Showing posts with label nessie strange. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nessie strange. Show all posts

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Confessions of a Punk Rocker By Nessie Strange!

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Description:

Jack Norris just lost his best friend—who also
happened to be his band’s drummer—to a drunk driving accident. As he navigates
the uncertainty of the band’s future, as well as his own personal demons, his
life spirals out of control. To make matters worse, his dead friend is back, and
it’s wreaking havoc on Jack’s sanity. When a new acquaintance not only hooks
him up with a drummer, but promises to help get rid of his ghostly stalker,
Jack’s life does a one eighty.


Drew MacLellan, the new drummer, is helping to bring
the band back from the dead. He’s also got an insanely hot older sister who is
definitely not Jack’s biggest fan. Jen MacLellan is nothing like the women
Jack’s dated in the past, but the more he gets to know her, the deeper he
falls. The only problem is, she’s got a boyfriend. Caught between his growing
attraction and the desire to do the right thing, Jack does everything he can to
keep things as just friends. The longer it goes on, the more he realizes it
isn’t possible. Can Jack win the heart of the woman he’s fallen for? And can he
figure out how to help his dead friend rest in peace...permanently?

Excerpt:

My eyelids strain against
gravity. Last night’s binge hangs in the back of my throat, threatening to
reappear. Maybe. All I know is the inside of my mouth tastes like a used tissue
and my head throbs, right between the eyes. I don’t even remember how I got
home.

“Hey, Jack, get up.” The door
swings open and my brother Ashton pokes his head in. A beam of light cuts
through the darkness and stabs me square in the face. Am I still drunk? Groan.
I shouldn’t have had those last three beers. Or that shot of whiskey to top it
off. Right now, any sudden movement would be a bad idea.

“Dude?” Ashton widens his
eyes at me and jerks his head to the side, a move that’s one part impatience,
but mostly asshole.

I fold my arms behind my head
to show him I’m not in a rush to do anything. This will piss him off even more,
I’m sure of it. It’ll also give me time to scrape the fuzz from my brain.
“What.”

“Uh, funeral?” He looks at
his watch. “It’s nine-thirty and we need to be there in forty-five minutes.”

As if I could forget
something like that. My buddy Eben got tanked a few nights ago and lost control
of his car. It flipped over, skidded across the median, and smashed into the
concrete barriers on the other side. They say he died instantly.

“And?”

His eyes look like they’re
ready to roll back into his skull. “And you need to get your lazy ass
out of bed. Now.”

Right. Get out of bed. It
doesn’t seem possible that I’m burying one of my closest friends today. A wave
of dizziness washes over me as I try to sit. My eyes snap shut. That’s it, I’m
never drinking again. “Chill the fuck out. I’m getting up.”

“Yeah, well, get a move on.”
He stands in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest and watches me.
Could he be any more annoying?

“What?”

“If I leave the room, you’re
just gonna sit there instead of coming out to the kitchen. Where the rest of
the band is already waiting, by the way.” He cocks his head to the side.
“They’re pretty much always waiting on you, aren’t they?”

“Go fuck yourself,” I mumble
while I untangle my legs from the blanket. I’m holding my breath now. It’s
funny how smells like stale air and dirty laundry seem magnified when you feel
like you’re gonna puke.

Ashton shakes his head. “Grow
up.”

I shoot him a dirty look, but
don’t answer.

“Sometime today.”

“Do I at least have time to
shower, or are you gonna stand there with the stopwatch if I do that too?” I
grab a towel from the floor and brush past him, slamming the bathroom door
behind me.

“Hurry up, Jack.” His voice
is thankfully muffled by the door.

The shower turns cold after
the first couple minutes. I stay under the water anyway, tilt my head back and
focus on the mosaic of peeling paint and mold spots above me. Man, I never
realized what a luxury hot water was until I moved in with my brother. I’m
shivering to the point my teeth chatter together by the time I get out, but I
couldn’t possibly be more awake.

