The #MysteryNovember Book Tour Day 2 Shelley Pickens @shelleypickens

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Welcome to Day 2 of this year’s #MysteryNovember Book tour.

Our guest today is Shelley Pickens and her book Unhinged.

Being normal isn’t always a good thing, especially if it ends up killing you.

Aimee, the sixteen year old girl who can see your every memory with just one touch, is fresh out of the torture room after risking everything to capture a killer. Despite her instinct to avoid contact with others, she tries her best to find a new normal at school—perhaps even a boyfriend. But for those who are cursed, happiness and normality aren’t easy to obtain. A bizarre illness spreads like wildfire through the school and causes those around Aimee to lose their sanity before falling into a coma. Slowly, all the people she loves succumb to this strange disease.

Alone and terrified, she must use her curse to find a way to save her family and friends. As she delves deeper and deeper into their memories, she realizes David, a delusional person from her childhood, is the bigger threat that could destroy her. Despite the danger that surrounds her, she struggles to solve the puzzle before it’s too late to help those she cares for the most.

But as David moves closer to eliminating her, one puzzle still remains. Will she be able to save herself?

Where is your home town?

I had the distinct misfortune of living in one of the most humid places on earth – Columbia, SC! But as the capital of South Carolina, it is also a beautiful, safe place to grow up and build wonderful childhood memories. Though, to this day, I still won’t eat our beloved state crop – Okra! YUCK!

What do you like about writing in the mystery genre?

I can’t honestly remember a time when I was young that I haven’t thought about writing some poem or short story after my mind has revealed its latest creative idea. Yet, after a teacher in my master’s program demolished my writing style, I couldn’t write for a good decade. It wasn’t until I saw a television special highlighting the Journey of one of my favourite authors – J.K. Rowling – that I became inspired enough to pick up my pen once again and begin writing novels. With my best friend’s encouragement, I jumped blindly and not so bravely into the world of publishing this past July.

What sub-genre of mystery does your book fit?

Must I just pick one? 😉 I love reading romance, anything YA or Paranormal and almost anything Dystopian. Though I do love a great mystery, I can’t quite get into horror books. The only exception to that is Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series. I’m totally in love with goofy Odd!

Where is your book set?

“Unleashed” takes place at a high school in rural Georgia. The setting is based off of the actual high school at which I currently work as a Spanish teacher. ¡Arrrriba!

Can you introduce us to the main characters?

But there’s a new threat rising up to greet her. A bizarre illness spreads like wildfire through the school and causes those around Aimee to lose their sanity before falling into a coma. Slowly, all the people she loves succumb to this strange disease. Alone and terrified, she must use her curse to find a way to save her family and friends. As she delves deeper and deeper into their memories, she realizes David, a delusional person from her childhood, is the bigger threat that could destroy her. Despite the danger that surrounds her, she struggles to solve the puzzle before it’s too late to help those she cares for the most. But as David moves closer to eliminating her, one puzzle still remains. Will she be able to save herself?

Aimee is a strong willed survivor who chooses to live her life alone and away from others. She is the epitome of a Goth girl with long blonde hair dyed black, a nose ring and covered head to toe in black clothes to deter people from interacting with her. She loathes all human contact because she’s cursed. Her curse is that if she touches you, she absorbs all of your memories, all of your secrets. She has great inner strength and truly does desire friendship yet lives a lonely life for an obvious reason: she doesn’t want to absorb any more horrible memories of killers.

Where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

Book trailer for book 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLbiytP_bEk

Book Trailer for book 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvKX0rb-Zg

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22798155-the-haunting-of-secrets

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shelleypickens

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelleypickensauthor

Website: www.shelleypickens.com

Publisher: http://www.fireandiceya.com/

If you are interested in my story “Unhinged” or the first book, “The Haunting of Secrets”, (and I hope you are!) please visit any or all of the sites below. The coolest is my book trailer done by the video class at my high school with actors from drama!

When I’m not writing or teaching, you can find me surfing Facebook or twitter for all the latest news, tidbits and gossip! I share all my new adventures in life and in writing on both Facebook and Twitter. I am sorry to say that I am very new at blogging but post as much as I can when I’m not running around taking my hot mess kids to either baseball or soccer.

Where can readers find your book?

