Strangers by A.L. Parks

Review by Kimmi:
To be left alone on the day you've dreamed of for as long as you can remember.  Your daddy is telling you how beautiful you look using his big awkward hands to help you set your veil just right.  You begin to hear the whispers through the church walls, as the whispers get louder, and louder you begin to get curious.....then you hear the sobs. They make their way to your bridal room, your dress, hair, and make up just right, everything is as it should be. And when you look up into your daddy's eyes, his avoiding yours as he makes his way back into the bridal room, shutting the doors and blocking the whispers and sobs, but once he looks through the veil he straightened he isn't smiling anymore.  His face has gone pale, his eyes no longer sparkle with pride and joy, they now glisten with tears..............  The groom can't make it, there's been an accident and he isn't going to make it. "...... a car accident...... he was on his way......hospital...... he was trying to meet you at the alter........."
Your white gown is now stained red in blood because you wrapped your body around his trying to hold him and keep him safe and with you.  Then you look in to his face and all you see is peace and him quietly saying goodbye.............

~Five years later.....Valentine's Day~

When you freeze your heart and keep it frozen for five years refusing to try because know your one true love died five years ago on his way to make you his wife.  When anyone has been dealt a blow like that, you tend to expect Karma to continue being the bitch that she is.  Life continues on for everyone else and the world never stands still.
Abby has been to the brink of insanity and skated on the razor's edge of reality since her wedding day.  She wasn't a jilted bride, no.  Hers was a story much much worse.  The day that her fiance wasn't able to meet her at the end of the aisle was the day that she lost faith in love and in happily ever afters.  Her world stayed still while it continued on around her until the Valentine's Day morning that changed her path in life yet again and a man named Bryce bought her a cup of coffee.  While he introduced himself she saw the same sad eyes that belonged to someone that had given up on life and hope, the same eyes that stared back at her in the mirror every morning.
I absolutely loved this book, from page one I knew it was one that would keep me awake through the night and that I wasn't going to be able to put it down until I finished the last chapter. AL Parks didn't just knock it out of the ball park with her debut novel, she hit a grand slam at the bottom of the ninth that won the game and put them in the world series. Strangers was a beautiful, heart wrenching story about the loss of happy ever after, loss of faith, and the loss of believing that true love lasts forever. It is also a story about picking yourself back up, only to fall back down. It's a story or perseverance, strength, and healing a scarred and shattered heart. 

When two people are drawn together, but both have lost the love of their lives by the hand of death, can they leave the memories of their first true loves behind?  Is it worth risking the possibility of the impossible becoming their reality and happening again?
I give Abby and Bryce's story 5-If at first you fall down, pick yourself up, and try, try again-Kimmi Stars *****

Get Your Copy Today For Only 99 cents!!!!!!

Author Interview with Ryan Mitchel Collins, author of Everyone Dies Alone

Wha What?!?!?! Kimmi Got to Sit Down with Mr. Ryan Mitchel Collins, drink some coffee, shoot the shit, and then he tried to get me drunk there at the end, who the hell am I kidding, I was already lit ;)

Hey babe, thanks so much for taking the time to answer my author interview Q&A ;)
Interviewing authors is probably the most awesome kickass part of being a blogger. I freaking love it!!!! Thanks again for this opportunity !!!

Kimmi:
*Alright! Let's do this damn thing babe, here.... *hands over a cup of coffee, grabs a comfy spot and settles in* Sugar??? Creamer? What's your poison?*
(I would like to add right here, that if your first name was David, Dave, Don, anything with a D, my little ________: with your intitials would be fucking awesome, you know that right? Don't kill me for adding this comment AFTER we finished this, muah!)
RMC: <-- DMC, much more badass, just sayin'
~Well, Thanks for having me Kimmi. I'm a Colorado boy, we like our coffee strong, and our tobacco wacky. I'll go with a strong cup of black coffee, and my favorite morning poison, a black American Spirit, aged in whiskey barrels of course.

Kimmi: (ok, well shit, maybe you don't need anymore badass points, you're handling your own against the LipSmacker just fine)

1) Just from reading Everyone Dies Alone I quickly noticed that you buddy are not only a people watcher but from reading your stories I learned that you also seem to be a keen observer to everything around you. Would you agree with that assumtion and if so can you pin point when this started or when you realized others don't pay as much attention to their surroundings?

RMC:
~It was really something that sprang out of reading and watching elders in my family people watch. When I would travel, they would instill in me a keen sense of my surroundings. It rubbed off on me, and the more I read and traveled, the more I realized there is an interconnection weaving us all together. It fascinates me. All I can do is try to understand and express this interconnection we share through observing and writing. There wasn't an exact moment when I realized some people don't pay attention, I think it was a lifelong process of seeing it happen over and over again. People see what they want to see.  