My Review

Ok so let me explain- this is Jack's story. Starting a little earlier than Jen's and a little later than hers too, but in Jack's POV. And it's almost as heartbreaking as Jen's story. And it's kinda zombie meets ghost. You see, Jack's best friend Eben dies, and he's haunting Jack, but not just as a ghost, he's like a zombie ghost. Like rotting away. And now after reading Jen's version, I understand so much more about Jack. And I also realize how much Jen healed Jack and brought him back to life. And they are so different and raised so different and want different things. It's reading the same story except it's really not. Yes the same events occur but it's like reading a whole different story because the views are so different. 

I loved this author’s writing. And I'm so impressed how well she wrote from a males POV. And besides, this story has a little of everything to keep you interested- horror, humor, romance, smoking how band members, and of course a swoon worthy bad boy book boyfriend! I am not sure who's POV I enjoyed more now that I have seen both sides- Jack's or Jen's! This is a fantastic addition to the series! 5 PAWS! 



Bio:


Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Nessie is a
Massachusetts native and mother of two who has dabbled in everything from
abstract painting to freelance sports reporting. She also loves a good story,
whether it's reading or writing one. The first two novels in her Living Dead
World series--Living Dead Girl and Reaper Madness--were published in 2014

Author Links




Buy Links

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

Friday, November 6, 2015

Confessions of a Punk Rocker by Nessie Strange w Giveaway!



 
Confessions of a Punk Rocker
Living Dead World
Book 0.5
Nessie Strange


Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy


Publisher: Etopia Press


Date of Publication: Sept 25 2015


ISBN: 978-1-944138-05-9
ASIN: B015QJ7TAS


Number of pages: 268
Word Count: 55305


Book Description:


The dead should stay dead...
Jack Norris has just lost his best friend—who also happened to be his band's drummer—to a drunk driving accident. As he struggles to deal with the band's uncertain future and his own personal demons, those issues soon become unimportant. His dead friend has come back. And he's not showing any signs of going away. Questioning his own sanity, Jack finds his life spiraling out of control. But when a new acquaintance not only hooks him up with a drummer, but promises to help get rid of his ghostly stalker, Jack's life does a one-eighty.


Drew MacLellan, the new drummer, is more than just a new set of sticks—he's the brother of the insanely hot Jen MacLellan, who's definitely not Jack's biggest fan. Jen is nothing like the women Jack's dated in the past, but the more he gets to know her, the deeper he falls. The only problem is she's got a boyfriend. Caught between his growing attraction and the desire to do the right thing, Jack does everything he can to keep his distance. But the more he sees of her, the more he realizes he can't. He's determined to win Jen's heart, if only he can figure out how to help his dead friend rest in peace...permanently.


Amazon     BN    Kobo    Google Play    iTunes    ARe    Etopia Press

EXCERPT#1


My eyelids strain against gravity. Last night’s binge hangs in the back of my throat, threatening to reappear. Maybe. All I know is the inside of my mouth tastes like a used tissue and my head throbs, right between the eyes. I don’t even remember how I got home.
“Hey, Jack, get up.” The door swings open and my brother Ashton pokes his head in. A beam of light cuts through the darkness and stabs me square in the face. Am I still drunk? Groan. I shouldn’t have had those last three beers. Or that shot of whiskey to top it off. Right now, any sudden movement would be a bad idea.
“Dude?” Ashton widens his eyes at me and jerks his head to the side, a move that’s one part impatience, but mostly asshole.
I fold my arms behind my head to show him I’m not in a rush to do anything. This will piss him off even more, I’m sure of it. It’ll also give me time to scrape the fuzz from my brain. “What.”
“Uh, funeral?” He looks at his watch. “It’s nine-thirty and we need to be there in forty-five minutes.”
As if I could forget something like that. My buddy Eben got tanked a few nights ago and lost control of his car. It flipped over, skidded across the median, and smashed into the concrete barriers on the other side. They say he died instantly.
“And?”
His eyes look like they’re ready to roll back into his skull. “And you need to get your lazy ass out of bed. Now.”
Right. Get out of bed. It doesn’t seem possible that I’m burying one of my closest friends today. A wave of dizziness washes over me as I try to sit. My eyes snap shut. That’s it, I’m never drinking again. “Chill the fuck out. I’m getting up.”
“Yeah, well, get a move on.” He stands in the doorway with his arms folded across his chest and watches me. Could he be any more annoying?
“What?”
“If I leave the room, you’re just gonna sit there instead of coming out to the kitchen. Where the rest of the band is already waiting, by the way.” He cocks his head to the side. “They’re pretty much always waiting on you, aren’t they?”
“Go fuck yourself,” I mumble while I untangle my legs from the blanket. I’m holding my breath now. It’s funny how smells like stale air and dirty laundry seem magnified when you feel like you’re gonna puke.
Ashton shakes his head. “Grow up.”
I shoot him a dirty look, but don’t answer.
“Sometime today.”
“Do I at least have time to shower, or are you gonna stand there with the stopwatch if I do that too?” I grab a towel from the floor and brush past him, slamming the bathroom door behind me.
“Hurry up, Jack.” His voice is thankfully muffled by the door.
The shower turns cold after the first couple minutes. I stay under the water anyway, tilt my head back and focus on the mosaic of peeling paint and mold spots above me. Man, I never realized what a luxury hot water was until I moved in with my brother. I’m shivering to the point my teeth chatter together by the time I get out, but I couldn’t possibly be more awake.

