Author Greg Sisco Day

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Welcome to Author Greg Sisco Day here on the blog. Some of you may wish to run away now. I’d like you to stay, but I completely understand if you don’t.

What’s that? You don’t know who Sisco is? Ah, that is a shame. In that case, please stay…

Are there any Howard Stern fans out there? I used to be, but only liked him when someone was controlling him. When the reins were removed, and he was able to be as raunchy as he wanted, that’s when I moved on. Now, please do not take me for a saint. I’m sad to report that I am very far from it. I am well acquainted with every foul word ever invented by man, pulled from the circles of Dante’s Hell or wherever bad words come from. I wished I wasn’t, and I certainly don’t practice using them. Well, you know… Suffice it to say that I have stubbed a toe or mistakenly struck my thumb with a hammer now and again. Get what I’m sayin’? The reason I tell you this is because in order to get through this next book, you’re really going to have to be able to stomach each and every one of those words – and quite frequently!

“Why would anyone want to read something so potentially foul,” you may ask? I’ll tell you why. It’s because it’s written by author Greg Sisco. And after reading nearly everything he’s written, I can tell you that he doesn’t write a bad book. Believe it.

Here’s the synopsis of his most recent: Gunslinger, P.I.

A PRESENT-DAY WESTERN DETECTIVE STORY WITH VIOLENCE, SEX, AND A TALKING CAR

His name is Garret Gallagher, but don't call him that or he'll shoot you in a particularly uncomfortable appendage. Every thug and criminal in Scud City knows him as Gunslinger. They say he traveled through time from the Old West. They say he drives a talking car. They say for five grand he can solve any murder in forty-eight hours.

As it happens, everything they say is true.

Gunslinger, P.I. follows five days in Gunslinger's life. Hired by an allegedly Irish gangster to investigate a particularly suspicious murder, Gunslinger navigates a rocky relationship with his talking car girlfriend, lusts over a foul-mouthed femme fatale, butts heads with a twenty-first century cowboy wannabe, plays Russian Roulette with an idiot, and seeks out revenge on anyone who lies to him -- which happens to be pretty much everybody.

A darkly comic murder mystery at its heart, Gunslinger, P.I. blends Western and noir with touches of fantasy, science fiction, and romance for a one-of-a-kind, mile-a-minute ride at the hands of a crass, madman antihero with no regard for the reader's comfort level.

When I first began undertaking the adventure that is Gunslinger, P.I., I found myself debating whether it might be too much. His works typically are R-rated, but this one – much like One Night Stan’s is in the very least rated NC-17. I don’t know why, but I kept going. Perhaps I have a trust factor with him. In fact, I know that’s why.

I am a devoted follower of his Blood Brothers Vampire series: I fawned over Thicker Than Water, and then raced over to grab The Wages of Sin. I am firmly on record as admitting that he blows away pretty much everything else that’s out there that’s vampire-related. That includes mine. With One Night Stan’s – a book that I arguably should not have read, due to its graphic content – I found that I just couldn’t help myself. If you haven’t yet figured it out, reading Sisco may very well be my guilty pleasure!

I’ve read some of Gunslinger’s reviews and can tell you that there a few upset people out there. They had no idea what they had begun to read and did not appreciate it at all. I can understand. It is definitely not for the faint of heart. However, having said that, I promise you that there are no words, sentences or turn of phrases used simply for shock value. Not one. Believe it or not, but each and every one of those are carefully and strategically placed.

“But wait!” I can hear you ask. “Don’t you go to church regularly, and pray, and everything? How could you not only read this, but seem to enjoy it immensely?” Yes, it’s true. As a Christian - especially after reading One Night Stan's - I find myself covering one eye when I see a new release from him and mutter the prayer: "Lord, what has he done now?" Lol! See, I told you he was my guilty pleasure.

Just know that if you could stomach the characters of Gunslinger, P.I. & the world they navigate, you’ll find that the book is perfect. The writing is wholly imaginative, the plot gripping and tight, and it’s loaded with the signature Sisco wit that will really pull you back for more.

Author Greg Sisco’s books

are sometimes rough stuff. Yet, every single time - no matter what the material - I find myself unable to put the book down and cheering at the end!

Good Reads

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I hope you and yours are well. I thank you so much for stopping by when you can. I realize how precious time is, especially for so many of us who are juggling family, day jobs and writing – whether we’re published authors already or merely working on it. It’s really way too much than anyone should have to juggle. But it’s art, isn’t it? And when you’ve been given a gift like that one, you don’t lock it away. Instead, you do what you can to use it. I’m speaking about all of us now.

