidnapped! As my character Sean, from "The Betrayal," would say, "Now why did you go and let that happen?"

Have no fear, as it turns out, the kid who has taken James has an unusual request...which leads he and Greg (his spandex and cape wearing side-kick) to help the kid out. But what they thought was a simple curse...turns out to be so much worse. (Sorry, couldn't resist the rhyme).

As if vampires aren't enough, Mr. Hartness throw in some witches, a priest, evil/possessed children (as if there really are any other kind?...JK), demons, and even fallen angels! It makes for a fantastic adventure. You will find yourself saying, "Well it can't get worse than this"...oh, but it can and will! James and Greg will attempt to save the world, as only they know how to do. With witty banter, help from their friends, courage, and their devotion to what's right.

Something I love about this story is that these two guys are your average Joe's. They're not super pretty or suave...or sparkling (thank God)...they're comic book lovin, computer wizz'n, nerds who got stuck that way. Think of that guy from the movie "Revenge of the Nerds" as a vampire...and you're on the right track. It's a brilliant concept! And, instead of taking place in LA or NYC, it's in the Queen City herself, Charlotte, NC. I spent ten years there myself...and it's a perfect backdrop for this fun, witty, fast paced, story of friendship, love, courage, acceptance, and forgiveness.

The only bad thing I can say is that at only 176 pages, its over too soon, leaving you wanting more! Luckily, there is more! Go HERE for more on all three books in the series. The next two books are called Back in Black and Knight Moves.

In closing I want to say this, even if you're not a "vampire book" fan...you'll enjoy this book. It's a great ride you won't want to get off of. So jump on board! Click the title of this blog to go to Amazon to buy this book for your Kindle for ONLY 99 cents or check out John's website HERE for more about him and his different books!

Happy Reading!

Tamsin :)

Mental Health Day

On Wednesday I decided that if it was going to be 75+ degrees in NYC on Thursday, in March no less, and that it was going to get chilly and rainy over the weekend, that I needed a day in the sun with the dog. This pic would be me and said dog, my 12 year old (he'll be 13 in May) Border Collie/Black Lab mix dog, Keziah. ---For those who have read The Betrayal...in case you're curious, who came first, Phoenix Keziah or my dog...Phoenix did, actually. Yes, I started that damn book THAT long ago.---

Anyhoo...moving on... :)

I asked my boss for a day to help Lauren with headshots and was granted a mental health day. So, yesterday was a taste of what my life would be like, if I was a writer and could use my days as I wished.

Was up at 8:45am and was down in the West Village by 11am to meet up with Photographer, Alexis Daria, and my best gal pal, Lauren Steinmeyer, to do some headshots of Lauren seeing as she's graduating from New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in May and needs good pics that look like her.

By 2pm I headed home (though they were still doing a few more shots) because, to be honest, I'd originally taken the day off to...well...to take my dog to the park. This may sound strange but...its bloody March people...and almost 80 degrees! My old man of a dog deserved to see it too! And, seeing as they're calling for overcast skies with showers and cool temps ALL DAMN WEEKEND...I decided to snag the nicest day of the week and go sit in the sun with the dog.

See how happy he is?














Cause folks, it was THIS pretty out!
Do you know what building this is in the West Vil?)














We brought a blanket and treats...here he is beggin' for one...paw up. How am I supposed to say no to this?

And here's what I found out by taking a random day off to sit in the sun...

I'M A SMART GIRL!

I felt so great today, even toting all my crap to work and working on spreadsheets today hasn't ruined my mood. I need to take a "mental health day" more often. I think maybe, now that its warm, I should do this once every other month. I have to use a vacation day for it, and I'd prefer I did it on a Friday, but man...the difference I felt after getting some sun and fresh air with my friends and then the dog? CRAZY HUGE DIFFERENCE! I felt amazing...wired like I'd downed a JOLT COLA (You do remember that soda, right? Ha!) on the way to work.

So...if you have time available to you to use...I recommend you find a way to skip a day every now and again. You won't be sorry you did. Even if its in the middle of the week. Everyone needs to rejuvinate their body.

We New Yorkers tend to go go go...all time. Even on weekends. We need to pause every now and again. I hope now that its warm I'll get to do this more often.