My Review

Ok so let me explain- this is Jack's story. Starting a little earlier than Jen's and a little later than hers too, but in Jack's POV. And it's almost as heartbreaking as Jen's story. And it's kinda zombie meets ghost. You see, Jack's best friend Eben dies, and he's haunting Jack, but not just as a ghost, he's like a zombie ghost. Like rotting away. And now after reading Jen's version, I understand so much more about Jack. And I also realize how much Jen healed Jack and brought him back to life. And they are so different and raised so different and want different things. It's reading the same story except it's really not. Yes the same events occur but it's like reading a whole different story because the views are so different. 

I loved this author’s writing. And I'm so impressed how well she wrote from a males POV. And besides, this story has a little of everything to keep you interested- horror, humor, romance, smoking how band members, and of course a swoon worthy bad boy book boyfriend! I am not sure who's POV I enjoyed more now that I have seen both sides- Jack's or Jen's! This is a fantastic addition to the series! 5 PAWS! 


 Author Guest Post


Confessions of a Punk Rocker is actually a complete re-write of a story I finished a couple years back entitled ‘Confessions of a Broken Hearted Punk Rocker’. In that earlier version, Jack was dealing not with the death of his best friend, but a breakup from the woman he madly loved. That woman, of course, was Jen, the star of my novel Living Dead Girl. So how did that happen?
 

Living Dead Girl had been accepted by my publisher and was in the process of being edited. In that early draft of the book, Jen and Jack broke up for a short period of time, and ‘Confessions’ was supposed to cover that time period, but from his POV. Then a curious thing happened during the editing process: my editor suggested—and I eventually agreed—to scrap the break-up completely. For a book that was supposed to go paranormal, we were already taking an extraordinarily long time to get to the paranormal, so we were looking for ways to speed things up. A rambling courtship, breakup and reconciliation were not in the cards.
 

So I re-wrote a huge chunk of Living Dead Girl during the editing process, with this sinking feeling that it had rendered another story I wrote (Confessions) completely useless. That if I ever wanted to tie these two books together, it couldn’t happen without some serious re-writing of the other book too. Confessions of a Broken Hearted Punk Rocker ended up gathering virtual dust in my hard drive. I loved Jack’s voice, and still wanted to tell his story, but this one wasn’t going to work.
 

Of course, one day, I had one of those breakthrough moments of inspiration, where I figured out exactly which direction I wanted to take Jack’s story. Instead of a break-up, it would happen before he met her, and tell how the death of his bandmate led to Jack recruiting Jen’s younger brother to play drums. I was able to salvage a few of the scenes from the original story and tailor them to the new plot. In the end, I was much happier with the new story and glad that things had taken the turn they did.
 

I guess the advice I’d give any writer, is if you truly love a story you wrote, but it doesn’t quite work…keep it anyway. You might find use for it. That, and seriously consider the advice of your editor. In my case, it was hard at first, but ended up making for much better, much stronger stories.
All that said, here are a couple snippets from that original work, ‘Confessions of a Broken Hearted Punk Rocker’…never before seen in public. Thanks for reading!

