Ingrid Hall's Blog

Okay, so I am posting this as a “notification” and a “warning.”

To anyone that thinks that it is “okay” to download books (or anything else) from a pirate site because “it’s not hurting anyone.” think again! I am not even going to go into the obvious financial loss to an author every time their book is downloaded without their consent.  I am going to talk about “Identity theft!” and in particular, “my identify theft.”

Yes, I am pissed off!

Some time ago as part of my overall marketing strategy, I decided to let go of my domain name “Ingrid Hall DOT com” (I am not posting a link for obvious reasons).  I moved everything over to my new site.  At that time, I had no way of knowing that some ARSEHOLE would then take over the domain and use it for illegal purposes!

That’s right; it would appear that the new owner of my old domain name is not only uploading all sorts of stuff to pirate websites but they have…wait for it…the audacity to tag  Author Ingrid Hall in their dodgy promo posts!

I am BEYOND furious.

So, clearly anyone wanting to reach me – please delete Ingrid Hall DOT com from your favourites and follow me instead via  this link.http://www.luv2write.net

So, to be crystal clear:

I accept NO responsibility or liability for anything that the new owner is doing over on my old site.
If the ARSEHOLE involved happens to read this post, then rest assured I have run a WHOIS search. You won’t hide forever.  I WILL be taking this to the police and relevant authorities today.  I strongly suggest that you remove any tags with “Author Ingrid Hall” in them immediately and cease and desist using my name because I consider this to be IDENTITY THEFT.

 

 

 

 

Okay, so I know that I have been a little quiet on this blog recently. The main reason for this is that I have been figuring out how to reconcile this blog with the rest of my platform. I have eventually (after a lot of deliberation) decided that it makes more sense to build a fresh blog around my website as opposed to having loads of different strands. So, with immediate effect, I will not be publishing anything else over here. ALL reviews and eventually articles will be posted at: http://www.luv2write.net/blog

So, I  hope that you will all hop on over to my new home!

Love

Ingrid xxx

Review by Carlton Rolle 

L.X. Cain lives not too far from the beautiful beaches and turquoise waters of the Red Sea. Despite the scenic delights, she’s an indoor gal and spends most of her time happily tapping away on her laptop keyboard, coming up with thrilling story ideas to entertain readers! 

Bloodwalker is a very enticing book. It follows the life of circus folk. The traveling Eastern circus known as Zorka Circus is constantly looking for the next place to perform in. Due to the seeming nature of people, the circus folk handle most of their business and problems on their own. Head of security for the circus, Rurik discovers that children are missing in the different cities that they visit. One day while out on a watch, Ruirk meets the one responsible for the acts, a child kidnapping / killing clown. Ruirk uses his skills and select others that he trusts to help search for the clown. 

Another group of people with a unique history enters the situation. The Skomari is a clan of people with abnormal beauty. They historical have been around for hundreds of years dressing the recently dead and communicating with spirits. Many outsiders considers them ghouls or demons.  

In an attempt to keep harmony between the groups, marriage took place in their location. The Skomari were not well received but were eventually connected into the string of murders secretly surrounding the circus. One Skomari in particular, Sylvie acted with her gut and in some ways could be seen as the last representation of her clan. 

I absolutely enjoyed reading the book. I quickly found myself wrapped in the story and not wanting to put it down. The plot itself was easy to understand. The subject and theme was intriguing and different enough that it felt like a breath of fresh invigorating air. Even though the air most times was far from “fresh”. Several times throughout the book, I thought the characters were trapped or going to be killed. I was rooting for their success and wondered how they would navigate out of the situation.  

L.X. Caine did a wonderful job with the description of scenes and character development. Some phrases that she used made me feel as if I was truly standing watching the scene next to the characters. While written to be a stand-alone book, Bloodwalker has the potential to become a series. I would like to see what other adventures or nightmares Rurik and Sylvie encounter. 

Bloodwalker is a thrilling adventure that is sure to leave you on the edge searching for more. 

Get in touch with L.X.Cain at her blog

 

Reviewed by Carlton Rolle

A retired English teacher, Ann Marie Mershon lives on a woodland lake with her husband Jerry and their two dogs. She grew up in a wooded suburb of Minneapolis, and in her mid-twenties she and her husband moved north to the wilderness they’d always loved. After 30 years of teaching English in Minnesota, she moved overseas to complete her teaching career in Istanbul, writing weekly e-mail missives and posting blogs about her experiences there.  

