11 reasons to enjoy Maynard Soloman

Now before you roll your eyes and say, "Another serialized PI? Puh-leez," I want to tell you why Maynard Soloman is different. I, too, had read a million incarnations of Sam Spade. Maynard Soloman might've worn a fedora, but that's where the similarities end.

Here are 11 reasons Maynard Soloman is worth a look.

1) He was forced into retirement from his career as an investigator for the Obscenities Division of a local…

What happens when you have a cranky old guy with intestinal issues, an RV, spray paint, Walmart and The ATF? Why you have the first, hopefully of many, adventures of Maynard Soloman. The thing about it is not the hijinks that Maynard gets into, but the prose. It is so rich and amazing that that is what makes it for me. The comedy of the situation, you fruit bat, is just a side bar to the whole thing. I defy you in today’s modern digital short story universe to find something like it, that…

I am pretty sure that I have title correct with the two g’s and the two d’s. Different title, different novel. I ran into Lee Pletzers over at Book Town, a nice place and a nice community. Go to my blog and press the button for it and join, give it a whirl and have some fun. Back to the novel at hand: threw me a curve amongst all the conspiracy theory, action novels I have been reading of late. This is a sci-fi, paranormal, horror, and few other categories. Just file it under good if you are…

When it comes to vampires, Laurie Bowler knows her stuff. She has numerous titles under her name, including: Moonrising, Serena Embracing Darkness, The Across The City Series, Vanquished, The Depths of Darkness to name a few. I am starting to work with her on an Author’s Lab/Collaboration called Fang’s Inc. which will be released in the coming weeks. Laurie has a very distinct style and there is a ton of heart and soul in her novels. I am not trying to be flip…

This is my first read on a Cynthia Vespia novel. She has a few other titles to her credit: The Crescent, Theater of Pain, Demon Hunter: The Chosen One, and Demon Hunter :Seek and Destroy. I am going to check out her other titles, I am now a fan of her writing since reading Life ,Death and Back. How did I happen to bump into the author: we are both Book Town member’s.  If you are not a member feel free to click on the badge on my blog and join, good…

I have been having a hard time trying to figure out how to start this post. I enjoyed the novel on so many different levels and for so many different reasons I think I would become boring rather quickly by listing them all. I am also amped over this novel because I get to talk to Joseph Finder June 14^th@11amEST on my blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE. Questions for the man, yeah I have a few. The marketing campaign has been fun, innovative and different and the novel was highly…

I have gotten to know Thomas White over a period of time; he is a really nice guy with a very sharp wit. If you read any of his writing, you come to realize that very quickly. He has been nice also to give me some pointers on the craft of writing as I have worked with him on “G.S.I. Gelati Scoop Investigations Psychotic Detectives”. His words were pointed but I expected no less; he meant well and they weren’t malicious, just trying to speak the truth, and set a beginner straight. Trust me,…

Narrative-ly Speaking

By Chantal Boudreau

Choosing what voice you are going to use is an important part of the planning process in fiction writing.  Normally, I hate writing in first person.  I don’t think I’m very good at it, and I don’t think that I necessarily do the narrator proper justice, but sometimes the stories demand it, so I grit my teeth and go.  I have a much easier time approaching a tale as observer.  I’ve heard several…

Robert Venditti was nice enough to come onto the G-ZONE, my blogtalk radio show, on Weds. June 1^st. Here is the link:

   http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2011/06/01/robert-venditti-stops-by-to-chat

Now that that is out of the way, why is it I feel the need to apologize? If you listen in on the broadcast you will find out why, but to give you the long and short…

I have had the pleasure to interview the co-authors of “Wicked Good”  on my blogtalk radio show The G-ZONE once and Joanne Lewis with Dr. Stephen Shore, a noted Autism & Aspergers expert just last Tuesday on the 24^th of this month. Here are the links:

May 24^th:…

I hope everybody had a nice holiday weekend! They are way too short aren’t they? They start and then, boom, over. Personally I could have used another week or two off. Anyway moving on here, to get back in the swing of things,  I have tried to get a good mix of novels and digital short stories rolling here. Later on today I drop in an Author’s Spotlight on Joann Lewis/Amy Faircloth, the co-authors of “Wicked Good”. Later on in the week, Thursday, I will be featuring…

I had to push my husband, Mr.Gelati, away from the laptop for a bit and speak up here. He, and his buddies Vincent Zandri (I always thought you liked me Vince, you seemed so nice), Big Daddy Abel, Thomas White, Benjamin Sobieck and now Thad Brown, some of whom have gone to great lengths to do various things to me in their little stories are up to their antics again.  For those that have yet to read one of these “The Author’s Lab/Collaborations”, they are funny but at whose expense? At times…

I am planning on running this new segment on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The Author’s Spotlights posts are fun to think about and put together, especially when I have had a chance to actually work closely with the author; that is the case today, so forgive my biased comments. Right off the bat I am going to tell you I enjoy B.R.’s work and have since I pretty much read his first paragraph. The thing about his writing and style though is that it crosses many genres, many styles of taste, and is…

    -What made you decide to do this?

Well way back in 1997 I was a double in a movie called I know what you did last summer. The photographer of the movie approached me and asked if he could take a few photos of me. I realized then that I was photogenic. The photographer kept complimenting me and I figured if a professional like this was saying something good , then I knew I must be something. That's where it all began.

    -How often do you work out?

I…

It is hard to say anything but good stuff about this novel. I am going to say this again, I have had the pleasure and the honor of saying it a few times this week; I enjoyed interviewing Lynette Eason on my blogtalk show, The G-ZONE,here is the link:

 http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gelatisscoop/2011/05/04/lynette-eason-a-killer-among-us

If you tune into the show, you will gain some…

Hey, bear with me on this; it is my first Author’s Spotlight. I am trying to add to the posting week with some interesting new content and I came up with this. I have read a digital short story by S.R. Edvalson called “Anne’s Unknown Guardian”.

Here is the Amazon Kindle link for it:  …

Any fantasy freaks out there? Do you love any type of fantasy/paranormal type stuff? Do you get enough epics in your reading week? Can you groove on an alternate universe occupied by monks, magic, dragons and the like? If you have answered yes to any of the above then this novel is for you, download it now, it is just $2.99. If you are someone that just enjoys a well written novel, well don’t hesitate download it for the holiday weekend, great stuff awaits you here. One other…

Hey there and happy Monday to all. I wanted to start the week off with a bang and make some noise early in the week so I am going to post on not one but two of my collaborators. I have been fortunate to work with Vincent Zandri on “Down Low-Dead” ( available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Scribd.com)  and B.R. Stateham on “Hotel Beaumont” which will be released in a few weeks. The reason I bring that up is that I have the unique distinction of not only jazzing with these…

What’s in a Genre?

            Search around the Internet and you’ll find the popular opinion in the publishing industry that a writer should choose a genre and stick with it.  If they want to dabble in other genres, they may want to consider a pseudonym.  This is sometimes referred to as “branding” yourself and is particularly championed by agents and large publishing house as a means of establishing a loyal fan base who will avidly follow your…

This friend is way too much fun! I have gotten a chance thus far to be a part of some very serious brain storming, incredible writing, and deadly execution by some really nice, talented authors. The latest release “Who Whacked the Blogger” just made me take a step back and gasp in awe as Benjamin Sobieck just gave birth to a new, intensely funny character that I hope to get to read for a long time: Maynard Soloman. I can’t do justice to the man’s riffs. His prose in this is just amazing,…