Amazon US: http://goo.gl/0jNSRM

Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/I5DyOq

Barnes and Noble: http://goo.gl/ZUC0Ig

Publisher Site: http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/shelleyrpickens/unhinged.html

The Haunting of Secrets (book 1)Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M2E3IVK/ref=nosim?tag=bookdire-21&linkCode=sb1&camp=2378&creative=8430

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/459523?ref=booksdirect

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-haunting-of-secrets-shelley-r-pickens/1119986452?ean=9781612359298&offerid=239662

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunting-Secrets-Shelley-Pickens/dp/1612359299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412615352&sr=8-1&keywords=the+haunting+of+secrets

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/535634

Amazon UK: http://goo.gl/I5DyOq

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Unhinged by @shelleypickens #YA #Thriller #bookreview

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today’s second team review is from Barb she blogs here http://barbtaub.com/

Barb has been reading Unhinged by Shelley Pickens

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My Review: 4 stars out of 5

Is it clinical depression if you’re cursed? Aimee Richardson, a sixteen-year-old high school student, should know. After all, she’s been through hell. It killed her. But she emerged, still cursed but with a loving adoptive mother, best friend, and even a boyfriend. Life should be good, right? Well, not if she’s still doomed to experience the memories of people she touches.

Careful to wear gloves and avoid skin-to-skin contact, she keeps even those she loves at a distance. But when people at her school begin to fall prey to a mysterious “illness” that drives them to homicidal madness, she has to question even the precarious life she’s carved out for herself. Sixteen years of experience taught her to be suspicious of others, but when those she loves become the next victims of the plague, she’s forced to turn to two strangers for help. Brett, another student at her high school calls her his “dark princess” and seems driven to provide assistance. And Dr. Evans, a forensic pathologist, seems strangely familiar with the specifics of Aimee’s curse.

I haven’t read the first volume in this series, so there are a few details I don’t know. But for the most part, author Shelley Pickens provides just enough backstory to make Unhinged work on its own. As dark fantasy, magic in Unhinged is a curse. The threat is that it will be used to mind rape the populace into submission. Apparently, it can only be defeated by the most powerful thing in the (YA) universe—love.

I ignore the gun and look David straight in the eyes. “You’re right. You’ll never be my equal. Because you have no idea how to love.”

David laughs. “Love? Who cares about love? I’m about to be the most powerful man in the world. You can take your love and shove it.”

Aimee is, for lack of a better term, the Eeyore—the teen version of the gloomy grey donkey of A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. She only wears black, reminds us with virtually every breath that she’s cursed (not to mention a social disaster), and has unrelievedly pessimistic trust and self-esteem issues. “But cursed people don’t get happy endings. Sadly, the cursed never live long enough to see them.” However, we also see a different Aimee through the eyes of the people who value her. And over the course of Unhinged, the Aimee we initially meet has to change and grow into the person everyone else sees, and who is willing to save everyone because she’s the only one who can. “Well, screw that. If I have to die to save the ones I love, than that is what I choose–no one else.”

The pace stutters a bit in places, with the story setup—numerous examples of fellow students and others succumbing to the “sickness”—being great for shock content but a bit repetitive. Although there are a surprising number of references to faces covered with various emotions and voices that drip things, the writing is for the most part clear, competent, and often lovely. Take, for example, Aimee’s reliving of her boyfriend’s memories from the first time he sets eyes on her:

“What I thought was the worst thing that could happen to him, he sees as the best. Perhaps we are all destined to fall for that one person that is able to see us as we wish we could see ourselves—perfectly imperfect.”

There are a few plot holes (nobody ever seems to just pull out their cellphone and summon emergency assistance), some gory scenes, and much foreshadowing for the next book in the series, but for the most part Unhinged is just what it sets out to be: a dark, occasionally gruesome, thrill ride and a great example of the genre. I would give it four stars and look forward to more from this talented author.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Unhinged by @shelleypickens #YA #mystery

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today’s team review comes from Karen she blogs at https://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/

Karen chose to read and review Unhinged by Shelley Pickens

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My Opinion

This second instalment of The Haunting of Secrets series takes the readers back to 16-year-old Aimee. She still doesn’t like to touch people as she automatically learns all about their past when this happens. Something has changed, though: she had to realise that she loves Logan.

