My interview with Matt Goss

A few weeks back I interviewed Matt Goss, former front man of the 1980s Band Bros, and now very  successful performer at Caesar Palace in Las Vegas .

 

 

All thanks to 99.9 VoiceFM and Belinda. Thanks also to Amiee at Pink Diamond Events & PR and @gossyaustralia for their help and support

 

 

You will find all about Matt on his website.

 

Hope you enjoy the interview as much as I enjoyed talking to Matt. He's a charmer and a true inspiration. I wish him well with his soon-to-be released new CD and hope that his plans to come to Australia this year will eventuate.

 

 

Please feel free to leave a comment - I'd love to hear from you all!

Leah Sanders - Sacred Ring

Sacred Ring by Leah Sanders

Publisher: Astraea Press

ISBN: 9781­62135­

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Nothing in Kynan Murphy's life is going right. His grades are horrible, he's always in trouble, and the girl he likes doesn't know he exists. But things go from bad to worse when his parents tell him they have decided to split up. Angry and confused, he wants nothing more than to lash out against the world. The closest thing he can find, however, is the Saint Valentine shrine during a school field trip. Armed with some fireworks and encouraged by his best friend, Michael Connell, he's all set to vent his frustration with life.

His best laid plans fail when a mysterious priest confronts him, sharing an ancient secret about a hidden ring with special powers. Kynan believes the answer to all his problems and the only way to fix his parents' broken marriage is to find the ring — a task he won't be able to accomplish on his own.

It was easy enough to convince his friend Michael to join him, but the irritating Brianna Collins insists on tagging along. Fortunately, her knack for language and interest in history is a valuable asset in the search. Their quest leads them to the northern coast and into dangerous territory where, in spite of their good intentions, they may lose their own lives.


My thoughts

Again .... a dive into a the YA genre and I LOVED IT.

So this was a "MUST READ" book for me. It's all set in Ireland (big plus) and about St Valentine's Sacred Ring. Not overly religious, if at all, yet I do like "my" saints!

Kynan Murphy's parents have just separated and as fate has it, soon after he learns about St Valentine's Sacred Ring which is believed to have healing "love" powers. So with the help of his friend Michael and Brianna, a girl in his class, he starts his quest to search for the ring in some caves north of Dublin.

It's literally a page turner from the very first page. It's full of adventure, history and a bit of mystery .... and friendship. The three friends are real and though for me the seemed more American than Irish, typical teens. The story was very well researched which makes it an even more interesting read. The only person I would have like to know more about though was Father Leroy. Considering the importance of his character and his role in finding the ring, I was disappointed that Leah Sanders didn't go into more details for his background.

Great read for young and old! Let's hope my daughter will enjoy it as much as I did.

View all my reviews

James Lee Burke - Rain Gods

Publishers: Simon & Schuster

 

ISBN:  9781439128244

 

My rating: 3/5

 

 

When Hackberry Holland became sheriff of a tiny Texas town near the Mexican border, he'd hoped to leave certain things behind: his checkered reputation, his haunted dreams, and his obsessive memories of the good life with his late wife, Rie. But the discovery of the bodies of nine illegal aliens, machine-gunned to death and buried in a shallow grave behind a church, soon makes it clear that he won't escape so easily. As Hack and Deputy Sheriff Pam Tibbs attempt to untangle the threads of this complex and grisly case, a damaged young Iraq veteran, Pete Flores, and his girlfriend, Vikki Gaddis, are running for their lives, hoping to outwit the bloodthirsty criminals who want to kill Pete for his involvement in the murders. The only trouble is, Pete doesn't know who he's running from: drunk and terrified, he fled the scene of the crime when the shooting began. And there's a long list of people who want Pete and Vikki dead: crime boss Hugo Cistranos, who hired Pete for the operation; Nick Dolan, a strip club owner and small-time gangster with revenge on his mind; and a mysterious God-fearing serial-killer-for-hire known as Preacher Jack Collins, with enigmatic motives of his own.
With the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and a host of cold-blooded killers on Pete and Vikki's trail, it's up to Sheriff Holland to find them first and figure out who's behind the mass murder before anyone else ends up dead. In this thrilling and intricate work, James Lee Burke has once again proven himself a master storyteller and a perceptive chronicler of the darkest corners of the human heart (goodreads.com)

 

 

My thoughts

 

My first book by James Lee Burke. Bottom line - great story. Why only 3 stars? Well several reasons.

