Category Archives: Carolyn Crane

Mr. Real by Carolyn Crane
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Code of Shadows, Book 1

Synopsis: He finds the girl of his dreams…with the secret agent of his nightmares.

Alix Gordon is a woman who doesn’t take life too seriously. What’s the fun in that? So when she stumbles across occult software that can bring any computer image to life, she conjures up lots of awesome outfits and accessories. And then, on one drunken, horny night, she conjures up Sir Kendall, the sexy TV ad spy . . . who looks exactly like Paul Reinhardt, the super-sexy martial arts teacher who kicked her out of class three years ago.

Fighter Paul Reinhardt has good reason to hate Sir Kendall, the character he brought to life to land a part in a TV ad; he’d do anything to forget him. A cross country road trip seems just the thing . . . until Paul finds himself inexplicably drawn to Minnesota and is shocked to discover Sir Kendall – in the flesh – with the girl he’d once loved from afar. He barges into Alix and Sir Kendall’s love nest, determined to stop the madness – somehow.

But is superspy Sir Kendall transforming into something more dangerous anyone can imagine? And what will Sir Kendall do when Paul and Alix finally give into their mad lust for each other?

Review: I was quite curious to discover this new novel by Carolyn Crane. I have not yet had the opportunity to read her Disillusionists series but it is something that I will soon do! Especially now that I had the opportunity to have a taste of one of her books. This novel has allowed me to discover the world and writing style of the author which is very rich and original.

Alix is a young woman who has inherited a house from her aunt she has never known. But while everyone seems to think she was a witch, she wants to know more about her and tries to figure out just who the lady was. And in this quest, she discovers something quite extraordinary. Indeed, a computer at home allows her, once she downloads an image, to get the object presented on her porch after 24 hours. Who would not want something like that? Able to have everything we want without any effort? I must say that I was very jealous of this opportunity. To understand what is exactly happening, she starts to test it. Because, of course, we wonder what is the limit of this prodigy. And we have everything, designer clothes, jewelries, huge elements… And when Alice decides to ask for a person, she decides to take a fictional character, a character that the man she loved played in a TV show a while ago. But surprise, the man appears to her one morning, convinced that he is Sir Kendall, a great spy. But when she comes to get used to him, now appears at his door after being strangely attracted to this house, the real man, Paul. But he is quite upset by what he discovers.

It was a really good story full of humor. I don’t think I ever read something like this before. The author really has her own style and I had a lot of fun to get into the story to discover the characters little by little. Alix is ​​a very generous and kind person, some beautiful qualities but which also have a lot of impact on his life. She wants to help everyone even if it changes her life in the worst way. Paul meanwhile is more direct and specific in his choices. We learn to know him throughout the novel, with the two sides of his personality. He does not, however, pay attention about the consequences of his acts.
 
I was really curious to see how the whole story was going to end because things become more and more difficult for our little Alix. Especially with two men at home who do as they please. But well, she has a lot of choice.

 
It was a really enjoyable novel. A good discovery!



Mr. Real de Carolyn Crane (VO)
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Code of Shadows, Tome 1

Résumé (traduction personnelle) : Il trouve la fille de ses rêves … avec l’agent secret de ses cauchemars.


Alix Gordon est une femme qui ne prend pas la vie trop au sérieux. Quel est le plaisir dans tout cela? Alors, quand elle tombe par hasard sur un logiciel occulte qui transforme une image en chose réelle, elle commande beaucoup de tenues et d’accessoires impressionnants. Et puis,  alors qu’elle était en état ​​d’ivresse, elle commande Sir Kendall, l’espion sexy de la télé… qui ressemble exactement à Paul Reinhardt, le super-sexy professeur d’arts martiaux qui l’a virée de sa classe il y a trois ans.