With Unhinged, Shelley R. Pickens has created an intriguing sequel to the story of a girl who tries to keep to herself. Her secret is only known to Mary who adopted her four years before, to her friend Dejana and to Logan. When some classmates start behaving weirdly, Aimee can’t even guess how fast life as she knew it is turning worse as the ones she loves most also seem to lose their sanity. Who is friend, who is foe – it is hard to tell. Unhinged is a very gripping read with a three-dimensional main character; the more I learned about her, the more I liked her. Shelley R. Pickens develops the story in a great way – it gets more and more thrilling as the story proceeds. I was drawn into the story right away, was really close to Aimee and all events. While reading, Aimee became like a friend and/or a dear family member. I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment! Unhinged is a great read for young adults as well as fans of paranormal and mystery reads.

This a book to read again. Highly recommended

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Unhinged by @shelleypickens #YA #Thriller

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today’s team review is from Heidi, find her on facebook here https://m.facebook.com/#~!/heidi.simon.921?ref=bookmark

Heidi chose to read and review Unhinged by Shelley Pickens

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Unhinged

By Shelley Pickens

Review by Heidi Lynn

First, I would like to thank Shelley Pickens for providing me a copy of this book so I may bring you this review.

Unhinged by Shelley Pickens is the second book in the series The Haunting of Secrets #2. I did not have the opportunity to read the first book. However, I feel this could be read is a standalone book. If you would like to get to know the characters and their storyline better I suggest you read the first book.

Aimee’s special gift of seeing people’s memories with one touch originally intrigued me to read this book. It was a different type of Mystery that I am used to reading. It was full of mystery, suspense, fear, violence, sickness and evil memories. Once I started getting into it I could not put it down until I was finished. I needed to know why all of this evil was happening around Aimee.

Shelley’s book Unhinged was very well written. The details in her descriptions made you feel like you were there. Aimee, Logan and Dejana’s characters were very likeable. I could relate to Aimee as she was kind of an outsider and felt invisible. I admired Logan for always being there for Aimee. I liked the friendship bond that Aimee and Dejana shared. Plus, I loved the unique name Dejana.

There was one section of the book that struck a chord with me.

“That’s the funny thing about fate; people think it’s written in stone. They believe the age-old adage that you must ‘accept’ your fate; but that just isn’t true. It is simply a way for people to accept the things they can’t change. If something good happens, then “fate lends you a hand.” If something awful occurs, then “fate is cruel.”

If you are seeking very suspenseful read I highly suggest Shelley Pickens Unhinged.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

March Movers and Shakers for Fleet Life and EHDirectory

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Here are the books which made it to the March Issues of local magazines.

Fleet Life has the following books on page six of it’s magazine, for the online version go to http://www.fleetlife.org.uk, load the online directory and turn to page 6

The Dead Lands by Dylan J Morgan

I Listened To My Heart by Rosemary Gallagher

Motherlove by Thorne Moore

The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

The Song of the Cypress by Tonia Parronchi

Elvetham Heath Directory has the following books on page of it’s magazine, for the online version go to ehd.org.uk, load the online directory and turn to page 6.

S.C.A.R.S by Julia Ibbotson

The Broken Angel by Monica La Porta

Just Two Weeks by Amanda Sington-Williams

White Horizon by Jan Ruth

Mind Over Murder by Cary Allen Stone

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Karen reviews The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today we have a review from team member Karen, she blogs at https://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/

Karen chose to read and review The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

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My Opinion

The book introduces you to 16-year-old Aimee. She doesn’t like to touch people as she automatically learns all about their past when this happens.

With The Haunting of Secrets, Shelley R. Pickens has created an intriguing story of a girl who tries to keep to herself. Her secret is only known to Mary who adopted her four years before and to her friend Dejana. When a bomb explodes at lunch time, life is getting harder. Some classmates are killed or hurt and when trying to get to safety, someone touches her arm. This boy knows that she now knows his secret. The Haunting of Secrets is a very gripping read with a three-dimensional main character; the more I learned about her, the more I liked her. Shelley R. Pickens develops the story in a great way – it gets more and more thrilling as the story proceeds. I was drawn into the story right away, was really close to Aimee and all events. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel! The Haunting of Secrets is a great read for young adults as well as fans of paranormal and mystery reads.

