Stone of Cruento Reviewed – Yea!

Stone of Cruento reviewed by Simply Romance Reviews

Stone of Cruento reviewed by Simply Romance Yea!

Stone of Cruento

Charlene Leatherman

Cerridwen Press

May 2008

ISBN: 9781419916984

Fantasy

Order from Cerridwen Press

Synopsis:

Claren Maxwell felt she was misplaced, like she belonged somewhere else. Even as a vampire she was not like the others. Claren didn’t like to kill. She avoided intimacy with human men. It was too dangerous. Claren wanted to fit in. She wanted to be loved and protected. So she dreamed, but the dreams were becoming too real. She dreamt of three men. In real life she would have to choose one, right?The three men in her dreams materialize. Belgretor, a giant of a man from Cruento, protects her. Daniel is a vampire from Earth who desires her. Jamros is a centaur from Cruento who is drawn to her by destiny. Together the four of them must find a way to stop the destruction of Earth and Cruento.Can Claren choose between the three men she loves while saving the worlds she inadvertently put in jeopardy?

Lynda of Simply Romance Reviews gives Stone of Cruento the SRR GRADE: A

Vampires, goblins, centaurs….a vastly different alternate reality, that’s what you get from the Stone of Cruento. I loved the depth of the characterization and the story building in this riveting fantasy.Claren was a vampire but not the same as other vampires. Repeated dreams of three men and love only served to make her desire a love of her own. Though attracted to vampire Daniel, she doesn’t trust him and resists his charm. Her constant companion is Belgretor but she has yet to learn his full potential, and then there is the prophecy.One plot twist after another with love, sex, intrigue, back stabbing centaurs, you name it this story delivers.

Charlene Leatherman weaves this story tighter than a rug and hands us a story that will leave us breathless and hoping for more.The Stone of Cruento is a great story and so much more. Claren has to juggle the relationship of three totally different beings let alone men while being in the middle of a prophecy she has no idea about. This is just excellent story telling. Don’t hesitate to pick up this exceptional book. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Writers, Emotions and Reviews

 

Writers, Emotions and Reviews

One major attribute of a fiction writer – whatever the genre – is to feel emotions. The writer has to be able to feel the emotions so they can put those same emotions on paper well enough so the reader feels the same emotions. Adventure writers have to make their reader’s heart pound, their pulse quicken and those pages turn. Romance writers have to make their reader’s heart go pitter-pat, their pulse quickens and depending what kind of romance, tears fall, body parts go ‘oh my’ and a sigh escapes when the happy ever after happens. Mystery, suspense, thriller, horror writers all have to feel the emotions they want the readers to feel – fear, tension, anxiety, startle, checking behind doors and under the bed for spookies. Writers have to know and feel these emotions so they can write them.

But therein is the problem. Writers also live in a real world with real life that creates real emotions. That is probably why, historically, writers are drawn to alcohol and drugs. Because writers feel things intensely, whether it is in real life or in imagination.

So, when a writer gets a bad review, life crashes around them. After all, it is not just rejection of an object. It is rejection of the outpouring by the writer of personal emotions into a medium that everyone can see and someone had the audiacity to reject.

We all learn how to deal with negative reviews. We pout, stomp our feet, drink, eat chocolate, and myriad other things to get rid of the negative emotions the review puts into our psyche.

This blog is not about a negative review.

When a writer gets a good review there is just as much emotion – but this time there is dancing, singing, yelling it from the rooftop, eating chocolate (there is always chocolate no matter what emotion, at least for me there is) and all sorts of things to do to savor the wonderful emotions we gratefully receive.

I was doubly blessed this week. I got good reviews for Prophecy of Vithan

and for Stone of Cruento.

Jean of Fallen Angels Reviews  at  http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/2008/June/Jean-ProphecyOfVithan.htm  gave Prophecy of Vithan 5 Fallen Angels and said it is a recommended read.

Every once in a while, I find a book that grabs me and draws me into the emotional life of the protagonist, making it almost impossible for me to stop reading. Prophecy of Vithan is such a book. This is a complex, multi-layered science fiction novel with a great love story mixed in. It includes the stories of a mentor protecting her student, a woman trapped by slavery, a man and woman chained together by an emotional connection they cannot resist, a rogue organization attempting to gain absolute control over the true government, and the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy that will save the world. That’s a lot to cover in one book! The love story will be very satisfying to the romantics among us, with a few moderately explicit erotic love scenes for spice. I wholeheartedly recommend this very interesting science fiction romance as great summer reading.

Amy of Bitten by Books at  http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=419  gave Stone of Cruento 4 Grave Stones and said

This is an enjoyable story of adventure, love, betrayal, faith and belief that kept my full attention from the moment I started reading the first page. Did I mention the love scenes are hot and wild?

So, I am breaking out the chocolate, dancing on the rooftop while yelling and soaking in all these good feelings. I will then sit down and write like crazy a scene that will give my readers something to feel deeply.

Stone of Cruento

Stone of Cruento

Stone of Cruento is available at CerridwenPress.

You can read Stone of Cruento on an Amazon Kindle.

Cerridwen Press has some information about the Amazon Kindle here.

What if you were the artist?

What if you were the artist?

Imagine if you will, you are the artist given the job of designing a cover for Stone of Cruento. You have to create a cover that represents the story line. One that shows the potential reader something about the heroine and the world she exists in.

Now, try to imagine what you would design to picture this:

Claren is a young woman who has grown up as a normal Earth girl. You know, boyfriends, college, a good career, a lover and prospects of marriage. Then she is bitten by a vampire, but she coesn’t become a normal vampire. She can go out in the daylight, although she does burn badly. She can eat garlic, go to church, and has no problem with crosses or holy water. She can eat regular food but it is blood that sustains her. She is stronger than humans and has many of the “normal” attributes of the real vampires. She is guarded by an ogre.

Then she discovers that she is from another planet. And she has been sired by centaurs. In fact, she is a centaur.

Now as the artist, how do you convey that?

Well, that is what I have put the artists of Cerridwen Press through. Stone of Cruento is on the Coming Soon page, but with only a place holder. The artists are still struggling with the concept of a vampire centaur from Earth. Whatever they come up with, I am sure it will be phenomenal. After all considering the fantastic cover they designed for Prophecy of Vithan, how could I doubt their talents?

 

Danger Zone Authors

Danger Zone Authors launches on May 11.
I will be the first blogger on Sunday and will blog each Sunday after that. www.dangerzoneauthors.com

The Site is a site dedicated to action and adventure writers. Some write romance as I do, some write mystery, science fiction, thrillers, horror. There is something for everyone. The Danger Zone Authors will be a different kind of site. There is no other place on the Internet that speaks to action and adveture.

Come by, read a blog while you are jogging on your treadmill. Buy a book to read while your take some me time. I can guarantee the books will get your heart racing.

Here are the authors you can expect to find there in alphabetical order.
Danger Zone Authors

Denise Agnew
Cyndi Friberg
Lise Fuller
TL Gray
N.D. Hansen Hill
Marianne LaCroix
Charlene Leatherman
Shelley Munro