Fighter Paul Reinhardt a de bonnes raisons de haïr Sir Kendall, le personnage qu’il fait naître dans une série télévisée, il ferait n’importe quoi pour  l’oublier. Un voyage à travers la route semble être parfait… jusqu’à ce que Paul se retrouve inexplicablement attiré sur le Minnesota et soit choqué de découvrir Sir Kendall – en chair et en os – avec la jeune fille qu’il a aimée autrefois de loin. Il fait irruption dans le nid d’amour d’Alix et Sir Kendall, déterminé à arrêter cette folie – en quelque sorte.

Mais superspy Sir Kendall est-il en train de se transformer en quelque chose de plus dangereux qu’on ne peut l’imaginer? Et que fera Sir Kendall quand Paul et Alix s’abandonneront à leurs sentiments?

Avis : J’étais assez curieuse de découvrir ce livre et donc ce nouveau roman de Carolyn Crane. Je n’ai pas encore eu l’occasion de lire sa série Disillusionists mais c’est une chose que je ferai très bientôt ! Surtout maintenant que j’ai eu l’occasion d’en avoir un avant-gout.  Ce roman m’a désormais permis de découvrir l’univers et le style d’écriture de l’auteur qui est vraiment très riche et original.

Alix est une jeune femme qui a hérité d’une maison de sa tante qu’elle n’a jamais connue. Mais alors que tout le monde semble croire que c’était une sorcière, elle ne se laisse pas démonter et essaie de comprendre un peu qui était cette dame. Et dans cette quête, elle découvrira quelque chose d’assez extraordinaire. En effet, un ordinateur chez elle, lui permet, une fois qu’elle télécharge une image, d’obtenir l’objet présenté sur son porche 24h après. Qui ne rêverait pas que quelque chose comme ça lui arrive ? Pouvoir avoir tout ce que l’on désire sans aucun effort ? Je dois dire que j’ai été bien jalouse de cette chance, mais tout n’est jamais rose non plus. Et pour voir ce qu’il se passe exactement, les tests commencent alors. Car bien sûr, on se demande quelle est la limite de ce prodige. Et tout y passe, habits de créateurs, bijoux, objets énormes… Et quand Alix décide de tenter de commander une personne, elle décide de prendre un personnage fictif, celui qu’un homme qu’elle a aimé, a incarné il y a quelques temps. Mais surprise, l’homme apparait chez elle un matin, étant persuadé qu’il est Sir Kendall, grand espion. Mais alors qu’elle arrive à s’habituer à lui, voilà que se présente devant sa porte après avoir été étrangement attiré par cette maison l’homme qu’elle avait pris pour model, Paul. Mais il est assez bouleversé par ce qu’il découvre.
C’était vraiment une très bonne histoire pleine d’humour. Je ne crois pas avoir lu quelque chose de comparable auparavant. L’auteur a vraiment un style bien à elle et j’ai pris beaucoup de plaisir à rentrer dans l’histoire et découvrir les personnages petit à petit. Alix est quelqu’un de très généreux et gentil, de grandes qualités mais qui ont aussi beaucoup de conséquences sur sa vie. Elle ne peut abandonner qui que ce soit en cours de route même si cela change sa vie dans le pire des sens. Paul est quant à lui plus direct et déterminé dans ses choix. On apprend à le découvrir tout au long du roman, lui et les deux faces de sa personnalité. Il ne fait cependant pas attention à la façon dont se répercutent ses actes.
J’étais vraiment curieuse de voir comment toute l’histoire allait se finir parce qu’il faut dire que plus on progresse plus les choses se compliquent pour notre petite Alix. Surtout avec deux hommes à la maison qui n’en font qu’à leur tête. Mais ça lui donne aussi d’autant plus de choix.
C’était un roman vraiment agréable à lire, sans prise de tête. Une bonne découverte !