Have a great weekend all! I know in NYC we'll be dropping back to the mid 50's and dealing with rain...so in the midst of running around town or starting that spring cleaning...find a few hours to hang with your pet or lay in bed reading...it may not be the sun at the park...but you deserve a few moments to relax and enjoy hanging out with a pet or a friend, seeing a movie, or just reading a book.

Remember...if you own an E-reader...you can visit the Independant Author Network for some great books to consider (if you are going to stay in and read)...or you can just get mine...ha ha!

Whatever you do, enjoy the weekend, and find time to yourself as soon as you can. I'm so happy I did.

xo

Tamsin :)

And stay tuned...I'll have pics that Alexis took of Lauren for you to see soon! :)

LDG1 Announcement....

I've been slack, I apologize. I've been busy doing that thing called "writing/editing" on Book Two of the LDG Series called, "Shattered."

See...NOW you forgive me, right?

Not yet?

What if I had good news? Would you forgive me then?

Okay...so here goes...

By the end of the month you will be able to read my book, "The Betrayal (A Living Dead Girl Novel)" IN PRINT!

That's right! If you don't have an E-reader and don't want to read it on your computer OR you are just old fashioned and like paper on a shelf (which is totally okay...I tend to want hard copies of some stuff myself) you'll be able to go to Amazon's PRINT ON DEMAND feature and pay for a copy.

Then...they'll print one copy just...for...you!

That's right!

SO...stay tuned here or on my Facebook page or my Twitter account...for as soon as I have the link for the printed version...I'll give it to you all!

It'll be at the end of THIS month!

Woot!

Have a great weekend!

Tamsin :)

Moon Over Manhattan News!

As some of you know, my writing is very visual and my characters are where I put my focus. That can be said even more so for Moon Over Manhattan, the sequel series to the Living Dead Girl books (the first of which is available through Eirelander Publishing via my website). It was so visually in my head, that even before I finished it, I did a photoshoot of the characters in Central Park in October of 2010 and then a few more in June of 2011. See Pics Here. Now, because of these facts, I've always liked the idea of doing Moon Over Manhattan as a graphic novel.

So guess what?

I will be! (Insert "Squee" here)

That's right! I am here today to tell you that my friend, the talented Ana Catris (Pictured Left), has "signed on" to work with me to make that happen! To say I'm "excited" doesn't really touch how I feel. I'm "bounce in my chair, scream to all can hear me" excited!!!! LOL!

She is also a published writer/artist as well. This is her book, and you can get it on Amazon HERE!














Here are some examples of her work that she's taking to a convention this weekend:














Here's a nice close up of one of the prints while on her computer:














If you were at my Book Release Party this past October you had the honor of meeting my loverly blue-haired, UK, lady. And if you follow me on Twitter I tend to RT her costumes and drawings a lot.

And before you ask, no, I do not have an offer from a publisher on this project...but once we have the first section of the book done, you can be sure we'll begin to shop it around. *Fingers Crossed*

Now, you may be asking, "Why not Living Dead Girl?" That's a good question. It comes down to the fact that LDG already has a platform, in print, with Eirelander Publishing. They own that story right now and even if they didn't, Moon Over Manhattan has a bit more punch...literally. More fighting (can you say sword and gun fight in Central Park to open it off with?), fewer characters, fewer locations, fewer perspectives (only two in this book), and a kick ass female character (Denika) that my Beta Readers say is one of their favorite female character they've ever read. She's based on a mix of three people: Me, my longest best-gal-pal (20 yrs) Angie, and some of my bestie in NYC, Lauren (who modeled for Denika), thrown in.

Ana will get to have fun drawing goth/industrial clothing & body art, goth/industrial clubs, sword fights, and NYC in all its glory...as well as those cool yet flawed characters. Characters who fight to figure out their own life while they save NYC from those who wish to start another war within the Clandestine World in 2010, a year after the LDG Series concludes.

So stay tuned for more news and samples of the work Ana and I will post here and on HER BLOG. You can also follow her on Twitter: @anacatris if you want faster updates to the project and other things she's working on.

Cheers!

Tamsin, out. ;)

One of my fave candid shots of me and Ana at my book release party (with Lauren as well in her long dark wig):

Writers Like to Eat

Have you noticed that?

