SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW !!

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A MAD WOMAN

    by:  Stephanie Queen

This is a catchy title, but more so once you meet the two main characters.  Madeline, also known as Mad for short and Peter, also known as The Rock.

Book Blurb:

“Madeline Grace was always expected to do great things, but she discovers the price of destiny means running for governor--against a man who was once her lover.

In this world of politics, romance wins over cynicism and the good guys finish first. Not since JFK, has a political candidate used his wit and charm to such an advantage as Peter “the Rock”. On the other hand, there hasn’t been a woman so admired as a crusader against corrupt power since Joan of Arc… until “Mad” Madeline. Madeline is running for Governor of Massachusetts against Peter. Madeline and Peter were once in love—before she broke his heart.

In the midst of the campaign battle they re-ignite their volatile relationship, but on warring sides of the ticket, they can’t afford for the media to find out. As they fight each other for office they find they have an enemy in common. When their enemy drives up the stakes, Peter must decide if he’ll risk his career and fight with Madeline to overcome the political crisis. Madeline has to decide if she trusts Peter—and whether she still loves him.”

The author immediately drags the reader into the world of political campaign and makes the reader root for both sides of the ticket.  While I was reading, I wondered how she was going to allow both of her main characters to “win” when she wrote two such compelling candidates.  (Since I couldn’t imagine either of them losing) 

Well, the obvious would be for her to join him on the ticket as his Lieutenant Governor… at least in Peter’s mind, but Madeline will have none of that.  They differ on a lot of issues and she refuses to play second fiddle to a man…again.

There are twists and turns and even the secondary characters are compelling.  I could easily see a couple of them having their own story.  (Loved the Special Ops guys)

I was captured immediately and read straight through without stopping.  I didn’t want to put it down until I found out what was going to happen!

For me, the kiss of death or the two thumbs up depends on whether or not I love the characters enough to want to continue reading about them after the story ends.  In this case, I would love to read a sequel to Between A Rock and A Mad Woman. You owe it to yourself to buy and read this book.

Want a suggestion?  Right now you can get Between A Rock and a Mad Woman and her second book, Throwbacks, for $ .99 and I have to tell you...that's a bargain that a girl just can't pass up.  Oh, and after you read about Rock and Madeline, you'll want to read more stories written by Stephanie, so save yourself some time and go ahead and get Throwbacks while you're at Amazon and B&N.

 Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Happy Reading and Merry Christmas!

Welcome my guest today.....Stephanie Queen!

SUPERMARKET LADY

                 by:  Stephanie Queen

By marketing, I do not mean making a trip to the supermarket. Although I could

always bring along fliers and post them on the supermarket bulletin board…

But no, that’s merely another digression in a long line of dizzying marketing ideas

that have come and gone through my head from too many sources—good, bad and ugly.

Indie Info Overload

I never thought there’d be such a thing as too much helpful support, but I’m

beginning to reconsider my theory on that. Or maybe I need a better filter for what

info is relevant and what’s not. I’m in a fabulously boisterous and knowledgeable

group. Some of what they discuss might be beyond my sapling status—like how to get a review from Romantic Times (But it's a seductively exciting prospect...)

Back to Overload

I’ve heard it all. Get a professional service to set up a blog tour and reviews for you.

Do it all yourself, it’s easy. Twitter. Facebook. (Everyone says you must, but is it

helpful? And if so, how?” Write a blog. Don’t bother with a blog because only writers

will read it. Give away your books for free. Discount your book price. Don’t bother

with the discount because it doesn’t work—you’ll lose money. Release as many

books at once as you can. Stagger the release two weeks apart—no, a month apart—

no three months apart. Join readers’ forums and participate, but be careful because

they hate when writers infiltrate to promote their books so you can’t tell them

you’re a writer (?)

These are some of the suggestions I’ve heard—all within a one week period. Hold on

while I pause to let my head stop spinning.

Does Anything Out There Make Sense?

I don’t know if there is any such thing as tried & true marketing strategies for us,

because let’s face it, this is a new marketing world. Indie books are amebas, with

digital publishing and social media not far ahead in the developmental scheme. It’s

the perfect storm—if you’re idea of perfect is chaotically rapid change from every

direction.

So I’m dragging out my old marketing plan (from 3 weeks ago), crossing off

Facebook (because I don’t like it—a tame version of what I think), keeping twitter

(because it’s short and sometimes fun), doing the blog thing (because I like to hear

myself talk, but I’m a writer so a blog is a good substitute), attempting to get reviews

(actually twitter is helpful for this) and …

I think I may go for the Romantic Times book review—you never know.

                                                               ****

 Stephanie's Bio:    

Stephanie Queen lives in bucolic New Hampshire where her two sons visit when they’re not away at college learning how to run the world. Writing happy, snappy romances takes most of her time, however she does force herself to go to the gym on occasion so that she can continue to fit through the door. You can also find her watching UConn football and basketball games whenever they’re on, and sometimes even in person. Right now, she’s busy writing her next book, of course.

To check out her e-books:

Between A Rock and a Mad Woman

Throwbacks

Be sure to drop back by on Saturday to check out the SATURDAY BOOK REVIEW when I'll be reviewing Stephanie's book, BETWEEN A ROCK AND A MAD WOMAN.  See you then!