Ann Marie discovered her passion to write in the late 1990’s. She penned a weekly newspaper column for five years, wrote numerous articles for newspapers and magazines, and published two books. Ann Marie writes every day but always finds time for hiking, biking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, skiing, or snowshoeing with her friends in the wilderness she calls home. 

This is book follows the life experiences of Ann Marie Mershon. As an experienced teacher in Minnesota, Ann Marie decides she is ready for a change in her life. She packs her things and moves to Turkey to teach to children. The book follows some of the intricacies of her life such as travels, teaching, and relationships (including romantic, family, and friends). 

Ann Marie brings readers along on her experiences. Ann pushes to constantly search for a way to connect with people to make new friends. She is often lost or struggling, but through “Turkish hospitality” she arrives to the place she was headed.  

An aspect I find really interesting is the language barrier. Ann Marie didn’t know how to speak Turkish, and what she did know was very limited. It takes a lot of courage to able to explore in the manner she did without knowing the language. I feel it would have made some occasions and generally the experience as a whole, even more gratifying if she had attempted to learn more Turkish earlier. 

Ann Marie gave the most description about where she was visiting and what she ate. In many ways the book serves as a rough tour through the country. It was wonderfully descriptive and at some points, I felt like I was even there. This point hit even further when she mentions external places to be able to visually see what she was talking about. I thought that was a really great way to enhance the experience for readers.  

While I thought the book was well written, it didn’t quite reach the depth as I would’ve liked. I wanted to have a greater understanding of the differences in culture between America and Turkey. Ann Marie approaches the culture from an affluent outsider perspective, mostly remarking on their “Turkish hospitality”. While it’s an important factor with the culture, I wonder how those acts of kindness would’ve been if locals didn’t know Ann Marie’s status.

Something else that I found interesting was the amount of time Ann Marie spent in the country. She covered the first 2-3 years extensively. It seemed that that is what was planned for. It wasn’t until the end that she mentions it was a total of seven years in Turkey! That gives greater insight to her experience.  

I would like to know what messages Ann Marie got out of her experience in Turkey. What stuck with her the most? How did the country change her? Was there anything she regretted or would do over? I’d also like to know what advice she has for people who are interested in either visiting or moving to Turkey.  

I would definitely tip my hat to her. Ann Marie did something that few people are able to do. She left a comfort zone and placed herself in a completely different environment. While she struggled at first, she gained a footing and thrived. This is an inspiration for those who dream of overseas!  

More about Anne Marie Mershon can be found here

Do you need a proofread or maybe a blurb or synopsis? Follow this link!

 

Review by Carlton Rolle

Maggie’s suspenseful, riveting romances, consistently garner five-star reviews, and her books have won numerous awards. She has often been listed in Amazon’s Top 100 Erotic Authors, and her books are consistently in the top ten, oftentimes landing in the #1 spot. Male dominance / female submission is her passion. The alpha males that she writes about range from down-home hunky spanking cowboys, to fantasy, sword-wielding, warriors, to artful wealthy Dominants who don’t need dollars to melt their sweet subs. She is an old-fashioned romantic, complete with her own white knight fantasies.

Her Forbidden Cowboy revolves around two people Scott Sampson and Cathy Coleman. Scott is the owner of Sampson’s Boarding Stables. A passion of his for years, he lives his life as a rugged guy working in the stable with horses. Cathy has two horses that she has at Sampson’s Boarding Stables, Cinnamon and Moon Doggie. Cinnamon is her jumper. Cinnamon has a pretty strong personality and seems to be filled with opinions of her own. Moon Doggie on the other hand is retired and gray colored.

The story starts roughly a year after Cathy has been boarding at Scott’s stable. While they knew of each other, they didn’t really interact much. When they did, it was normally for Scott having to step into the boarder’s arguments and business. One time, Cathy got into trouble and went further by lying and placing the blame on another boarder. Scott knew Cathy was guilty the entire time. When confronted, Cathy ended up being spanked by Scott. This set the sexual tension into action for the two. Even though Scott had a rule about not dating boarders, he found himself further drawn to Cathy.

The two were able to meet up and have a cup of coffee to learn about each other. Sparks flew and the two thought they could hit it off. Scott stated that he would be stepping down from managing the barn so that he could focus on his next venture with horses. Once the process was finished, they would see whether or not they would take the next step. When the time did come, Scott and Cathy hit it off perfectly. Behind closed doors, Scott became a dominating guy. Cathy had the submissive role. This was new and exhilarating to her. The two found they comforted and sated each other.