For me, I’ve been trying to make time for the social networks, but have had little success. With my limited time I have been doing a lot of writing and reading only. With that in mind, I have a couple of my recent reads to tell you about. Both should be familiar faces for many of you as they are doing incredible work and being pretty successful at doing it. I’m talking about authors Greg Sisco and Stant Litore.

Greg Sisco and The Wages of Sin:

 

This is the second novel in Sisco's incredible Blood Brothers vampire series and I continue to be blown away by him. You may recall my having told you about book one, Thicker Than Water. Overall, this is the third of his novels that I have read, and I had this one finished by day two. It's that good.

In this second installment of the story, we find the brothers still living in Las Vegas where one miss-step after another leads them further and further into very dangerous territory. Loki begins to step out into a spotlight which makes it very uncomfortable for his brothers. At the same time, Tyr's relationship and feelings for Eva continue to drive a wedge between him and the others. Soon, new characters emerge that complicate matters further, including the brothers being pursued by not one, but two entities. And it's not altogether certain what will happen when they finally locate them.

Much like book one, book two takes us half a world and a thousand years back with some very wonderful stories that color the plot well and provide great depth to the characters. Using his gift for wit, biting sarcasm and masterful pacing, Sisco will have you turning those pages no matter what better things you think you should be doing with your time.

Previously, Sisco proclaimed that he wanted to return vampires to where they rightfully belonged, rescuing them from the "soft" genres. I can assure you that he continues to do this and does not disappoint. He hasn't erased the original mythology, giving his vampires new abilities or powers, but has simply brought them into the new century as we would fully expect them to act. There's nothing wrong with enjoying your vampires on the lighter side of the genre, if that's what you prefer; however, if you're looking for the serious stuff: the bloodletting and the horror - you can stop looking right now. Sisco's got the goods. Here's the link.

Stant Litore and What Our Eyes Have Witnessed:

 

Father Polycarp has a Gift. He can bring peace and rest to the restless dead.

I just completed my second helping of Litore's incredible series "The Zombie Bible." I didn't immediately fall in love with this one as I did with Death Has Come Up into Our Windows...at least not at first. I'm just not a fan of second century Rome. But let me tell you something: whether you like Rome or not, Litore's masterful hand will drop you directly in the middle of the Eternal City and guide you about - taking you from the heights where the rich and the politicians dwell, down to the squalor at the bottom where the very poor suffer and the early Christians shield their presence from the soldiers and the hungry dead.

You might think there could be no beauty to be found in a zombie tale, but you'd be wrong. This is both an epic story of survival and a well-crafted study on the human condition, as we see the thoughts and feel the emotions of the rich and the poor, the weak and the strong, the good and the evil. We see their motivation, their heartache and their last moments as the dead desperately reach for them with their insatiable hunger.

As a writer of Christian themes myself, I cheered the ending of this piece as all of the beautiful symbolism came together, along with all of the splendid plot lines, to become a shiny red bow to decorate a truly inspired entry to "The Zombie Bible." Here's the link.

Believe me when I tell you that both of those guys are doing work that warrants further investigation. As for me, I’ve got to get back to my WIP. If you weren’t here last week, I discussed the paranormal ghost story I’ve been working on. It has a healthy splash of romance, that is pleasing me immensely, and I think it will please readers of the paranormal genre as well. I’m currently looking for beta readers for it, so if you think you might be interested, skip down to the previous post and have a look. I’d love to hear from you about it.

We’ll talk soon.

Vampires Hunting for an Audience

Greetings and Salutations, Fire Enthusiasts. So glad you could take a moment of your time to drop by. Life has been hectic, as I know it probably has for you as well. Work at the day job has continued to be crazy busy, but who wants to discuss that? Certainly not me. *frowns* I don't even want to think about that when I'm there. ;)

Thanks to my being on vacation for those two weeks at the holidays - and the little part about me eating and drinking everything in sight *laughs* - I have been hard at work dropping the extra ten pounds I gained in December. I have faithfully been climbing upon my trusty treadmill and am pleased to report that I am down to 182. Of course it takes 60-90 minutes (4.5 to 6 miles and 800 to 1000 calories reduced) nearly every day to get me where I want to be. How about you? Any of you fighting the month of December?

