Getting Caught by a Demon, But Ending Up With the Cops

    Good thing I liked the only book I read last week. [I read the magazines I didn't read last week while tangled in volcanic Armageddon.]

    Yeaht, I wondered if I'd have anything to review. While the big, bold "Demon" in the title first drew my attention and the opening plot point set an eerie situation, I wasn't finding Diana Rowland's demons captivating.

   For almost a third of the book I was thinking I deserved the let down for jumping into the middle of a series. Yeah, I knew the book was part of a series because the blurbs told me so. Secrets of the Demon turned out to be the third book in Kara Gillian's story of coming to grips with her arcane abilities.

   Fortunately Gillian is a homicide detective, and the cop part of the story kept me reading--especially after it became the focus of the book rather than what Gillian should do with her demon lord lover. And no, the demon secrets don't really pertain to the demon lord. It's all tangled up in how the plot points twist and turn.

   Secrets of the Demon is an urban fantasy with light romantic overtones. Gillian has problems with human guys, who may or may not be demons, as well as with her demon lord...and doesn't quite resolve them. Rowland depicts the dilemma in realistic terms so Gillian feels like a real person trying to sort through her relationships. She does resolve the mystery in rip-roaring fashion which kept me reading beyond midnight.

   Really liked Kara Gillian as a character. She'd be someone I'd enjoy having coffee with. I wouldn't have to censor my thoughts as much as I usually do. Besides a raucous sense of humor, she smart and thinks fast on her feet. Her arcane abilities are treated more like a pain in the arse than a wondrous superpower. Rowland's nicely rounded secondary characters take on personalities of their own rather than being cardboard plot point stand-ins too.

    Recommended as a fun mystery who-dun-it complete with decent red herrings to lead your guesses astray. Also, the foreshadowings for the next book create more red herrings for the reader to sort through. FYI. Yeah, I'm going to be looking for other books in this series.

Read excerpts and more reviews at Amazon and B&N Nook.

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Some Interesting Links

   Since I assume most of my page views come from writers, I thought I'd share two blogs I found particularly interesting this week. 

   Janet Reid, my dream agent if I wrote the stuff she represents, recently did a blog on what questions writers should ask an agent before signing on the dotted line when going the traditional publishing route. It's an important piece of knowledge to file away ... even if you only scribble ideas for fan fiction. Take a look at The Engagement Period if you even guess you might one day turn into a writer.

   From an indie author point of view, I found another blog by Anne R. Allen on marketing books. Any writer or author wanna-be reading my blog should take a look at Marketing Your Books on Social Media. How to Avoid Scams.

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My Writing Rut

    Am feeling better about my writing. I finally got through my endless "turning-point" chapter of On the Run done. And the ending set up was something I never thought of before until I started pounding the keys. Now, I'm keeping my toes crossed that it doesn't turn into a "darling".

   This week, after I get this blog posted, I finally start writing the big demon attack where Pillar's world falls apart. I also plan to get another snippet up on my website.   It'll be down at the bottom of the first page.

   Still debating what I should do with my own marketing. Have an interesting video in process, but don't know quite how I'll use it. But, I've only got short stories up for downloading, and readers seem to want novel length works for free or 99c. No I'm not complaining. Just trying to figure out what's going on. And, deciding on whether or not I even care.