Kimmi:

2) Your writing style and the way you use your words to create even the simplest of sentences mimics that of a seasoned writer. So my question is how old are you? And sheesus christ WTF was your ACT/SAT score you baby genius, you.
RMC:
~It's hard to be a rookie. You've got to come out swinging.  I'm 26 years old with a keen interest in the American literary styling's of the greats. As a young writer I think you must balance your inspirations with the creation of a unique voice. The night before my ACT's, I was diverged in "extracurricular activities" until very late. I believe I got a 32 on the English portion and did very bad on the math part, I think I got a 26?    
Kimmi:
Oh, well...... glad you're in the hot seat and not me, lmao, we aren't discussing me and mine...And carrying on......

3)How much of your beliefs on political, economical, and spiritual theories do you think are influenced by conspiracy?

RMC:

~ I have a healthy skepticism when it come to politics, religion, and economics. I think one should try to expose oneself to as many of the different theories on these subjects worldwide. It's fun to play devils advocate with a dose of seriousness, and skepticism. I try not to form any concrete beliefs in these subjects because I know nothing as absolute, but I find exposing the depths of human beliefs takes some conspiracy and uncertainty.

Kimmi: 

4) Explain when and what was the turning point or driving factor that led you to share Everyone Dies Alone with the world?
RMC:
~The turning point was when I started to group an anthology of works together. After college, I had a handful of short stories. I thought they were worth working on and improving. When I had five of the stories in Everyone Dies Alone revised and finished, I wanted to add a few more in the style of how I had progressed as a writer. When I added four more short stories, I was ready to release it on the world.

Kimmi:

5) Why a collection of short stories and not a full length novel? Please explain. 
RMC:
~In order to progress as a writer I would say. I was once told, "Short stories are like dating, and the novel is like marriage." I wasn't ready for marriage yet. I tried to model the route writers like Hemmingway and Fitzgerald took with their first works. I believe in order to write a great novel, you must be able to master what comes first, the short story. I have by no means mastered the short story, but I will continue to write short stories as an means of stimulation, or distraction from writing a novel.
Kimmi:
6) What do you have in the works for us right now?
RMC:
~I'm very excited about the release of my first full novel, For the Sake of Tomorrow. It's scheduled to come out at the end of this year. It's very different from Everyone Dies Alone in the fact that it's a novel obviously, but tones of For the Sake of Tomorrow can be felt near the end of Everyone Dies Alone.  
Kimmi:

 7) If you could give debuting authors your best piece of advice, what would it be?

RMC:

~If I could give debuting authors a piece of advice it would be: never give up! Learn from your mistakes and don't lose sight of the dream. Keep trying to progress and make connections!

Kimmi:
8) What do you find is the most enjoyable aspect of writing as well as the worst aspect?
RMC:
~Writing is a therapy for me. Whatever is wrong with the world or my life, I can always escape and immerse myself in another dimension. This is the most enjoyable aspect of writing for me; it's a sheer escape from the bullshit that surrounds day to day life. My least favorite part of writing is the accountability you must face when you release your work on the world. This can be anything from critics, discontents, haters, lovers, family, ect. I think it's hard for some people to accept what a writer does.   

*Best damn answer I've ever heard to that question*

Kimmi:
9) Using one character from Everyone Dies Alone which character do you most relate to.
RMC:
~ The character I most related with in Everyone Dies Alone comes from Shiva's Kiss. The story of those two brothers was difficult for me to write and I really related with the younger brother Mike. It was a true story here in Colorado about two years ago. My heart wrenched for that family and I hope I did the story justice.

Kimmi:

10) If you could name one character from Everyone Dies Alone, what character would  you choose to put in the forefront and more stongly convey their message to the entire world, and why?
RMC:
~ If I could put one character at the forefront of this book to convey a message, it would be the Bloody Prophet. In a society wrought with contradictions and hypocrisy, he chose madness as a form of sanity in an insane world. I find this contradiction to be significant in the challenges many young people face today.  

*Slow Claps.......* Well said Sir, very well said.

 Ryan thanks so much again for the chance to not only have you push me past my normal reading boundries and open my tunnel vision of what I believed was literary entertainment, but also the opportunity to meet a cool ass, laid back and friendly guy like yourself. I had a blast doll! Muah! ~Kimmi

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me Kimmi, now will you fill my wine cup, or is it too early?

Salud,

RMC

Everyone Dies Alone by Ryan Mitchel Collins

Everyone Dies Alone by Ryan Mitchel Collins, reviewed by Kimmi:
If I had to sum up Everyone Dies Alone in one quick review statement in would be "This collection of dynamic and moving stories not only captured my attention but kept me entertained by keeping me both on the edge of uncomfortable, as well as out of my literal element. 
I haven't finished my author interview with RMC yet however I can clearly see that he left behind pieces of himself in each short story. He delivers a fresh, underground, and fucking kickass cutting edge writing style in this debut and he does so with a perfect execution you usually only see from seasoned authors.
In Everyone Dies Alone RMC used short story after short story and continued pushing my boundaries as not only a reader but also a member of the human race. Each story is told by a different characters POV and as you read you follow each character through the highs and lows of their journey. The short stories are profound and individually unique in their way that persuades  you to look beyond your expected societal norms. 