I have been getting more reading done. I just finished the second installment of author Stant Litore's wonderful Zombie Bible series. This one was What Are Eyes Have Seen and it was very, very good. You may recall that I don't care for zombie tales, but what my friend Litore is doing is not to be missed. One wouldn't think there could be anything beautiful in and around zombie action, but you'd be terribly wrong. Then on Friday, author Greg Sisco released the second chapter of his Blood Brother's saga: The Wages of Sin. The book was so good that I had it done on day two. I drank from it like a fledgling vampire takes his first drain. What's a "drain" you may ask? It's what Sisco's vamps refer to their victims. If you've never heard anything like this, I can assure you that what Sisco is doing is altogether new and there's nothing like it in the marketplace; and if he shortly reports that some big six publisher has made him an offer he couldn't refuse, it will come as no surprise to me at all.

I labeled this post the way I did because it has been very slow going it terms of sales. The past couple of years I spend much time on promotion, doing the blogs and sending out Tweets and Facebook updates, etc. on promotion with little to show for it. This year, I plan on letting the work do the promoting. The reviews are trickling in, but when they do form a pool, they are glorious. I just received one yesterday by the awesome Lindsey Clarke. Click on her name there if you wish to see it. Among other things, she said: "With edge of your seat action and nail-biting events, (Garcia) leads you on a chase around town, where you're desperate to find out where the evil will strike next, and as it turns out, the danger is always closer than you might think... These days when you can't turn the page without bumping into a hot sparkly vampire or a bit of paranormal erotica, it's refreshing to find a novel without either. What I liked about (it) is that it leans toward the original vampire legend where vampires are more likely to drain you dry and rip your head off than sleep with you."

Not too shabby, huh? The series is available on Amazon Kindle and can be had for $4.00.

Lastly, I have been hard at work on draft two of my paranormal romance ghost story. Now, before you start picturing scantily clad cover models, you can sit back down. I'm aiming for that audience, but at it's heart it is a ghost story that deals with love and loss. I wrote this a year ago and am making it priority one. If you haven't seen me around the blogs, this is why. I'm hoping to have it ready for beta readers next month sometime, and this is where you come in. I will leave you with the working blurb that I have for it. Last year I had a couple of people tell me they'd be interested, but I'm asking one more time as I build a list of potential readers. Please let me know if you might be available to read something in the 70k word range that I can have ready for my editor in the spring. I could really use the help.

Blurb for Ghosts:

Paul Herrera hasn’t worked, left town or done much of anything since the untimely death of his wife three years before. He suddenly finds himself bequeathed a mysterious old house near the California central coast by a deceased aunt that he never knew. The woman who showed it to him and handed him the keys is the spitting image of his dead wife, taken from him in a senseless car accident which also took from him his unborn son. While he deals with the ghosts of a past that he cannot let go, there are new ghosts as dead Aunt Flora is not content with eternal sleep, but continues her unholy quest to be rejoined with her dead husband on this side of the grave.

Flora isn’t the only ghost that Paul must deal with, alone for the week in the expansive two-storey house that he will soon discover holds many secrets. Eventually, he will see that he is surrounded by ghosts, both the ethereal and those that haunt his memories, as he struggles to hold onto the only thing that he has left in this world: his sanity.

Ghosts is the 72,000 word novel that mixes Paranormal, Horror and Romance to come up with a story that should appeal to everyone who likes their dark genres paired with reality that we can all relate to such as the feelings of terrible heart-wrenching loss and our search for a love that might outlive us.

We'll talk soon.

Books, Reviews and Giveaways

Hello there, Fire Enthusiasts. How are things? I am well once again. I am no longer irritating everyone around me with a perpetual clearing of the throat. Thanks for asking. Actually I do want to thank everyone for their kind notes, whether here or on any of the other social networks, I certainly appreciate anytime I am mentioned, especially when folks are asking how I’m doing.

Today, I have come to you to speak about other people's books. I managed to get two novels read since the last time that we spoke. Before I get to them, I want to tell you about some e-books that we are giving away at Kings River Life Magazine.

Many of you may know that I write magazine articles for an E-zine from my neck of the woods. I do one about once a month, and they range from local events in my town to restaurant reviews to pet rescues. This week, on the advice of my fearless Editor-in-Chief, we took a look at the state of publishing and some of the great writers that are out there, myself excluded. She didn't ask me to stay out of it, I just chose to. This was not so much about me, although my writing has certainly benefited from the exciting times that we live in. Instead, I just wanted to celebrate and feature several of the great voices that I have discovered and reviewed in these pages. You no doubt will recall Carole Gill, Erin Cole, Marissa Farrar, Lorelei Bell and Phil Tucker. If you have yet to read their works, visit the magazine with the above link and enter for a chance to win an e-book.