This a book to read again. Highly recommended.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Noelle reviews The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today we have a review from team member Noelle, she blogs at http://saylingaway.wordpress.com

Noelle chose to read and review The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

The Haunting Of Secrets – Shelley Pickens

The Haunting of Secrets by Shelley Pickens is really a YA novel, but I decided to give it a read because the premise – a high school girl who sees and feels all the memories of anyone she touches –seemed rather intriguing. Also, I’ve found a lot of other YA books very enjoyable (think the Harry Potter series, the new volumes of which I anticipated as much as my daughter).

This book indeed held my interest, and I had a hard time putting it down – but looked forward to picking it up again, like a treat. The author has teenagers pegged: their brattiness and snide senses of humour, their brutal honesty, and of course their bullying. There were also rare kindnesses, providing sweet spots in the narrative. The action moved briskly and the author provided a few tantalizing hints of whom the villain might be.

Sixteen year old Aimee protects herself from touch by dressing as a Goth in long black pants, long sleeve black shirts and black gloves. During her escape from the high school’s cafeteria following the explosion of a bomb in the room, her clothes are torn and she inadvertently makes skin contact with another student. This student is a butcher of young girls and the memories that flood Aimee’s mind are devastating. Worse, she has no idea who this boy is. Worse yet, he knows that she knows.

Aimee is faced with a conundrum: how can she find this person and how can she identify his victims without revisiting his terrifying memories. She is helped in her search by her one friend, Dejana, who is willing to overlook Aimee’s idiosyncrasies and who brings in another student to help in the search. During this time, Aimee is bewildered, flattered and ultimately warms to the attention paid her by Logan, a handsome young jock who wants to protect her from her demons and the killer who begins to stalk her. The author does a great job portraying a first love with its angst and tremulousness.

If there is anything of a drawback to this book, it is the fact that there was a great deal of narrative, particularly at the beginning. In other words, a lot of telling instead of showing, and there were areas where this repeated later in the book. The dialog is great, and I would have liked to see more of it as a way of telling the story.

That being said, this book was really enjoyable and the ending had a kicker of a twist. It kept me on the edge of my seat and since it is obvious from the ending there will be a sequel, I am looking forward to reading it!

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Cathy reviews The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Rosie Amber

Today’s book review is from team member Cathy, she blogs at http://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com

Cathy chose to read and review The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

The Haunting Of Secrets – Shelley Pickens

For all that she is caring and warm-hearted, Aimee is a loner and keeps people literally at arm’s length. It took her only friend, Dejana, a year to break through her reserve. Aimee is cursed with the ability to see, in detail, the memories of anyone she touches skin to skin. To others she appears to be weird and insular but the Goth attire of all black with long sleeves and gloves, whatever the weather, is her protection from personal contact.

When a bomb explodes in the school cafeteria, Aimee inadvertently touches someone in the ensuing confusion and chaos and is assaulted by horrific memories of torture and murder. Aimee doesn’t know who she touched, but realises it must be one of her fellow students who is the sadistic killer of her visions. She must find him before he kills again and enlists the help of Dejana and a new friend, Leah, who is a computer whizz. As Aimee recalls the killer’s memories and the friends’ gathering of information increases, it becomes apparent the killer is stalking Aimee and she is to be his next target.

Aimee is the main protagonist. She is very strong-willed and a definite survivor considering how her life has been up to this point. Most of the story is told from her perspective with occasional passages from the killer’s point of view as well as one or two others. Aimee, Dejana and Leah are the strongest characters and are at the forefront, and as the story progresses more is revealed through the memories Aimee has absorbed and the mystery and tension build quickly. I did have my suspicions as to the killer’s identity but the other twists were a complete surprise.

I enjoyed the book very much, although it was quite graphic and gory for the YA genre, but maybe that’s just my squeamishness surfacing. Even so, I would recommend this for older teens. Having said that, it’s a solid debut novel with good pacing and a distinct concept. I’ll be interested to see where the sequel takes Aimee.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2, Week 31

Posted on November 23, 2014 by Rosie Amber

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I am into my second year.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

November 16th – Day 16 of the Mystery November book tour and it was the turn of Tracy Lawson from Dallas, Texas and her book Counteract. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5OA

This afternoon we are hosting a birthday tea for the in-laws.