"....the problem is that we got it ass backwards. We give them our-everything and anything for the pursuit of money. We've traded away our lives for a piece of paper! Think about what money actually is......" "It's a piece of paper with green ink on it...." "We carry the dead skin of a tree in our wallet, which is the skin of a dead animal." 
~Sum One of Everyone Dies Alone by Ryan Mitchel Collins

Alone by Neil Dover

I love that the author Ryan Mitchel Collins isn't afraid to go balls to the wall and against the grain. He boldly shows he is more concerned with his art form and portraying his beliefs and opinions as opposed to conforming to the cookie cutter book formula that has flooded the literary market. 

Gotta give Everyone Dies Alone 4-stick it to the Man- Kimmi Stars****

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Book Description:

Strangers by A.L. Parks

On Sale this weekend for ONLY .99 cents!!!!!

Bereaved bride Abby Clark is tortured by visions of the fatal crash that took her fiance on their wedding day. She succumbs to a dark existence where loneliness, sadness and nightmares dwell; until handsome, brooding Bryce Holden walks through the door of her favorite coffee shop, wearing the same cloak of despair and grief. Abby discovers in Bryce someone who understands love and loss, and soon their close friendship grows into a deep love. But ghosts make strange bedfellows, and Abby is forced to battle the tormenting images that continue to haunt her, and confront the ethereal presence of a beloved wife to protect her future with Bryce.

Need the link to your .99 cent copy? Well ask my love and you shall receive ;)

Strangers by A.L. Parks for .99 cents!!!!!!!!

Meet the Author:

A.L. Parks currently lives outside Washington D.C. with her family. They spend many hours exploring the area and the deep history of this beautiful land, while experiencing as much of life's wonders as possible. She has traveled abroad and lived in almost every corner of the U.S., and hopes her writing reflects various cultures, people, and places.
To keep up to date with A.L. Parks and what she has coming up follow her at these Author links: 

A.L. Parks Blog

A.L. Parks FB Page

A.L. Parks on Twitter

Brought to Heel By Mark Davis

Review by Kimmi:
I thought this buy "yes, I bought it, I couldn't wait not one damn minute, not one damn second while amazon got their shit together and corrected it to free, and honestly, COME ON it was .99 cents!" Anyway where was I? Oh..... Yes, I thought this buy was absolutely knee weakening and delightful! At page 1 something WONDERFUL happened, I truly wasn't expecting to get the breath knocked out of me with a sexy as hell poem right away! *Sighs* And then even better was that each short story was so well rounded and written with deep complex characters that you remember well after you've finished the story. Mark always surprises me with his short stories because they don't feel short. The way he uses his awesome writing style makes it so when his short stories are over, you feel satisfied. He still gives the reader a beginning, a middle (holy mother of gawd! WHEW! *Fans self* Damn do you get a middle!!)and also you get a great closing at the end. It's like I said, you just read a short story, but Mark's talented mind and attention to details builds a story on a much grander scale than just an erotic short. I loved each and every one of these stories, so much! Each story had my imagination running wild and whoa, just WHOA! They definitely made me want to stumble upon a little young'en twenty something fella and..... ok! Nevermind with all that, where was I before I got carried away, hehehehe. I was also tickled to death that Mark closed this collection of erotic and sensual goodies with another sexy and hot panties bonus poem! This sexy ass perfection gets 5-Poems, and Short stories, and Eroticism OH MY!-Kimmi stars *****

~Ready for my hot smexiness I made? What can I say, I was inspired, Oh and I have Picmonkey.com as well, of course ;)

TA DA!!!!!!!! 

Touch Me by T.H. Snyder

Review by Kimmi
This was an absolute romantic blast to read. Char is the type of female lead character that you can't help but fall in love with. And Riley,  well Riley just be fine as hell, lol. With the scars of a broken heart keeping her guard up is like second nature to Char. And with her BFF being her selfish ass sisters 'waiting in the wings boyfriend' Derrick she is not without a male influence in her life. So when Riley comes flying into her life like a bat out of hell calling her crazy mart bitch she is not only surprised and thrown off, she is intrigued and feeling the butterflies again only stronger than she EVER has before. 

Riley has had his fair share of short term romances and relationships but he'll be damned if this Char chick isn't only getting under his skin but she's creeping into places that is uncharted territory for Riley. He can't, nor does he want to explain or try to figure out what is going on between him and Char, He just wants it, and he wants it now.
This was such a sweet, lovely story to read. 

No angst, no grittiness, no harsh in your face wincing ugliness. It was like a nice spring morning stroll through the park with a rainbow in the sky, it was *sighs* the sweetest, most peaceful romantic story I've read in quite a while. I mean honestly the only bitch I felt the urge to shank with my shiv was Chloe, Char's self absorbed sister and she lived on the opposite end of America, so that's good, no one got shanked ;)
With sweetness that makes you say awwww, and passion that makes you think awe hell yeah, Char and Riley's story is the perfect antidote for a rainy day, or down and out depressed feelings. Loved it! Touch Me gets 4-rainy day romantic read-Kimmi Stars ****