Stacking the Shelves #26
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Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

 Leashing the Tempest (Arcadia Bell, 2.5) – Jenn Bennett

Dating a demon, defeating evil, running a tiki bar: Arcadia Bell is a great occult mage in many respects. But then there’s the challenge of her boyfriend’s precocious teenage son…

Arcadia “Cady” Bell may have saved the Hellfire Club’s children from a local bogeyman, but she and her Earthbound demon boyfriend, Lon Butler, now face a more disturbing problem: his teenage son’s new demonic abilities. Jupe Butler can persuade you to do anything—or so he thinks. To test the limits of his newfound power, Cady invites the co-owner of Tambuku Tiki Lounge to be the teen’s guinea pig during an afternoon boat cruise. But when an angry storm whips the Pacific into a frenzy and Jupe puts them all in serious danger, will Cady’s magick trump a teenager’s excess confidence?

 Minions (A vampire Huntress Legend, 1) – L.A. Banks

All Damali Richards ever wanted to do was create music and bring it to the people. Now she is a spoken word artist and the top act for Warriors of Light Records. But come nightfall, she hunts vampires and demons – predators that people tend to dismiss as myth or fantasy. Damali and her Guardian team cannot afford such delusions, especially now, when a group of rogue vampires has been killing the artists of Warriors of Light and their rival, Blood Music.

When strange attacks erupt within the club drug-trafficking network and draw the attention of the police, Damali realizes these killings are a bit out of the ordinary, even for vampires. Instead of neat puncture marks in the neck showing where the blood has been drained from the body, these corpses are mutilated beyond recognition, indicating a blood lust and thirst for destruction that surpasses any Damali has encountered before. Soon she discovers that behind these brutal murders is the most powerful vampire Damali has ever met – a seductive beast who is coming for her next…

 Double Cross (Disillusionists trylogy, 2) – Carolyn Crane

SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL.

Justine Jones lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she was lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard, who gifts her with extraordinary mental powers—dooming her to fight Midcity’s shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves.

But now serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity’s new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will. 

As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men—one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

Black Lament (Black Wings, 4) – Christina Henry
As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black deals with loss every day. But when tragedy touches her own life, Maddy will have to find the strength within to carry on…

Devastated and grieving, Maddy unexpectedly finds hope with the discovery that she is pregnant. But Maddy’s joy is short lived when Lucifer informs her that he wants the baby, hoping to draw on the combined power of two of his bloodlines. Maddy is determined that her grandfather will never have her child, but she’s not sure what she can do to stop him.

Being pregnant is stressful enough, but Maddy suddenly finds herself at odds with the Agency—forbidden from meddling in the affairs of the supernatural courts. When a few of her soul collections go awry, Maddy begins to suspect that the Agency wants to terminate her employment. They should know by now that she isn’t the sort to give up without a fight…

 Eve & Adam – Michael Grant / Katherine Applegate

And girl created boy…

In the beginning, there was an apple—

And then there was a car crash, a horrible injury, and a hospital. But before Evening Spiker’s head clears a strange boy named Solo is rushing her to her mother’s research facility. There, under the best care available, Eve is left alone to heal.

Just when Eve thinks she will die—not from her injuries, but from boredom—her mother gives her a special project: Create the perfect boy.

Using an amazingly detailed simulation, Eve starts building a boy from the ground up. Eve is creating Adam. And he will be just perfect… won’t he?

Stacking the Shelves #25
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Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews



 Mr. Real (Code Shadow, 1) – Carolyn Crane


He finds the girl of his dreams…with the secret agent of his nightmares.

Alix Gordon is a woman who doesn’t take life too seriously. What’s the fun in that? So when she stumbles across occult software that can bring any computer image to life, she conjures up lots of awesome outfits and accessories. And then, on one drunken, horny night, she conjures up Sir Kendall, the sexy TV ad spy . . . who looks exactly like Paul Reinhardt, the super-sexy martial arts teacher who kicked her out of class three years ago.

Fighter Paul Reinhardt has good reason to hate Sir Kendall, the character he brought to life to land a part in a TV ad; he’d do anything to forget him. A cross country road trip seems just the thing . . . until Paul finds himself inexplicably drawn to Minnesota and is shocked to discover Sir Kendall – in the flesh – with the girl he’d once loved from afar. He barges into Alix and Sir Kendall’s love nest, determined to stop the madness – somehow.