Jack & the band on a road trip, and dealing with having the brother of the chick who dumped you right there…awkward:
“Drew turned sideways to talk with Scott, but with the Exploited blasting in my eardrums, I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Fuck, he even looks like her. That was the killer. Having the male version of my ex right in front of me, it was just cruel. I couldn’t look at him without thinking about her. And it wasn’t like I was attracted to dudes, or even to him, it was just…they had the same eyes, the same nose. Even some of the same facial expressions. Fuck.”

As musicians sometimes do, Jack wrote a song about his ex. And now he’s second guessing himself:
“I hated censoring myself. I figured if I was too much of a pussy to say something out loud then it probably wasn’t worth saying in the first place. But this? Doubt looked over my shoulder, because when I heard myself singing the words, they sounded too harsh, they sounded wrong, and everything inside me screamed that I didn’t mean it. Not that I had a problem using the word, it was just using it in reference to her. I mean, what if she heard it? That thought ran over and over in my head. So at the last minute, when I was showing the guys what I’d written, I made a mental note to scratch out the word ‘cunt’ from the song. Then I cringed and waited for the backlash from the rest of it. I watched Drew’s expression in particular, for any sign that he was ready to throttle me, but it never came.”

Showing up unannounced at Jen’s house:
We stood at the front door, waiting, and then there she was, practically swallowed by her brother while I stood on the step feeling like an idiot. Their cousin Ethan piped up in the background, and Drew barreled past her, and she stood watching them, frozen in place. I didn’t think she even noticed I was there.
“We would’ve called first, but fucktard over there couldn’t wait to come home and see his big sis. I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”
Her head whipped around, and she stared, wide eyed. God damn did she look good. And what she was wearing? Man, it should’ve been outlawed. This old, worn Bruins t-shirt, so thin I could see the shadow where her bellybutton was, I could see the outline of her bra and where her tits pushed out over the top of it. I could see freaking everything.
“Jack.”
“Hi, Jen.”

Getting back together:
I kissed her. Old habits? Maybe. For a split second I worried that she’d push me away, but instead, she kissed me back, and any self-control I might have had flew out the window. It was insane. I wanted her so bad, just to bury myself inside her. I backed her up against the wall and lifted her, and oh, fuck, when she wrapped her legs around my waist, and squeezed, I nearly lost it. I grasped the backs of her thighs, and pressed myself into her, ran my hands up her shirt and undid her bra. My fingers brushed over her tits, then I slid my hand into her shorts. She was already so hot, so slick, my fingers slid right inside her. I would’ve fucked her right there. Then she pushed me back, panting just as hard as I was, and I thought please don’t fucking stop me now.
“Let's go to my room,” she whispered



 
About the Author:


Nessie is a Massachusetts native and mother of two who has dabbled in everything from abstract painting to freelance sports reporting. She also loves a good story, whether it's reading or writing one. The first two novels in her Living Dead World series--Living Dead Girl and Reaper Madness--were published in 2014.














Tour giveaway


$25 Amazon Gift Card


1 set Ebook copies of Living Dead Girl, Reaper Madness, Confessions of a Punk Rocker and Valentine’s Heat I

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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Reaper Madness by Nessie Strange tour!

Reaper Madness (Living Dead World, #2)
Book Description:
This isn’t the afterlife she expected...
Jen MacLellan can’t get the hang of being a reaper. She’s been separated from Jack, the man she loves, and is stuck with an annoying telepathic link to her ill-tempered mentor, Sam. Now Death is breathing down her neck, promising to remove that annoying link if she gives him what he wants. But when reapers begin to disappear back on earth, leaving behind walking, talking dead people, Jen and Sam are thrust into a dangerous mission to recapture the souls, and a passionate physical relationship that complicates everything.
Jack Norris has no memory prior to waking up on the half-demon Nulcifer’s couch six months earlier. As he begins to investigate his past, he discovers a string of past lives tied together by a beautiful, mysterious brunette. Who is she? And why does finding her seem like a life or death proposition?