While this was going smoothly between the two, a storm was beginning within Cathy’s rich family. Catherine’s mom, didn’t approve of Scott and sought to split the two up before it became too serious. Cathy’s mom attempted to bribe Scott with money to push them away. With her determination, Cathy’s mom also tried to set her up with a guy she much rather would’ve seen Cathy with.

The entire situation comes to the surface during a horrible storm that happens in the area. It causes everyone to reflect on their actions and that of others. Attitudes change and the whole group of them find themselves that much closer with one another.

Of course, with most things in life, when something is good, you want more of it. Scott and Cathy were just that. Their connection and lust was strong and steamy. Cathy’s parents see that their daughter and Scott are serious. Through a series of events (romantic, manipulation, and outside factors) Scott, Cathy, and her parents grow further to learn more about each other.

Her Forbidden Cowboy is an erotic story with a “happily ever after” ending able to get you off! If you’re a reader looking for something to put a little spice into your life or even give you a few ideas, give this book a try!

Learn more about Maggie Carpenter at: facebook.com/maggiecarpenterwriter

For the next 7 Days only I am offering ALL of my services at half-price. Even if you are not quite ready for an edit, you can still secure the deal by ordering now. The offer is valid from Saturday 07th May 2016 until Saturday 14th May 2016, only.

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Interested? Contact me using the contact form below:

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Good morning everyone,

I am so pleased that my book Ovarian Cancer: two women, two continents one disease is now available for sale!

The book tells the story of two remarkable women who have both had to stare down a terminal diagnosis.  Sadly one of them lost their battle at the end of last year, and that lady was my Mam.

I have written this book not only to raise awareness of this silent killer but to support the efforts of Target Ovarian Cancer.  I will be donating 50% of the royalties to help with their continued efforts and in particular ongoing research; a crucial weapon against this duplicitous form of cancer.

Will you help me to give the millions of people affected by ovarian cancer a voice?  Let’s make this a global campaign and fight back against this awful disease. There are several ways that you can help:

Firstly you can either download the book or order a paperback copy.

You can share this blog post or Tweet a link to the book http://mybook.to/ovariancancer

You can request additional promotional materials via my website. (I am looking for people willing to pop up posters in doctor’s surgeries/their place of work).

Or you can donate via my Just Giving Page – All funds raised via Just Giving will go directly to Target Ovarian Cancer. Donating is easy. Simply follow the link, or if you are in the UK Text VHJV92 followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70070.

REVIEWED BY CARLTON ROLLE

Jeff Rorik is a Canadian author, currently living in British Columbia amidst the many trees that infest the province. When he’s not writing, he can usually be found herding chickens, fixing computers, or trying to find his next musical obsession.

Beneath the blast is a story about a television network filming a reality TV show titled Beneath the Blast. It’s involves ten characters that were chosen for reasons that suit good TV. The premise of the show is placing people in a relatively small underground bunker and have them compete against each other for tokens. The contestant that has the most tokens at the end of a month, wins the show and receives one million dollars.

The staff is composed of 3 people. There is the host Heather, Branson the cameraman, and Victor the audio technician. The contestants are all working from different angles. Many of whom are putting of facades to ensure that they are successful. Suzanne is a mother looking to win via manipulation and seeming kindness. Marcus is an accomplice of Suzanne’s, to make her look better by being rude and aggressive. Quart is a child of two celebrities, but doesn’t excel at anything on his own. Devin is a guy who allows the game and situation to blur the lines between real and fake. Rachel is a high-tempered doctor. Cliff is reckless and boisterous  looking for a method to be remembered in the show. Joey is an energetic, aspiring musician. Liz is intelligent and observant. Allison is a young blond who likes to talk and is meant to attract attention from key demographics. Katrina is polite, quite, and shy.

Shortly after arriving to the underground bunker, the electricity is cut off to the elevator and people aren’t able to contact the outside world. It pushes many of the contestants stress levels high. As they were casted for, the members begin to bump heads which further escalates tensions. Emotions begin to wear thin when the first person in the bunker dies after attempting to save the group by climbing the elevator shaft. As feelings continuously mount, Brandon and Suzanne work different angles to keep tensions high and power in their hand. Brandon is also looking to create captivating scenes to show the outside world once it is released. As events and arguments take greater tolls on people, the reality of their actions begin to sink in.

As more characters were taken out of the mix, the effects of their actions began to weigh on them. In Suzanne’s case she begun to see that, “The recklessness of her decisions seemed very pronounced. It felt like she was in a bubble with no consequences.”

