I just wanted to very quickly speak to something I am very excited to announce. Many of you are friends of mine on facebook, so you are aware of my friendship with author CJ West. I know I likely almost drove you nuts asking you repeatedly to add him as a friend, during his recent contest surrounding his next great adventure. I didn’t win the opportunity to name a murder victim, which is a bit of a shame, as I was seriously going to have him totally off my ex-husband, however, he is doing me the honour of a couple of pretty exciting things.
Let me back track just a touch, and fill you in on how we got to be friends. It is quite interesting. I met a very dear friend through the arena, a slightly addictive game on facebook, OK, it can be entirely addictive! I am quite grateful that I obtained that addiction, or the rest of the story wouldn’t be very entertaining. Through this friend, I received a friend’s request, from a lady, who, in her message with this request, said that her grandmother, on her mother’s side, I believe, was a McConnell. Small world we live in sometimes, when I also , later learned, that although she lives in Texas now, she had lived in Calgary for many years. Everything is connected, it seems these days, especially when the internet is involved!
OK, so next link in this fantastic chain. My new friend, after sending me a request, didn’t really interact with me at all. I get that, she has a lot of friends. When she posted that she was involved in a contest where she could win the chance to name a murder victim in an upcoming book, I thought it was no big deal. I immediately popped off a request of my own, to CJ West, adding her name to the message, and very soon afterwards, received a post to my wall thanking me for helping her take revenge, from the author himself. Now, I am intrigued.
The fact that he got back to me relatively quickly, impressed me. I am nosy so I checked out all his websites that were listed on his page, and as thrillers are my favourite genre, decided to check out his work. I was instantly hooked! I started with Sin & Vengeance, the first in the three novels about Randy Black, and devoured it in one day! I could not stop reading. The plot was so twisted and intricate, right from the opening scene. The fact that there is a movie deal in the works makes it that much more interesting to me, as an avid reader. I love to read a great book and see how it is adapted to film.
I quickly moved on, and through A Demon Awaits. I was so glad I could read the entire series back to back, as I am not a patient person, and waiting to find out the cliffhanger ending, of Sin & Vengeance, would have been excruciating if I didn’t have the luxury of picking the story up where it had left off. I want to add, right now, for the benefit of those of you who will start reading his work, that although these three are about the same character, they are entirely different, in venue as well as story, and plot. Sin & Vengeance was set mostly in a winery, A Demon Awaits delves in to some pretty deep religious issues, and Gretchen Greene is an extreme environmentalist. Entirely different, but all fascinating, stimulating, and exciting to read. Thrilling, if you will.
After finishing Gretchen Greene, I went back to the beginning and read CJ’s first book, Taking Stock, and got instantly sucked into the setting. This story is based, mostly in a call centre, which I have a great deal of experience in, having worked in one for four years. I loved that aspect of it, for sure. The great thing about all of CJ’s books, is that, even a smart chick like me, can’t usually see where the stories are headed, until you are already there. Deliciously confused, I think is how I put it in one of my posts on Kindle Boards. I adore that in any great adventure.
So, while I was doing all this reading, CJ and I were chatting back and forth on facebook, and I was giving him updates on where I was in each book, and how much I was enjoying them. Somewhere in there, I decided to jump in with my friend, and try and go for this contest idea as well. There were to be three winners, and one person couldn’t win twice, so I didn’t feel I was stepping on any toes to join in, and give it a go. I convinced a few of you to jump in with me, and I do appreciate those of you who helped. You aided, not only myself, but your exposure to CJ, as an author can be as rewarding as mine has, if you like to read at all.
OK, I didn’t win the contest, but here comes the good stuff. I got added to the dedication page of his book, The End Of Marking Time, out June 10! He feels I was a big help in getting his name out there, through a couple of different avenues. That is very exciting, to have my name in a book, by a talented writer, I am sure is going places, big places! Next goody is that he has decided, rather than have me name a character in his newest creation, he is going to use my name as a character! Wow! Looking forward to seeing my name in his book. It isn’t a main character, and that’s perfectly fine with me. I am so curious to see where he takes Mrs Cindy-Lee Spencer. Anyone who knows me, knows that when he asked me if I wanted her to be naughty, or nice, which I chose. I told him to make her as flamboyant as he likes, but I want big boobs!
Finally, and this is so extremely thrilling for me, CJ decided he wanted to do guest blog posts, on 10 blog sites, to promote his book release on June 10th. He is going to write a post for me, for you, for this site! Can I squeal like a schoolgirl? Hell yes, I just did, figuratively speaking. I think that that is amazing, that an actual published author, wants to put something out, and have his name kind of attached to mine. I am honoured, to say the least.
I hope that lots of you read, and comment on his post when it appears here. He is an amazing writer, but first and foremost, he is a fabulous guy. I am extremely fortunate to call him “friend”, and exceedingly grateful if his writing, can increase my readership too. I never set out to do anything extraordinary in promoting his work, but like I have told him, I have a big mouth, and when I like something, no I would say LOVE something, I tell people! I love his work, and I think more of you will be inclined to read when you see what he has to say.
Check out the link to his first chapter of The End Of Marking Time, here. You won’t regret it. And, please look forward to his post, also coming soon. I know I can’t wait!
Hi, I'm Cindy Samuel and I proofread books.