REVIEW: Finnish Fantasies by Sloane Taylor

FINNISH FANTASIES

Sloane Taylor

Published by Amber Quill Press (Amber Heat)

Length: Novella

ISBN-13: 978-1-60272-572-0 (Electronic)

Erotic/ Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Being Maid of Honor in Finland over Midsummer’s Eve is supposed to be fun, but for jingle writer Kate Adams it’s a nightmare. Things go from bad to worse when her high-priced rental car dies on an endless ribbon of bone-dry country road. Help arrives in the form of a delicious-looking, blue-collar local who just might make it all worthwhile.

Rurik Jaacko knows better than to stop for the princess perched on the hood of a Mercedes. Hot women and expensive cars are trouble, but he’s a sucker for any damsel in distress. The last thing he expects is to play bellhop to the sensual American, and love every sizzling moment.

A rustic pig farm and a friend who isn’t combine with deception to create the backdrop for earthy passion and international fraud...

So...what can a hunky pig farmer who owns a forest, and a strong-willed jingle writer on her way to be Maid of Honour at a posh wedding, possibly have in common? Well, this being a Sloane Taylor story, you already know there will be a lot of witty repartee, lots of neurotic fireworks, and LOTS of very hot sex. No one combines these elements of erotic comedy better.

Ms. Taylor is on fine form with this hugely enjoyable Scandinavian concoction. Kate’s snarky put-downs are a hoot, while Rurik, quickly revelling in his role as impromptu host, serves up plenty of surprises for his sexy American guest. Both characters are fun to be around. I was also intrigued by a sub-plot involving Kate’s best friend, Lucy, whose high society betrothal to the loathsome Lars takes a startling turn.

One thing I love about Ms. Taylor’s writing is the endless reservoir of wit she can dip into at will. Mundane exchanges become sparkling back-and-forths as her characters vie for dominance. Also worth mentioning is the satisfying research that goes into bringing these exotic countries to life. The customs, language, and genuine feel for this rural environment kept me immersed. I’ll definitely look forward to seeing where Ms. Taylor visits next. In the meantime, Finnish Fantasies is great fun.

Warning: contains scorching sex scenes, BDSM, a flagrant disregard for clothing, and the cutest spokes-pig ever.

Hurry on over to Amber Quill to purchase:

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/FinnishFantasies.html

And here's another by Sloane Taylor: Czech Mate

http://www.amberquill.com/AmberHeat/CzechMate.html

Don't forget to visit Sloane's website and blog. She's one of my favourite authors.

http://www.sloanetaylor.com/

Robert Appleton on The Basingstoke Chronicles

My newly released book, the time travel adventure The Basingstoke Chronicles is actually the first novel I wrote, back in 2005. I’d already written a few short stories and my debut poetry anthology, Mercurial Verse, but epic storytelling is what I’d always wanted to explore. The scope of grand adventure, mixed with intimate character moments, fired my imagination in my teens, when I spent rainy afternoons delving into the worlds of Victorian genre authors Wells, Verne, Burroughs, and H Rider Haggard.

Time travel in particular, fascinates me. The ideas are constantly in our faces, the opportunities tantalisingly out of reach. Time is such an intricate part of our everyday lives, yet we have absolutely no control over it.

What science fiction does so well is boil the universe down to two words: WHAT IF?

What if a dead body found floating off the coast of Cuba wore a strange garment? And what if the wool of that garment, while only twenty years old, came from an animal extinct for over nine thousands years?

A group of professional scuba divers, including Lord Henry Basingstoke and his friend, Rodrigo Quintas, eagerly search the ocean bed for clues. But when they find the secret of time travel in the deep, a fun vacation becomes an obsessive quest to be the first to solve the mystery. This involves a daring journey back through time, to a hidden land of rainforests, deadly creatures, and a doomed civilization. And the longer they stay, the more their adventure becomes, quite literally, a race against time.

In the early chapters, I wanted to introduce a very particular lifestyle, namely that of rich, bored pleasure-seekers whose pursuit of archaeological relics is less a burning passion, more a rite of privilege. For Lord Basingstoke, these treasure-seeking adventures around the globe are a fun hobby. Any true value in archaeology or history eludes him. A rebellious English aristocrat, he feels he has no real place in the late twentieth century, a time without magic, in which discovery is obsolete.