But is superspy Sir Kendall transforming into something more dangerous anyone can imagine? And what will Sir Kendall do when Paul and Alix finally give into their mad lust for each other?

 The Wish List (Time of Transition, 1) – Gabi Stevens

Kristin Montgomery is more than a little shocked when her aunts inform her they’re fairy godmothers. Worse, after dropping that bombshell they hand her a wand and head off on a world cruise. Now Kristin’s uncomplicated life as a CPA in San Diego has disappeared like magic and she not only has to deal with her burgeoning magical powers, but also a reluctant and distractingly sexy magical arbiter.

Tennyson Ritter is a historian. A scholar by choice, he is yanked from his studies to act as arbiter for the newly chosen fairy godmother. He doesn’t want to waste his time with a woman who doesn’t know anything about magic or the magical world, but soon the beguiling Kristin draws him away from his books and into her life.
But before Kristin can hone her skills and pass the tests necessary to fully claim her powers, she and Tennyson must work together to defend the world – both magical and human – against those that would claim her powers for their own.

 Les péchés du Démon (Kara Gillian, 4) – Diana Rowland

The homicide beat in Louisiana isn’t just terrifying, it’s demonic. Detective Kara Gilligan of the supernatural task force has the ability to summon demons to her aid, but she herself is pledged to serve a demonic lord. And now, people who’ve hurt Kara in the past are dropping dead for no apparent reason. To clear her name and save both the demon and human worlds, she’s in a race against the clock and in a battle for her life that just may take her to hell and back.

Les gens tombent comme des mouches autour de Kara. Les victimes ont un point commun : elles lui ont toutes fait du mal par le passé. La jeune femme cherche désespérément à comprendre le mobile des crimes pour éviter d’en être accusée. Lorsqu’elle découvre que la magie des arcanes et le royaume des démons sont impliqués dans ces décès, c’est la sécurité des deux mondes qui est mise à mal. L’enquête prend alors une toute nouvelle dimension.
Une course contre la montre qui pourrait bien mener Kara droit en enfer.

 Belladone (Nightshade, 1) – Michelle Rowen

Jillian Conrad never believed in vampires-until she was unwillingly injected with a serum that was supposed to act as a deadly poison to them. Now, tormented half-vampire Declan Reese wants her blood to destroy the undead kingdom. Unfortunately, the serum has also made her blood irresistible to all vampires-including Declan, whose desire for Jillian is more than mere hunger.

Pour Jillian Conrad, l’expression « être au mauvais endroit au mauvais moment » prend tout son sens. En effet, kidnappée par un assassin, elle se retrouve au beau milieu d’une guerre sans merci qui oppose les vampires à une organisation gouvernementale tentant de protéger l’humanité de ces monstres sanguinaires. Mais les apparences peuvent être trompeuses et son ravisseur, Declan, pourrait bien être son seul espoir.

 Larguée et Recyclée (Ex Trophy Wives, 1) – Dakota Cassidy

She was the perfect party-planning, haute-to-the max trophy wife. Now Maxine Cambridge is broke, unemployable and living with her mother and teenage son in a retirement village, with her self-esteem kicked to the curb.

Until her geeky former classmate Campbell Barker returns, all grown-up- and off-the-scale smokin’ hot. Campbell refuses to believe Max isn’t that smart, funny girl he’s crushed on since high school. The more Max tries to show him he’s wrong, the more she rediscovers her long-retired mojo. Now, she’s ready to throw down some payback on her ex-life and fight for what she deserves…

C’est la débâcle pour Maxine Cambridge : cette future-ex-femme au foyer richissime, toujours tirée à quatre épingles, doit retourner vivre chez sa mère avec son adolescent de fils. Impossible de dégoter un emploi : même le fast-food du coin ne veut pas d’elle. Réduite à ramasser des déjections canines pour se faire un peu d’argent, elle est au fond du gouffre…
Et si un petit coup de pouce du destin, en la personne de son ancien copain de classe, le magnifique Campbell Barker, était justement ce qu’il lui fallait pour remonter la pente ?