November 17th – My morning helping at school. The Sand Bluff Murders by C.M. Albrecht is today’s book on the Mystery Tour http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Nv

November 18th – Day 18 of the Mystery Book Tour and it the turn of Gregg Bell and his book Jamie’s Gamble http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5NG

Busy day today, My Mother’s birthday and my parents Golden Wedding Anniversary, my brother is travelling from his farm in Cornwall and we are taking them out to dinner this evening.

November 19th- Up early today and cleared out the lounge ready for delivery of a new sofa and chair, all ready for the 7am to 6pm delivery slot! Caught up on loads of paperwork and twiddled my thumps until 3.45pm, spent the evening trying out all the new seating positions, well you have to don’t you when it’s new!

Today’s book on the tour was Center Point by Robert Clark. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Ow

November 20th – Promised to help chase a payment for a friend when I next go to work. The book today on the mystery tour is Prime Deception by Carys Jones. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Np

November 21st – Finished reading The Gift Horse by Leslie Stilton and wrote out my review. Today’s mystery book was Steps into Darkness by Ben Woodard. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5S8

November 22nd – Read and reviewed Home For Christmas by Jan Ruth The mystery book today was The Haunting of Secrets by Shelley Pickens. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Qe

Mystery Book Tour Day 22 #MysteryNovember The Haunting Of Secrets by Shelley Pickens

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Rosie Amber

Today on our Mystery Book Tour we have Shelley Pickens and her book The Haunting Of Secrets

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Where is your home town?

How long have you been writing?

What is your favourite sub-genre of mystery?

Where is The Haunting of Secrets set?

The Haunting of Secrets takes place at a high school in rural Georgia. The setting is based off of the actual high school at which I currently work as a Spanish teacher. ¡Arrrriba!

Can you introduce us to Aimee?

Who or what is responsible for the school bombing?

Sorry, no spoilers!! Who or what set off the bomb in the cafeteria that fateful day isn’t revealed until the very end of the book. I guess you’ll just have to read it to find out! J

What does Aimee see on that fateful day?

Sadly, it isn’t what Aimee sees that day, but what she DOESN’T see. On that fateful day of the bombing, as Aimee and a few others are running for their lives to get out of range of the falling rubble, a fellow student grabs on to her bare arm for support. She instantly absorbs every memory that person ever had, including memories of him torturing and killing young girls. Aimee blacks out from the sheer horror of the images and awakens with no idea who had touched her. Now it’s up to her to figure out if this secret is worth the sacrifices that she will have to make to bring a killer to justice.

How does Aimee protect herself from the one who hunts her?

As you read through the novel, you see that the killer is very aware that Aimee possesses his darkest secret. For all that Aimee is strong willed and a survivor, she soon realizes that she’s no match for a seasoned killer. Having lived her life cloaked in darkness, she has never quite learned how to interact well with those that live freely basking within the light. To protect herself and the ones that she loves, she must gather all of her strength to ask others to aid her in searching for a killer among them.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

Since the sequel is completed and contracted to be released April 2015, I am taking a break from the Secrets trilogy and am currently working on a short story novella on a romantic proposal to be included in an anthology to be released next June via Satin Romance – an imprint of Melange Books. When they first approached me about writing a romantic story as part an anthology my first question was, “So, I guess that means I can’t kill anybody, huh?”

Where can readers find out more about you?

If you are interested in my story “The Haunting of Secrets” (and I hope you are!) please visit any or all of the sites below. The coolest is my book trailer done by the video class at my high school with actors from drama! Too cool!

Publisher: http://www.fireandiceya.com/

Website: www.shelleypickens.com Shelley will be running a quick answer question from her website or her Facebook to win a copy of her book in e-format (Mobi – Worldwide) or paperback (US only)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shelleypickensauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shelleypickens

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22798155-the-haunting-of-secrets

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQvKX0rb-Zg

BUYING LINKS FOR US AND UK:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/The-Haunting-Secrets-Shelley-Pickens/dp/1612359299/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412615352&sr=8-1&keywords=the+haunting+of+secrets

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00M2E3IVK/ref=nosim?tag=bookdire-21&linkCode=sb1&camp=2378&creative=8430

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-haunting-of-secrets-shelley-r-pickens/1119986452?ean=9781612359298&offerid=239662

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/459523?ref=booksdirect

Publisher Site: http://www.fireandiceya.com/authors/shelleyrpickens/hauntingofsecrets.html