Friday 14 February 2014

PROMOTION & REVIEW - DEAR STRANGER BY ELISE K ACKERS

BOOK PROMOTION
Title: Dear Stranger
Author: Elise K Ackers
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Release Date: 1st January 2014

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A beautiful love letter to the most troublesome of holidays...

Soft-hearted Reese Ahearn is single for Valentine’s Day. Again. But that’s not going to stop her from spreading the holiday’s sentiment on the streets of Melbourne with short, sweet, anonymous love letters, left for strangers to find. 

The last thing she expects, however, is a reply…


Title: Unforgettable
Author: Elise K Ackers
Publisher: Escape Publishing
Release Date: 10th January 2013

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In hospital following a near-fatal accident, Connor has temporary retrograde amnesia, and there's a blank slate where the last three years of his life should be. It's a woman with haunted eyes and secrets who offers to help him rediscover his past.

Colleague, friend and ex-lover, Emma warns him they must be discreet. No one knows about their past relationship, and for the sake of their jobs, no one can. She reintroduces him to his life and the fascinating redevelopment project they are working on, and the more time Connor spends with her, the more he wants a future with her in it.

But Emma blames herself for Connor's accident and she won't confess to what broke their relationship in the past. Now Connor is fighting for love, for his job, and for another chance.

A story about second chances, a second look, and the futility of fighting fate, Unforgettable explores the concept of walking a path already traveled and learning from your mistakes.


AUTHOR INTERVIEW


What is your name, where were you born and where do you live now?
Elise K. Ackers, born in New South Wales, raised in Western Australia and Queensland, and current resident of Victoria, at your service!

Did you always want to be a writer? If not what did you want to be?
I started writing when I was a child - it's been a constant in my life. There were times when I wanted to be a biologist, an archaeologist and an editor, but even then I was writing books.

Could you summarise Dear Stranger in less than 20 words?
Reese spends Valentine's Day delivering anonymous love letters to strangers, only to cross paths with a man determined to reply.

Do you have a favourite character from your books?
I shouldn’t have favourites, but the hero in my first published title has resonated with me the most. Jordan Hill, a small-town cop with a hero complex in Small Town Storm is everything I esteem in a man; loyal, witty, brave and off-beat. He’s devastatingly handsome (please excuse the bias) and he has this way of loving people that I admire.

If you had to choose to be one of your characters in your book/books which would you be? and why?
Adaline Sharp. This is probably an unfair answer seeing as her book, One For the Road, is still in the submission stage, but I like to believe I've given her a wonderful journey. She's on an organised tour through Europe with great friends, two gorgeous men, and a prankster I would love to spend time with. Having done a similar tour myself, it's an adventure I'd do again in a heartbeat.

Do you have a certain routine you have for writing? ie You listen to music, sit in a certain chair?
No routine, I write whenever and wherever I can. I'm lucky in the sense that I can choose what distracts me - I could write a book in the middle of a crowded football stadium or at my desk in the quiet, and produce something of similar quality either way. I'm often inspired to write after listening to music, but I generally don't hear it once I start tapping the keyboard. And as for a particular chair, my back would thank me for that, but no - I'm often on the floor, huddled over a desk or sitting askew on a train carriage!

Have you ever suffered from a "writer's block"? What did you do to get past the "block"?
I often joke that I get the opposite. When I'm in between projects and I don't know what the next book will be, I get a flood of ideas and write sometimes a dozen things at once. I do this until an idea seizes me, and then everything else falls away until next time. It's very frustrating when I want to find something to focus on, but at least I'm never staring at a blank page.

What is your favourite book and Why? 
What a hard question! A book I return to time and again for nostalgic reasons is Libby Gleeson's Eleanor, Elizabeth, but presently, my favourite read is The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. I know that's not a single book, but three, but I'm almost finished with it and it's resonated with me so much so far. It's so different and multifaceted, and I adore the three main characters so much that it pains me they're not real.

What piece of advice would you give to a new writer?
Every writer has moments of crippling doubt. Writing a book will test you, but do everything you can to finish it. Ignore the temptation to Ctrl A Delete, persevere, then give the book some space. When you come back to it, you may surprise yourself. You have to finish projects in order to submit them, and you have to submit them in order to be published. Now is a brilliant time to be a writer, there are so many publication options available to you. But finishing is key. Then you get to do it all again :)

Where can readers follow you?


MY REVIEW
Title: Dear Stranger
Author: Elise K. Ackers
ASIN: B00GXVBV6C
Publisher: Escape Publishing, Harlequin Enterprises.
Formats Available: E-Book
Release Date: 1st January 2014

BLURB from Goodreads 

A beautiful love letter to the most troublesome of holidays...

Soft-hearted Reese Ahearn is single for Valentine’s Day. Again. But that’s not going to stop her from spreading the holiday’s sentiment on the streets of Melbourne with short, sweet, anonymous love letters, left for strangers to find. 

The last thing she expects, however, is a reply. . . . . . 

INITIAL THOUGHT
So after reading so many books of similar genre I fancied reading something different, and I found this. Approaching the book I wondered if may remind me of Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares . . .find out if it did in my Review.

MY REVIEW
As I said in "INITIAL THOUGHTS" I fancied reading something different, and I found this. novella on Netgalley, requested it and was accepted for it. 
The cover has the image of a happy couple kissing each other, perhaps representing some of the couples Reese saw whilst delivering her special love letters.
Would the cover make me want to know more about the book? The cover along with the title would certainly pique my interest.
So the main character in this novella is Reese, she finds once again alone on Valentines Day but still wants to cheer up others liker her. So she writes little "love notes" that should cheer up the coldest hardest hearts. 
This novella is about her leaving these "love notes" around where she works, and a man named Ian picks one up. Ian see's Reese leave the not on a coffee shop table. . . Upon reading the note Ian decides to do a reply to it. He tracks or "stalks" Reese so he can give her the note. Suddenly neither Ian or Reese are alone for Valentines Day. Will what they have discovered in each other last?
I don't want to say more about the novella as it would totally give away every surprise and twist away. I enjoyed the style of writing, it really makes you feel warm and mushy!  As a divorced person you could say my heart is kind of cold and somewhat hardened but this novella certainly melted it a little and made me smile.
I mentioned in my Initial Thoughts that the blurb had made me think about Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares, and yes the sentiment of this novella is similar, plus it is also set around a holiday time and brings together lonely people.
So did I enjoy the novella? Yes,it is a pleasant, short read that leaves you feeling cozy and warm! Would I recommend the novella? I would, it's short and sweet. Would I want to read more about the characters of this novella? If a book was written with Reese and Ian in I would definitely read the blurb and want to find out what happens after "Dear Stranger" Would I read other books by this Author? Yes, as I really enjoyed the writing style and imagery of the novella.

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