Blood Bath & Beyond (Immortality Bites Mysteries, 1) – Michelle Rowen

Sarah Dearly is adjusting to life as a fledgling vampire, satisfying her cravings at vampire-friendly blood banks. But when her fiancé Thierry takes a job with the Ring—the secret council in charge of keeping vampires in line—Sarah’s about to get more than a taste of danger…

Being engaged to a centuries-old master vampire can be challenging—especially when he takes a job with the Ring. Thierry’s in for fifty years of nonstop travel and deadly risk. It’s enough to make any woman reconsider the wedding…any woman except Sarah, that is.

Traveling to Las Vegas for his first assignment, they encounter a child beauty pageant contestant from hell, as well as a vampire serial killer leaving victims drained of blood, potentially exposing the existence of vampires to the whole world. But when Thierry’s truly ancient history comes back to haunt him, and he’s accused of a crime he didn’t commit, it’s up to Sarah to clear his name before their immortal lives come to an end. 

 Darklands (Deadtown, 4) – Nancy Holzner

They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its border—but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Boston’s demons have been disappearing, and Vicky’s clients are canceling left and right. While fewer demons might seem like a good thing, Vicky suspects foul play. A missing Celtic cauldron from Harvard’s Peabody museum leads her to an unwelcome conclusion: Pryce, her demi-demon cousin and bitter enemy, is trying to regain his full powers.

But Pryce isn’t alone. He’s conjured another, darker villain from Vicky’s past. To stop them from destroying everything she loves, she’ll have to face her own worst fear—in the realm of the dead itself.

Divergent (Divergent, 1) – Veronica Roth
  
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series–dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Cinq destins. Un seul choix.

Tris vit dans un monde post-apocalyptique où la société est divisée en cinq factions. À 16 ans, elle doit choisir sa nouvelle appartenance pour le reste de sa vie. Cas rarissime, son test d’aptitudes n’est pas concluant. Elle est divergente, elle est en danger de mort ! 

 Iron Duke (Iron Seas, 1) – Meljean Brooks

After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power-and fear-of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.

But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.

Angleterre, 1901. Les invasions de la Horde ont ruiné le pays. Nombreux sont ceux qui ont fui devant ce peuple barbare. D’autres restent et se battent. Comme Rhys Trahaearn, surnommé le duc de Fer, devenu un héros depuis qu’il a vaincu les forces ennemies. Alors que le pays se relève lentement, les ténèbres demeurent. Au côté de la sublime détective Mina Wentworth, le hors-la-loi enquête sur un meurtre des plus obscurs.

From Notting Hill with Love… Actually (Actually, 1) – Ali McNamara

Scarlett O’Brien is in love . . . with the movies. Utterly hooked on Hugh Grant, crazy about Richard Curtis, dying with lust for Johnny Depp, Scarlett spends her days with her head in the clouds and her nights with her hand in a huge tub of popcorn. Which is not exactly what her sensible, DIY-obsessed fiancé David has in mind for their future. So when Scarlett has the chance to house-sit an impossibly grand mansion in Notting Hill ? the setting of one of her all-time favourite movies ? she jumps at the chance to live out her film fantasies one last time. It’s just a shame that her new neighbour Sean is so irritating ? and so irritatingly handsome, too. As a chaotic comedy of her very own erupts around Scarlett, she begins to realise there’s more to life than seating plans and putting up shelves. What sort of happy ending does she really want? Will it be a case of Runaway Bride or Happily Ever After? The big white wedding looms, and Scarlett is running out of time to decide. 