I think that Beneath the Blast is a great read. There was a lot of suspense throughout the plot. I was constantly thinking about what drama will unveil between which characters. In many ways, the book is a microcosm of life. It emphasizes freewill of people, consequences of actions, and group think. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to add some good ole’ television drama to their life.

For more information about the author, visit: www.jeffrorik.com

 Reviewed by Carlton Rolle

Jeff Edis was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia. He is currently a music producer having recently completed production of the lounge, chillout album “Galactic Lounge” by The Midnight Wookiee Combo. His first book, The Guide to Creating Unique and Unusual Baby Names, created a stir when released in 1990, and went on to sell thousands of copies worldwide.

The Guide to Creating Unique and Unusual Baby Names is a short book with ideas for creating baby names. Edis presents a list of names using methods that are mentioned. He then gives a brief description of how to create or find names yourself. Some cases, I thought were an interesting way to create new names.

Name crossing is the act of taking two people’s names and blending them together. This method has the most potential to me. It literally is a merger of people, why not merge their names as well! Three part syllable connection composes names using base syllables and allows a person to be able to specify sounds they would like in a name. This method could create some really unique sounding names due to spelling based on syllables. Change of spelling is a technique that rearranges the letters in a name to create a different name.

There are several chapters that use different means to be able to have a name. Flipping through magazines, atlas, and other printed publications are areas that people can utilize. While it is something to note, I think there are too many cases of this in the book. It’s common for people to do that, thus I feel it isn’t necessary to mention this media often. These are all essentially the same method.

One thing that stuck out to me is that the book is tailored to future parents. While understandably so, it is fairly limiting to its audience. Parents will utilize this book only during the naming process and discard it afterwards. Whereas if geared towards others like writers, there’s more potential for the book to be used.

All-in-all this is a decent book to check out if you’re in the market for names.

http://www.twitter.com/Jeff_Edis

REVIEW BY CARLTON ROLLE

Rebecca M. Gibson grew up in Cornwall, UK surrounded by plenty of inspiration. She has always had an interest in stories ever since writing ghost stories on her mom’s computer. Gibson studied at Aberystwyth University and obtained a psychology degree. When researching World War One, Gibson became fascinated by the poems and letters written during the time period. She wanted to understand the complexity and strength of human character. Armed with that intensity, Gibson channeled it in the hardship that her character’s encounter.

Diamonds Fall is a story revolving around a young woman named Annabel Hoddington. Annabel comes from a hierarchical family and wealthy lifestyle. On the day of her 18th birthday, she plans to announce her coming-of-age and marriage to another prestigious family. Shortly before the ceremony begun Annabel snuck off into the woods to have some time alone. After entering the seemingly majestic forest, Annabel is attacked and abducted by a group of men.

As Annabel is taken further away from her home, she is humiliated and abused. She eventually finds herself isolated inside a horse stable. Tending to her was the stable boy Billy and his sister Patsy. Annabel grasps that she is in a tiny village. As she realizes more about the situation, she learns more of her captors Tom and Trevor. With time, the three find comfort and companionship within each other. They grow to have the same common enemies.

Annabel was tested on every level to rise above her circumstance. Gibson gives the reader a clear understanding to the mindset that Annabel was in. She had to change most of her behaviors and thoughts in order to survive in the village. While intense and difficult at times, Annabel finds a way to overcome whatever obstacle is put in her way. From a mental perspective, it is interesting to look at the change that one would undergo is exposed to the situation. The story highlights the good, bad, and neutral parts of life. It also shows the interconnectedness of these variables and how strong relationships or bonds are formed.

There were a couple of things that didn’t quite make sense to me. At the beginning of the story, readers are introduced to Annabel’s way of life. It would have made for stronger character development if there was more detail in her life before the abduction. Readers are left most guessing at the lifestyle that Annabel and her family had. Another scene that was odd was the forested area that Annabel was taken, it seems sketchy or too convenient. The area was relatively close to her living quarters. Considering the importance of the day and the degree of attack, I expected someone to hear her or more information on those that were searching for Annabel.

Overall Gibson does an amazing job creating scenes that are beautifully detailed and captivating. There were instances where I felt as if I was locked in the stable with Annabel and others. The level of expression literally took my breath away. The story was laid out in a way that made it easy for the reader to follow along and fall into the dialogue. We find that Annabel ultimately learned to accept life with whatever the situation presents. It truly goes to show that nothing is guaranteed in life.

Learn more about Rebecca Gibson