 

The story has so many characters and story lines I won't even try and give a brief summary.

 

It took me quite a while to actually get into the story and a few chapters I had to re-read to remember the plot from the previous chapter and the characters. Once I  got hooked, I really enjoyed the book.

But it's a looooong book. Just short of 400 pages, I initially enjoyed Burke's detailed descriptions, "show not tell" paragraphs, but in the end, it was just too much and repetitious. The characters are interesting, but again the constant analysis of their past, emotions or behaviour was at times too much.

 

Not sure whether I started with the wrong story, but I will probably not add another book by James Lee Burke on my TBR file.

Sweetly Reviewed: Freebie from Iris Blobel

Sweetly Reviewed: Freebie from Iris Blobel:

Today, we have a special treat for all the sweet readers out there. Iris Blobel and Astraea Press are making Journey To Her Dreams FREE .....


So go and check it out :-) Just follow the link above!

Sample Sunday - Hollie arrives in Dublin (Journey to Her Dreams)

This little teaser is when Hollie arrives in Dublin after a long flight. I hope you enjoy the little paragraph.

"Journey to Her Dreams"  is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other online stores.

Hollie stared at the sliding door, but didn't dare to move any closer. So this is Dublin! She had been glued to the window since the plane started descending. It didn't appear all that different from Tasmania – there were fields upon fields of green paddocks, divided by hedges and rocks – sometimes in even squares and sometimes, it seemed, just randomly. She even spotted a few double-decker buses from way above. Hollie was overwhelmed by the thought that she was about to set foot on Irish soil.

"Hollie! What are you waiting for?" Davo was already outside, but his movement set off the sensor and the door opened in front of her.
She shrugged. "I don't know."
Davo came back in, took her hand, and led her outside. "I'll be there all the way. We'll find whatever worries you. I promise!"
Gratefully, she intertwined her fingers with his and slowly followed him outside – onto the streets of Dublin.

Brea Essex - Foreshadow

Foreshadow by Brea Essex

Publisher: Astraea Press

ISBN: 978-1470101732

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Imagine discovering that your boyfriend was out to kill you—and that the annoying boy from school was your guardian angel. Rae Davenport has already lost her mother. The only thing keeping her sane is her new boyfriend, Andrei—that is, until she finds out that he wants to kill her. Andrei is a devil, and he wants to use Rae as a sacrifice to get back into Heaven. The only one who can save her is Logan, her guardian angel. He’s only annoyed her in the past, but now he will be her savior.

My thoughts


Excuse me! You can't just stop there, Brea Essex!

This was a beautiful story - from the very beginning to the very end, so much so that I was disappointed when I was finished reading, because I wanted more.

Raena has just lost her mum and now lives with her late mother's best friend Geneva and husband Shane. She meets Andrei and is smitten by his charm straight away, yet things turn a bit sour. And that's where Logan comes in - the guy from school who's is more like a pain in the butt, but turns out to be the guy she can rely on.

So where do I start? First of all, YA is not my genre really, but once again, I was proven wrong by having been hesitant. It's a great story. The characters are well developed, the reader can relate to each of them and their feelings. The scenes are nicely set that as a reader I had no trouble following. And the subject "angels" is subtle and believable for those readers like me, who are still at odds with "paranormal".

Bottom line, a wonderful read. I truly enjoyed it!

Seriously Reviewed Showcase: Iris Blobel

Seriously Reviewed Showcase: Iris Blobel: I assume when people hear of Australia their minds wander off to beautiful beaches, sunshine, surfing and maybe even the Great Barrier Reef!...

Click the above link to read more! Thank you :-)