 Moonshifted (Edie Spence, 2) – Cassie Alexander

After surviving a brutal vampire attack, Nurse Edie Spence is ready to get back to work—attending to supernatural creatures in need of medical help. But her nursing skills are put to the test when she witnesses a hit-and-run on her lunch break. The injured pedestrian is not only a werewolf, he’s the pack leader. And now Edie’s stuck in the middle of an all-out were-war…

With two rival packs fighting tooth and nail, Edie has no intention of crossing enemy lines. But when she meets her patient’s nephew—a tattooed werewolf named Lucas with a predatory gleam in his eye that’s hard to resist—Edie can’t help but choose sides. The question is: can she trust this dangerous new ally? And can she trust her own instincts when she’s near him? Either way, Edie can’t seem to pull away—even if getting involved makes her easy prey… 

 Sealed with the Curse (Weird Girls, 1) – Cecy Robson

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they’re products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird…

The Wird sisters are content to avoid the local vampires, werebeasts, and witches of the Lake Tahoe region—until one of them blows up a vampire in self-defense. Everyone knows vampires aren’t aggressive, and killing one is punishable by death. But soon more bloodlust-fueled attacks occur, and the community wonders: are the vampires of Tahoe cursed with a plague?

Celia reluctantly agrees to help Misha, the handsome leader of an infected vampire family. But Aric, the head of the werewolf pack determined to destroy Misha’s family to keep the region safe, warns Celia to stay out of the fight. Caught between two hot alphas, Celia must find a way to please everyone, save everyone, and oh yeah, not lose her heart to the wrong guy—or die a miserable death. Because now that the evil behind the plague knows who Celia is, it’s coming for her and her sisters. This Wird girl has never had it so tough. 

 Tempting is Hell – Cathy Yardley

When the temp agency sent free spirit Kate O’Hara to Fiendish Enterprises, a ginormous, soul-sucking conglomerate, she didn’t realize just how appropriate the term soul-sucking would be. On the plus side, she does get to meet the sexy, devil-may-care playboy CEO, Thomas Kestrel. She’s just not sure if he’s a good guy or a bad guy or just a hot guy.
Thomas Kestrel has a problem. Nine years ago, he signed over his soul to save the woman he loved…only to realize he’d been set up. Now, to save himself from damnation, he must find and kill the thirteen key signatories who signed their souls over to the same man he did. Which would be a lot easier if the cute redhead he has nothing in common with wasn’t distributing Ho-Ho’s to the demons wading through soul contracts, creating a riot with talk of labor codes and unionization. He’d fire her if not for the fact that Kate’s irresistibly attractive—or that she’s created a program that makes finding signatories easier.
In fact, it’s so successful, she’s already found one.
 
 