We write, we munch, we write, we get up to get something from the fridge, we write some more...etc.etc.etc. At my Writers Group we almost always have something to pass, at our Write-Ins we bring food or we write somewhere where they sell it, and at our social gatherings...food is around also. And its good stuff! Our gal Marsha can bake! :)

Most writers also consume MUCH caffeine. WAIT! I'm not going to say DON'T drink it! If you need caffeine, by all means, drink it! I don't drink it often because I have a slight alergy to it (*waves away the sorrowful condolences*). I know, I know, it sounds like the end of the world to some of you, but I'm fine. If I'm not drinking tea I live on Orange flavored Crystal Light, Orange flavored Vitamin Water Zero, and Diet Sunkist. Do you seeing the pattern there? I have an addiction to Orange vs. Caffeine. Meh. It is what it is. And yes, Sunkinst has caffeine, as does my tea...so I can have only have one OR the other in a day. Not both. I tend to opt for the tea if its winter and the soda if its summer.

Anyway...moving on...

I'm here to talk about food. I just got side tracked there for a moment. Forgive my ADHD.

Over the summer I was getting my first book ready for publishing AND I broke my hand. Between the writing munchies and no exercise due to my hand I put on a bit of weight. Ten pounds to be exact. So now I'm doing WEIGHT WATCHERS. I'm even going to meetings. I need the accountability. Someone who looks at that scale with me and says, "You lost" or "You gained." In three weeks I've lost 4.6 lbs, btw. Yay me!

Now, because the new Points Plus plan has FREE foods I've found I truly am eating more fruit. Veggies were always free of points, but fruit? That's new. So, for instance, one of my late afternoon snack options (that I'm eating right now) is a banana and 1 Tbs of reduced fat peanut butter. Since the banana has NO points I just have to count the peanut butter. It used to be a serving of chips or a 100 calorie bag of something sweet.

Because of these better choices I've been making I don't get what I call the Blood Sugar Droops. You know, where you suddenly can't keep your eyes open and your head droops as you sit at the computer? You know what I mean, right? I'm not the only one, am I? O_O

My point is, I'm appreciating this lack of the droops. I hate becoming non-productive. Don't you? So, as I'm on this journey to lose those 10 lbs and another 10 for the health of it...I'm going to toss up any cool food ideas to you writers on here...to give you great ideas to snack on when you write.

Cause we writers like to eat. And we shouldn't have to stop.

xo

Tamsin :)

The Fallen Angel's Interview

That's right! The lovely ladies at Fallen Angel Reviews, who interview authors of the Fantasy genre (specifically the Vampire/Werewolf kind) were nice enough to interview me over the holidays. And today it is up on the site. YAY!

MANY thank you's to the ladies at Fallen Angel! They were fantastic to work with. Great personality as well as professionalism.

You can read the interview HERE!

Hope you enjoy it! If you do, re-tweet my tweet about it, post the link to the interview, OR post link to this blog!

Thanks!

xo

Tamsin :)

Sometimes its for the best...

Today I'm at my office doing some writing. It's quiet here. I have an ergonomic keyboard and a comfy chair...but most importantly, I can stay focused easier here than at home...where my dog, the TV, my comfy bed...all pull for my attention. Oh, and the fridge...it calls to me too. If I want work done, best to come here.

Today's primary goal was to fix something. You see, when I originally wrote LDG2, called Shattered, I wrote it like I did LDG1. From MANY POV. If you've read LDG1 you know that we've narrowed that down to a set of 7 people who tell this story. The idea is that Atlanta is using their journals (Tiny Spoiler: Which she gives them all for Xmas in the first book) to write these stories, after the war is ended.

Problem is, I've got scenes from Phoenix's perspective and Stephan's (so far) in this version of hte 2nd book and since they are not one of the seven, I had to rework them to put one of my seven there. This may prove to be a HUGE problem in book three, "Stained Glass,"...but I'm trying to do what I can to keep it down to the seven.

Today's work has proven to me that sometimes change is for the best. These new scenes work well and condense things. Here's to hoping I can continue to do this.

Now, back to the book! I'd like to get this in to the publisher soon so you all can get your hands on it by summer.

xo

Tamsin :)