But finding the mysterious vehicle in the deep gives him a sense of purpose. For the first time in his life, he is in possession of something extraordinary. Discussing it with his closest friends only invigorates him further. Those exchanges are some of my favourite in the book—speculative, naïve, yet so passionate. He guards his discovery jealously, which leads to a fateful decision one night, when other interested parties are loitering nearby…

I won’t spoil anything of his adventure, but I will say that it was truly a vicarious thrill for me to write this journey of exploration. I could happily spend years wandering the hidden land of Apterona, learning its secrets. All I’d need is a very big rifle, Quatermain as a guide, and Jennifer Love Hewitt…for moral support.

Robert Appleton

The Basingstoke Chronicles is available now as an eBook at Uncial Press, priced $5.99

http://www.uncialpress.com/books/basingst/basingst.html

And at the following online booksellers:

Fictionwise: http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b94736/The-Basingstoke-Chronicles/Robert-B-Appleton/?si=0

Mobipocket: http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=220635

Books on Board: http://www.booksonboard.com/index.php?BODY=viewbook&BOOK=510905

Don’t forget to drop by in the coming weeks for a Basingstoke Chronicles contest or two, and your chance to win a free copy.

In the meantime, happy adventuring!

Cover Art - Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth

Renee Rocco just sent me this gorgeous cover art for Charlie Runs Rings Around the Earth, my upcoming sci-fi novel at Lyrical Press. I had a blast writing it at the end of last year, over about six weeks of unabashed, child-like outer space fever. What can I say? I'm a sucker for 1950's sci-fi films, late-Victorian speculative fiction writers (Wells, Burroughs etc.), and all-round adventuresome heroics. Charlie Thorpe-Campbell is a kind of modern-day spin on those virtuous, intrepid protagonists of old.

The cover wryly captures the dazzle and the arrogance of Charlie's status as the world's fastest RAM-runner. A huge thanks to Ms. Rocco for delivering this top-notch artwork.

December 7th can't arrive soon enough!

Here's the official blurb:

Charlie has spent his entire life running, but he can't outrun himself.

Celebrity athlete, Charlie Thorpe-Campbell is living out his family legacy of being among the fastest men in the world. Arrogant and self-absorbed, he prefers the limelight to facing up to emotional and social issues. And certainly, as the reigning champion RAM-runner, he literally runs rings around the earth.

All this changes when during the annual Tonne Run he is whisked away through a wormhole and finds himself on a barren, isolated planet with the fate of the galaxy resting on his athletic ability.
Will Charlie run rings around his enemies or will he continue running away?

You can learn about Charlie's real-life ancestors--British speed legends Malcolm and Donald Campbell--on my webpage here!

The Mythmakers at Samhain Publishing!

...and just like that, I'm now a Samhain author. I'd better keep saying that until it sinks in.

Say who? Okay, Samhain is one of the best, most well-respected e-Publishers in the market right now. They specialize in romance and erotica, but most of all they love a good story. If it bends the genre conventions a little, well...even better. You'll find many of the top eBook writers there (as well as some NY authors), not to mention editors and artists. But above all, it's the publisher I've wanted to sign with since I started in 2007.

http://www.samhainpublishing.com/

My sci-fi romance/adventure THE MYTHMAKERS will be published as part of their Space Opera Anthology in February 2010. All titles will be released as separate eBooks.

THE MYTHMAKERS is the story of Captain Steffi Savannah and her weary crew of deep space smugglers. Fleeing the authorities after a disastrous heist, they discover a giant, crippled alien ship drifting aimlessly. Any opportunity for salvage is short-lived, however, when Steffi meets the inhabitants--a stunning array of mythological creatures, including Arne, a blond hunk with no inhibitions except one...his closely kept secret.

Rediscover the magic of romance and adventure in this thrilling adventure set in the deep unknown of space.

More details coming soon!

Welcome to Damnation Books!

The massive stone doors have opened. Step through into the realm of Damnation Books. Inside you'll discover places of wonder, things to fear and explore darkness you never knew existed until now. We are dark fiction. Damn Good Dark Fiction.

www.damnationbooks.com

All day long Tuesday, September 1st, we're partying in that special place in hell just for people who love horror, thrillers, paranormals, dark fantasy, science fiction and dark erotica. It's called our reader's group: home of The Damned Nation...our beloved fans. So bring your undead selves to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DamnationBooks

Chat with our authors and artists. Grab yourself a chance at some freebies: tshirts with our reading zombie dude on them, Damnation Books mousepads and BOOKS!
Come on in...it's nice and warm! Anything you bring with you can and will be used against you.

Welcome to Damnation Books!