Guest post with Carolyn Crane and Giveaway
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Carolyn Crane is the author of the urban fantasy series: The Disillusionists Trilogy but also of Mr. Real, the first book of the Code of Shadows series (October 30th, 2012).
Carolyn Crane est l’auteur de la série d’urban fantasy: The Disillusionists Trilogy mais aussi de Mr. Real, le premier tome de la série Code of Shadows (30 Octobre 2012).
————-
I realized something shocking while writing this post…
Delhia, thanks so much for inviting me here to your blog. In honor of your being from France, I decided to talk about how much I enjoy letting my characters have a break now and then in their dangerous struggles and crazy mysteries to enjoy food.  It seemed especially appropriate since France is so famous for fabulous cuisine.
And then I realized something: My characters are constantly eating, going to restaurants, feeding each other. My books are food-obsessed! Do I think about food ALL the time while I’m writing? Apparently so.  Food has all kinds of meaning in my books. How did I become such a food freak as a writer?
Mind Games, the first novel in my Disillusionists trilogy, takes place mostly in a restaurant, because my hero is magically trapped there for eternity. It’s a Mongolian restaurant, so my gang eats a lot of kebabs.
From Mind Games:
Packard sets out wineglasses, and soon Shelby and Helmut arrive bearing plates piled with skewers of colorful vegetables and fat scallops.
Packard opens a bottle. “Ouzo okay?” He seems to be addressing me.
“For what?”
Packard gives me a stern look. “We’re celebrating.”
Shelby scoots a chair up next to mine and raises her glass. “I will toast to you, Justine,” she says. “May the targets never see you coming.” We laugh and clink and make more toasts. I’ve never belonged to a squad or a club, especially not a secret one like this.
But, why not let them enjoy food? Reading is such an emotional pleasure, and so is food. It has always felt natural to combine the two.
And, if my characters are eating Brie cheese why not make it warm and soft and let it spread thickly onto a cracker? Why not let them have warm cookies, or crusty bread soaked through with garlic butter?
Here, during a very tense scene (at a different restaurant with a different man LOL) my heroine gets yet another meal:
I freeze. Is he toying with me? Would a normal person say that?
I’m saved by the arrival of our next course: crepes filled with caramelized onions and chardonnay jelly.
I actually went through recipe books to find something delicious for my heroine to eat in this scary scene. Doesn’t it sound wonderful? I’ve never eaten a crepe like this, but I know I’d like it.
In the novella I’m giving away, DEVIL’S LUCK, my heroine, who had her childhood stolen from her in a way, discovers cotton candy for the first time and in the first scene, I think she eat three whole cones of cotton candy. (Which, according to my twitter friends, is barbe à papa in French. Dad’s beard. How delightful!)
…she swept up her bright pink cotton candy with her tongue, loving the way it melted to tingling bits…
Later, my hero makes a juicy hamburger, and the hamburger has significance. And the villain eats kiwi fruit, one after another, peeling them with a jeweled knife. 
Now I’m going to be looking for it in other books, to see if other people use food as much as I do. Or is it just me thinking constantly of food? But, oh well. How can you go wrong with a delicious meal?
If you’d like to find out the meaning of the juicy hamburger in DEVIL’S LUCK, or if anything interesting happens to the kiwi-devouring villain, please enter my contest!
I’m giving away my DEVIL’S LUCK ebook novella – the new epilogue edition. (It is part of the Disillusionists series, but it doesn’t matter when you read it.) To enter to win, just tell me what meal you’d like your favorite hero or heroine to eat.
Thanks!
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J’ai réalisé quelque chose de choquant en écrivant ce post…
Delhia, merci de m’avoir invité sur votre blog. En l’honneur du fait que vous venez de France, j’ai décidé de parler de combien j’aime laisser mes personnages faire une pause de temps en temps dans leur luttes dangereuses ainsi que des mystères de la nourriture. Cela semblait approprié étant donné que la France est connue pour avoir la meilleure cuisine.
Et ensuite, j’ai réalisé quelque chose : Mes personnages mangent continuellement, vont au restaurant, se nourrissent. Mes livres sont obsédés par la nourriture ! Est-ce que je pense à la nourriture TOUT le temps que je suis en train d’écrire ? Cela semble être le cas. La nourriture signifie beaucoup de choses dans mes livres. Comment suis-je devenue un monstre de nourriture en tant qu’écrivain ?
Dans Mind Games, le premier roman de ma trilogie Disillusionists, une grande partie de l’histoire se passe dans un restaurant comme mon héros est magiquement piégé là pour l’éternité. C’est un restaurant Mongolien, alors mon gang mange beaucoup de Kebabs.
Venant de Mind Games :
Parckard sort les verres à vin, et bientôt Shelby et Helmut arrivent, portant les plats pleins de brochettes de légumes de toutes couleurs et de coquillages pleins de graisse.
Packard ouvre une bouteille. « Ouzo d’accord ? »  Il semble s’adresser à moi.
« Pour quoi ? »
Packard me jette un regard dur. « On est en train de célébrer.»
Shelby place une chaise à côté de moi et lève son verre. « Je vais porter un toast à toi, Justine » dit-elle. « Puissent les cibles ne jamais te voir venir ». Nous rions et trinquons, faisant plus de toasts. Je n’ai jamais appartenu à une équipe ou un club, surtout pas un secret comme celui-ci.
Mais, pourquoi ne pas les laisser aimer la nourriture ? Lire est un plaisir émotionnel, tout autant que la nourriture. Il m’a toujours semblé naturel de combiner les deux.
Et, si mes personnages mangent du fromage de Brie, pourquoi ne pas le faire chaud et doux, tout en le laissant reposer sur un biscuit ? Pourquoi ne pas les laisser avec des cookies chauds, ou du pain plongé dans du beurre à l’ail ?
Ici, durant une scène intense (dans un restaurant différent avec un autre homme LOL) mon héroïne prend un autre repas :
Je m’arrête. Est-ce qu’il joue avec moi? Est-ce qu’une personne normale peut dire ça?