When Sam falls victim to fate during a routine visit to earth, Jen’s devastated. Desperate to get him back, she runs smack into the man she never thought she’d see again—Jack. She tries to keep her distance, but there’s no time to be awkward if they want to save Sam. When sinister plots are revealed, and betrayals threaten everything, she’s forced to make some tough choices—and learns that life is just as difficult when you’re dead.

Excerpt:

Sam wasn’t kidding when he said I had no idea what I was getting into. And now, as I stared Death in the face—literally—from an uncomfortable black leather executive chair, it occurred to me for the first time that I was in way over my head. Between the pinstriped suit and dark, slicked-back hair, he resembled a character from The Godfather more than a deity who ruled over the dead and dying. Death was one scary motherfucker. And he was smiling.

“Care for a drink, Jennifer?”

I shook my head, but he rose anyway, retrieved two glasses from the cabinet behind him, and filled both with amber-colored liquid. “Relax, I’m not going to bite.”

That wasn’t what I was worried about.

“Now, how long have you been with us? About six earth months?”

I cleared my throat. “Ah yes. About that long.”

“I find it intriguing,” he said. “You have been telepathically linked to one of my reapers this entire time, yet you really demonstrate no capability when it comes to this job. One would think that would give you an edge, hmm?”

Ouch.

“You’d think,” I laughed. OK, I sucked at it. It was only recently I’d been allowed to travel back to earth to help retrieve souls. Sam did most of the work, while I trailed behind, like one of those ankle-biting little purse dogs. What I wanted to know was why he’d insisted I do the job in the first place. I’d never asked to be a reaper. It wasn’t like I wanted this.

“The occupation listed from your most recent incarnation on earth was a mortician, was it not? So you should be accustomed to working with the deceased and the sensitivities that go along with it.”

“These two jobs are absolutely nothing alike.” Shit. I’d reacted again, lost my cool because of something he said. Now that my brain had caught up with my mouth, the fire snuffed out and with it went my nerve. I needed to learn to bite my tongue. Considering the habit crossed over with me from my last life, maybe that was wishful thinking. “Well, I mean, because when I was a mortician, those people didn’t talk back to me.”

Death studied me. “No, I don’t imagine they did.” He scrunched his lips up, his brow furrowed—the only hint of emotion I’d seen from him—but it quickly faded. “What exactly is it that’s holding you back or hanging you up? I’m just trying to understand here.”

“Well, I guess some of it is that I feel bad for them. I want to make things easier, but Sam’s all about scaring them and intimidating and manipulating them. It doesn’t seem right. I mean, we’re their first point of contact with the afterlife; why does it have to be frightening?” I was doing it again. OK, I needed to breathe. “I just… I see the fear in their faces, and it tears at me. It doesn’t feel right. It’s not me.”

My Review

Dear sweet baby Jesus, I think the author wants to kill me. I want you to know I'm pissed! I'm so mad at Jen with Sam and jack right now... And then I wanna cry because I know EXACTLY WHY they are in this problem right now. And then I wanna hug them all because they all need a hug. :)

This one is rough. It's a more emotional and darker realm here. The first book gave is Jen and Jack blooming into wordwrful love. Well, things change, Jen is linked to Sam. Sam is a manipulative bastard that turns out he's maybe not human but feels and has flaws just like the rest of us. Jack... Oh Jack. You deserve a reward for being so damn nice and understanding and forgiving. Shit, I'd have blew something up already lol. See I'm even ranting now with curse words lol

The writing is flawless. The plot lines left me speechless and I'm simultaneously dreading and anticipating book three at the same time!! I totally need it now! Let's just say that you'll never guess all the goodness wrapped in this series, cuz I know I didn't! With that I say 5 PAWS!! Now hurry and gimme book 3 ;)


Bio:

Nessie Strange

Nessie is a Massachusetts native and mother of two who has dabbled in everything from abstract painting to freelance sports reporting. She also loves a good story, whether it’s reading or writing one. Living Dead Girl and Reaper Madness, the first two novels in her urban fantasy Living Dead World series, were published by Etopia press in 2014.

Author Links


Buy Links:

Living Dead Girl (Living Dead World #1)