Movie Review - Outlander (2008)

Vikings versus an alien monster.

Still reading? Good for you, because you're in for a genre treat with Outlander, an action-horror that knows exactly what it wants to be and makes no apologies. James Caviezel plays Kainen, an alien warrior whose spaceship crashes in Iron Age Norway. Captured by a Viking tribe, he quickly realises that the atrocities visited upon local villages are the work of a Moorwen, a deadly creature from his homeworld. The monster stowed away on his ship and is now wreaking havoc, unopposed. It's up to Kainen to help these poorly equipped people hunt and kill a far superior foe. The Viking King (played by the always brilliant John Hurt) and his sword-wielding daughter (lovely Sophia Myles) recognise the outlander's worth, while other members of the tribe would rather blame him for the bloodshed. An uneasy alliance begins.

It's an old, old formula but the sci-fi bent gives this hero tale (Beowulf from outer space) plenty of juice. Caviezel plays it deadly serious, and the story's much stronger for it. Kainen and the Moorwen share a bitter history; this isn't a straightforward hero versus monster scenario. Apart from the well-done action scenes and special effects, Outlander has a solid script, a strong visual look (misty forests, caves, waterfalls etc) and four or five good actors. Add to this a fascinating creature and you have one of the better 'B' movies of recent years. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating: **** (4 out of 5)

August Round-Up

Damnation Books signed my latest sci-fi future novella, Godiva in the Firing Line, a fascinating mix of war, romance, politics, and deep space adventure. It's scheduled for a March 2010 release and will be my second title at Damnation. More info soon.

I read a number of strong books this month, including three I had on my TBR list for well over a year. Cormac McCarthy's The Road exerts a vice-like grip. Strikingly barren in terms of setting and even punctuation, it's also one of the richest post-apocalyptic tales I've read, by virtue of a wonderful, mostly unspoken relationship between father and son. It's man's existence pared down to day-by-day, scavenge by scavenge, survival. McCarthy's imagery is razor-edged, and his ending couldn't be more powerful. A must-read.

Stephen King's The Mist is one I desperately wanted to read after seeing the movie, which I loved. And a faithful adaptation it was, too (apart from the ending!). The novella is chock full of King's quirky observations on everyday folk; all his characters react differently to the truly horrific scenario. I especially liked the rise of superstition as the core group of "heroes" tries its best to steer a logical path. We get glimpses of the very best and (mostly) worst of people under pressure. Riveting stuff!

I'd heard so much about Stephanie Meyer's Twilight that, frankly, my expectations weren't high. Vampires were long-in-the-tooth decades ago, and I'm not a huge fan of high school romances. I like the sensual aspect of vamps, and the gothic settings they used to frequent; but how many times have we seen garlic, crucifixes, wooden stakes, shafts of sunlight etc? Too bloody many (pun intended). The Hammer horror Dracula movies are my favourite incarnations--period creep-fests with bags of atmosphere. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Yes, yes. Here, I was prepared for a cringe-worthy modern soap with goths, bad text messages etc. What I got was a long-winded but compelling forbidden romance. Bella is a nicely written heroine--a gawky klutz in a new school, an unassuming beauty with real intelligence. She falls head over heels for the mysterious Edward Cullen, whose mood swings rival Jekyll and Hyde on a bad hair day. Edward is clearly the author's image of male perfection--extraordinary good looks, dark, brooding, with superhuman attributes. Their relationship takes many turns--probably too many--but I enjoyed Meyer's intimate storytelling, along with the clever disclosure of Edward's real identity. A good, solid read.

My favourite new DVDs this month were Knowing, an enthralling, portentous thriller starring Nicolas Cage; Zack Snyder's bizarre but impressive superhero opus, Watchmen, featuring a truly fascinating super-being called Dr. Manhattan; Doubt, an acting masterclass from Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman; and Mickey Rourke's The Wrestler, one of the best films I've seen all year.

I didn't really fancy any of the cinema releases this month, but I've seen trailers for a few that have caught my eye. District 9, an alien action-mystery set in South Africa, looks amazing. James Cameron's Avatar will be an absolute treat in 3D--to my mind, he's made six brilliant films in a row, not counting this one. More delicious 3D from Robert Zemeckis (A Christmas Carol) and Tim Burton (Alice in Wonderland), two of my favourite directors. I'm also looking forward to Joe Johnston's The Wolf Man, Roland Emmerich's disaster epic 2012, and Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. A pretty good winter line-up!

Till next time,

Rob