Je suis sauvée par l’arrivée de notreprochain plat : crêpes farcies aux oignons caramélisés et gelée au chardonnay.

J’ai cherché quelques recettes pour trouver quelque chose de délicieux à manger pour mon héroïne dans cette scène effrayante. Cela ne semble-t-il pas merveilleux ? Je n’ai jamais mangé de crêpes comme ça, mais je sais que j’aimerais.
Dans la nouvelle que je vous propose en concours, Devil’s Luck, mon héroïne, qui a eu son enfance volée, découvre les « cotton candy » pour la première fois et dans cette première scène, je pense qu’elle en mange au moins trois cônes. (Ce qui, selon mes amis de twitter, se dit barbe à papa en Français. Barbe à papa. Comme c’est drôle !)
… Elle balaye sa barbe à papa  d’un rose lumineuxavec sa langue, aimant la façon dontelle fond en morceaux qui picotent …
Plus tard, mon héros fait un hamburger juteux, et l’hamburger lui même a une signification. Et le méchant dévore des kiwis, les uns après les autres, les épluchant avec un couteau de pierres précieuses.
Maintenant, je vais chercher dans d’autres livres, pour voir sid’autres personnes utilisent la nourriture autant que je le fais. Ou est-ce juste moi pensantconstamment à de la nourriture? Mais, oh ben. Comment pouvez-vous vous tromper avec un délicieux repas?
Si vous voulez découvrir le sens du hamburger juteux dans DEVIL’S LUCK, ou si quelque chose d’intéressant se passe pour le méchant mangeur de kiwis, s’il vous plaît, participez à mon concours!
J’offre la possibilité de gagner ma nouvelle ebook DEVIL’S LUCK – la nouvelle éditionde l’épilogue. (Il fait partie de la série Disillusionists, mais ce n’est pas important quand vous le lisez.) Pour participer au concours, dites-moi quel repas vous voudriez voir manger votre héros ou héroïne préféré.
Merci
Carolyn Crane is the author of the Disillusionists trilogy, assorted novellas, and the upcoming Mr. Real, the first book in a PNR series (out 10/30).
She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two cats, and works a day job as a business writer and if you invite her to your party, your cheese plate will be in grave danger.During rare moments when she’s not at her computer, she can be found reading in bed, running, or helping animals.

Author’s website: www.authorcarolyncrane.com
Twitter: @carolyncrane

THERE’S A THIN LINE BETWEEN LOVE AND DOOM.

No wager is too outrageous for Simon Fitzgerald, the most reckless of the Disillusionists. His dark secrets drive him to take increasingly extreme risks, but he’s never lived so quite so dangerously as when he hooks up with Midcity’s most powerful prognosticator.

Fawna Brady is tormented by the destinies she sees for those around her. To Fawna, knowledge of the future is a cage she’d do anything to escape. She’s stunned to discover a taste of the freedom for which she yearns at the side of Simon, the one person in the world who despises everything she is, everything she stands for.

Simon’s defiant attitude toward destiny captivates Fawna, but will her love destroy him? And will Simon rush headlong into the delicious doom she offers?

 
Thanks to Carolyn Crane for this great post. You can win an ecopy of Devil’s Luck, anovella of the Dillusionists series. The giveaway is international and ends on October 1st. You need to answer the question.

Merci à Carolyn Crane pour ce super post. Vous pouvez gagner un ebook de Devil’s Luck, une nouvelle de la série Dillusionists. Le concours est international et se termine le 1er Octobre. Vous devez répondre à la question.

 

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