Chamber Meeting This Thursday

by Seldovia Chamber of Commerce

Tamara Rose Blodgett – Local Author – Big Success!

by Jenny Chissus

How exciting is it that we have another local author making great strides in the literary world!   Tamara Rose Blodgett has been writing since 2007, pursuing her creative genius.  Tamara is currently on her 6th book, and is working simultaneously on three completely different series!  I had the opportunity to sit down with her at lunch today at the Tidepool (sorry about all the background noise – but it was a busy happy place!) to discuss her writing, her process and her successes.

Tamara Rose Blodgett's Currently Available Novels

Tamara has recently made it into the top of certain categories, and is thrilled to know that her readers are enjoying each book, referring them to friends, and impatient for the sequels!  Her success has come as a bit of a surprise, as each story is so personal, and such an intimate creation – she just wasn’t sure if they would resonate with her readers.  A serious confirmation that her stories are being read and enjoyed is that Death Whispers is in the TOP 100 for Children’s Science Fiction! Death Speaks is in the TOP 100 for Children’s Mysteries, Espionage and Detectives & Genre Fiction; Occult, and The Savage Blood is in the TOP 100 for Romance; Time Travel, Historical Fantasy, Historical Science Fiction & Fantasy!

Death Screams, book III in the Death series is due for release on Friday the 13th of January – so keep a look out.

Do take a look at Tamara’s blog – to see summaries, reviews and more.

It is important to note that there have been quite a few authors coming out of our little community.  The following three authors share their love of the Alaskan lifestyle and adventures.  Check them out!

                              

For example: Dennis Lattery’s Hunts and Home Fires and his wife Sharon Lattery’s Cold Climate Clips and Erin McKittrick’s A Long Trek Home to name a few!  We have enjoyed book signings and presentations here locally by these talented authors – and it is a real treat to see them succeed!  There must be something in the Seldovia water!  Happy Reading!

Book Review by Tamara Rose Blodgett – Stephen T. Harper’s – King’s X

An epic chase across many lifetimes.  “The Maltese Falcon” crossed with “The X-Files”- A smart suspense/thriller and a gorgeous, swashbuckling historical adventure united by a stunning twist, reincarnation as it’s never been done before.  

What happens when we die?  Is it Nothing?  Is it Something?An Ancient Legend:  Long ago the King’s X was stolen from its makers… And with it the thief carried off a great secret. No one truly dies.  We all must return again and again.  Few will ever recall the truth.  One can never forget it.A Relentless Chase: Wendell Book is a young detective stuck working the dark side of Hollywood in the vice division.  When Molly breaks into his apartment looking for his long-dead father, Book knows this runaway girl is different.  Somehow, in ways neither of them can yet see, Book and Molly are connected.  Now Book must protect her from an Enemy he could never have imagined and Molly must remember the rest of her story.  The King’s X is hidden somewhere in Los Angeles, right where she left it…long before she was even born.

Review by Tamara

WoW…just wow. Harper really understands language. King of dialogue! I *believed* what all his characters were saying, both out loud and in their respective internal monologues. The men thought like men and he didn’t do too bad with the chicks either (a few times I wanted to check the cover and make sure it was a male author; he had some uncanny insights into the feminine psyche.)

Like this for instance, which I highlighted in my Kindle like the book fanatic I am,: “Her life had been too safe to need courage, and too easy to develop resolve.”

Book is a 1960’s detective on the police force driven by integrity and some gritty past circumstances that have molded him into the man he’s become. Ghosted by a haunting death in his past that he can’t shake, and misunderstanding the root of it, it dogs him into adulthood. Despite challenging circumstances in his childhood, he rises above it magnificently. I was rooting for Wendell Book from the beginning; I dug who he was and thought he sounded pretty hot too! His life changes drastically when he meets Molly, a girl “awoken” to discover she is not who she believed she was. Pieces of her past fall together in a slow mudslide of chunks, with Book intricately entwined in the memories she possesses. I loved Book’s POV, but the switch to the Christian Templar time told in third person from the perspectives of Broussard and Kahli were amazing as well. Steeped in history, the passages give a fascinating slice into life at that time,and the bravery and human motivation therein. It is the classic tale of good versus evil but it’s never stale. Never. If you’re a reader that digs fast paced action, intrigue, highly-detailed scene description, etc. This is the novel for you.

If you can survive the ending. Harper completely turned me upside down with his twist and I was pleased over the surprise of it. It made sense, it was complicated and gave me the “ah-huh” that I love to get nailed with at the end of a great read. Bravo!

A caveat: this is not a genre I’m usually nuts over. It’s a thinker: dummies need not apply (joking…kinda). A novel like this keeps you on your toes, there’s a lot going on that must be assimilated and connected by the reader, not the least of which is the history that is cleverly paced within the book. It’s a full-meal-deal. If you’re looking for dessert, skip this. It’s too satisfying by far, completely engaging from beginning to end.

King's X

Stars: 5  of  5

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Sub-genre(s): Young Adult Crossover, Action/adventure, Romantic Suspense

Elements: Light Profanity, Violence (war)

Age: 16+

Purchase Link: King’s X- Amazon $2.99

Cost: 2.99 

Grammatical/formatting issues: Nothing significant.

To view Tamara’s Blog – please click here!