Author Coral Russell and Amador Lockdown.

If you like ghost stories or ghost hunters, then this will be right up your alley. It is the interesting take on ghost hunting and what could happen when you fool around with that sort of thing.

Here’s the official blurb:

Something has moved into the Amador Hotel. Hector, Marcos, Bev, and Tony of the Paranormal Posse are called in to either debunk the haunting or get rid of whatever is causing the problems. With the surprise arrival of Hector's son, he tries to keep his professional and personal lives separate, but whatever is haunting the Amador Hotel has other plans.

I found the story to be well done. It takes place in the American south-west and is heavily flavored with Hispanic references, including language, food and culture. I found that to be a nice change and well thought out, adding a nice spice to an already interesting ghost story. You will also get the perspective of the ghosts in the plot, which I liked. It is given in small bites, so if you find yourself not quite catching on, just give it time.

Being that I knew very little of the actual work of ghost hunters, I found it intriguing to see that there is more than simply walking around “haunted places”. We get to see them giving tours, doing research and speaking to witnesses, using expensive equipment and eventually doing a lockdown where they and several others spent the night. That last decision might have been a bad one, but you'll have to find that out for yourselves.

The story takes a left turn at the end which was quite a different payoff. We go quickly from hunters to questions of possession, where the material takes a very dramatic twist, making Amador Lockdown well worth your time.

Author Greg Sisco and Thicker Than Water.

Welcome to the Greg Sisco channel! *laughs* Having just read One Night Stan’s, which I’m still buzzing about, I went right to his take on vampires, which was the original book that caught my attention to the work this incredible author is doing in the first place. Little did I know!

Sisco has informed me that he has many things going on for this year, but nothing else for me to read at the moment. That’s for those of you who might start worrying that I have become infatuated with his writing. Well, let me tell you that there’s a reason why I immediately launched into his other novel just as soon as I had finished Stan’s, and that it only took me about two days to finish. He’s that frigging good.

Here's the synopsis:

Tyr and Loki are not your teenage sister’s vampires. Their skin is not covered in glitter. They do not drink the blood of possums instead of humans. They view humanity as a secondary species; they have mastered the skill of manipulating and seducing women; and if you find yourself in a room with them, don’t expect the opportunity to say goodbye to your loved ones.

Since the Crusades, the Blood Brothers have waged war on all things wholesome. They have terrorized mankind with their hedonistic and brutal theatrics every night for a thousand years.

Thicker Than Water, the first novel in the Blood Brothers series, spans from Tombstone, Arizona in 1893 to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999. After Tyr sparks a feud with his domineering brother by impaling him to a wall and abandoning their relationship, a story unfolds weaving together vampires, brothel owners, gunmen, prostitutes, and buckets of innocent blood in a twisted orgy of sex, murder, revenge, romance, betrayal, and brotherly love.

Once again, it isn't necessarily the subject matter that drives my appreciation for what this author is doing, but the exceptional writing. When it's this good it really doesn't matter what the story is. That was my problem with Stan's. I didn't want to know about strip clubs nor did I have any business in one. Once I got that first "taste" of the place; however, I just couldn't walk away. You may find yourself tired of vampires, or perhaps you don't like the subject at all. I guarantee you'll like this; it isn't what you're used to.

A few specific thoughts:

Many readers take issue with flashback scenes, but in this case, I doubt anyone will even notice. They are handled in a timely and well thought out manner, as if in the hands of a master. The plot takes us back and forth from there to present day as if it were a symphony, building towards its ultimate crescendo. Thankfully, the story does not end here, but simply takes a breath, pausing as we prepare ourselves for the next movement in the Blood Brothers series.

Another moment of brilliance occurs as we "see" the best human to vampire transformation I have ever experienced, but I don't want to give anything away. You're going to have to trust me on this one.

On that note, much of the thrill of this story has to do with the reveals. They are not the biggest surprises known to man; however, the plot unfolds in such a way that you may find yourself not thinking ahead, but giving every sight, smell and texture its opportunity to do its work and transport you there. 

Last year, the author put up a blog post where he said that he wanted to return vampires to where they rightfully belonged. I can assure you that he has done that in spades. I’m serious folks! As the author himself warns, these are not your teenage sister's vampires. The baton that was brought to us by Bram Stoker, handed over for a fabulous reinvention by Anne Rice, now comes through the murky waters of the vampire romance sub genre, held clean and high overhead by Greg Sisco.

We'll talk soon.