Book Tour: Falling: Girl with Broken Wings ~ Interview, Review and Excerpts

Welcome to my stop on The Falling book tour. Brought to you by Innovative Online Tours. Here you

can read a synopsis of the book, my review. I also have a bio of author J Bennett, an interview, as well as excerpts and chapter one.

Falling: Girl With Broken Wings (Girl with Broken Wings #1)

by J Bennett 

Published January 1st 2012 by Endeavor Writing

ASIN B006SNSHBM

url http://www.girlwithbrokenwings.com/

series Girl with Broken Wings #1

ADD to Goodreads

BLURB:

The intellectual challenge of college and the warm embrace of a serious boyfriend have given Maya the wings she needs to break away from her bookish and shy reserve. Her ideal life comes crashing down when she and her boyfriend are accosted by a stranger. A stranger with glowing hands.
Maya's boyfriend is killed. She is kidnapped. Changed. 
A rescue comes, but not soon enough. 
Maya’s senses sharpen, her body becomes strong and agile, and she develops the ability to visually see the emotions of those around her as colorful auras…beautiful auras…tempting auras.    And then there’s the song…
Now, Maya must struggle to control the murderous appetite that fuels her new abilities, accept her altered condition and learn to trust two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. As she joins the battle against a secret network of powerful and destructive beings that call themselves "Angels", Maya vows to find and destroy the one who changed her.
On the bright side, at least Maya's oldest half-brother has stopped trying to kill her.

Nook Copy Kindle Copy

BIO:

J Bennett is a professional copywriter, as well as a novelist. She lives and writes in Southern California.

Works by J Bennett

Girl With Broken Wings
Falling (Book One)
Coping (Novella, 1.5)
Landing (Book Two), To Be Released Jan 2013

The Vampire’s Housekeeper Chronicles
#1 Employment Interview With A Vampire (Short Story)
#2 The Vampire Hunter Comes to Call (Short Story)
#3 Duel With The Werefrog (Short Story)

ONLINE LINKS:

·         Website  www.jbennettwrites.com

·         Blog   www.ShyWriter.com

·         Facebook   www.facebook.com/jbennettwrites

·         Goodreads  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13504404-falling

 Falling is J Bennett’s debut novel and book one in the Girl With Broken Wings series. J Bennett has also written a follow-up novella, Coping, and will be releasing book two in the series, Landing, on Jan. 10^th.

To celebrate Landing’s release, Falling will be available for FREE on Amazon from Jan 10 – 14^th. In addition, J Bennett will be hosting a book launch event for Landing on Facebook on Jan 10^th, which will include several fun surprises and giveaways, including a $50 Amazon gift card. Visit J Bennett’s Facebook page to RSVP for the event. All readers are welcomed. Also, if you like your heroes a little flawed, your humor a little dark, and a good helping of action and Chuck Norris jokes, set yourself a reminder to download Falling for free Jan 10 – 14^th. 

You can also learn more about J Bennett at her blog, www.ShyWriter.com; her website, www.JBennettWrites.com; or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/jbennettwrites.

Name
I think it starts with a J. Next question.

Are you related to Tony Bennett?
Not as far I know. What kind of lame question is that?

Favorite color
I don’t do favorites, but I drive a blue car, write on a blue laptop and once partially dyed my hair blue. So, blue then.

If you could be any animal what would it be?
Dragon

Location:
Inside my head, which is currently living in California

How did you get into writing?
The real reason is totally lame, so here’s a better (though slightly untrue ) version:

One day I was taking a leisurely stroll through a dense and desolate forest (you know, gotta burn those calories), when I heard a cry for help. Being a super brave person, I ran toward the cry and discovered an old woman being attacked by a mountain lion. With my brute strength (I  CrossFit), I wrestled the mountain lion into submission. It ran away with its tail between its legs.

It was clear that the old woman’s wounds were mortal. I stayed with her and did my best to ease her pain (this involved selflessly tearing my shirt into strips and wrapping them around her many wounds. It was a very large shirt and was specifically made for easy conversion into bandages). As she lay dying, the woman revealed herself to be a mystical gypsy.

(In case you’re wondering, gypsy spells don’t work on mountain lions. Just one of those quirks of the universe.)

“I have seen into your heart and know its truest desire,” the gypsy whispered, still completely coherent despite the massive loss of blood (magic). “You want to be a famous author, whose books top the best seller list and delight the hearts of millions.”

Caught up in this magical, yet very tragic moment, I responded, “and a few movie deals wouldn’t hurt either.”

The old woman continued, “with the last of my strength, I could grant this wish…but seeing as you didn’t actually save my life, I’m only going to make you a mildly successful ebook author.”

“But what about the shirt bandages?” I whined.

The woman waved her arm, and I felt a shiver run through my body. The old gypsy died then and there in my arms, shirt bandages be damned. Suddenly a strange compulsion overtook me. I knew that I must go and write. Then I must have my sister lambast my writing. Then I must edit and beg a friend to build a website. And then, after all these great trials and tribulations, I must self publish.

Favorite character
Sir Hopsalot

A cool thing about yourself
I name all the major inanimate objects in my life. My computer’s name is Torgo based off a character in one of the worst movies ever made Manos: Hands of Fate. (Thank you for existing MST3K)

No, a cool thing about yourself
Oh, okay. I can do back flips.

Falling Review

I have some issues with this book, there is some good, and some not so good that I found. Overall it’s not a bad read at all, just maybe not for me I guess.

The Paranormal beings in this book, are actually scientifically altered to become vampire-like creatures. These creatures do not drink blood to survive, but they suck the life energy of humans and animals. (I would have called them psychic vampires, which I had read about in another book, and they also lived off the energy, not blood, so that is not a new concept at all) They are called Angels in this book, which I have a problem with, it’s very misleading as I stated these creatures are more like psychic vampires than angelic, and are not “good” either. The extra human strength and powers that these creatures have make them believe they are better than humans and call themselves angels, no wings either, again, it’s all misleading as is the cover of the book. I was expecting a fallen angel’s book, it’s NOT, just fyi. More sci-fi really.

This story really felt like it was told to the reader, rather than shown, I was not able to connect with Maya at all. There were just so many parts where Maya was so stuck inside her own circumstances that she came off very whinny, and I know she has good reasons for it, but I just would have liked to see more growing up as a character than I did. I wanted to see some maturity and strength.

I really lost any connection I may have had  and totally just shut down and hated her after she killed the border collie puppy, that was a deal breaker to me, I almost stopped reading right there. I just can’t handle that. In that scene, any animal could have been used, ANY, so I just started to shutdown towards this book at that point. If this book was not for a book tour, I would have stopped there.

(don’t worry, no blood and torture, she just sucks it life energy, but still, she killed it, just not cool)

There was this thing she called the song that I was confused by. It took me awhile to figure out what was meant by this. I guess its when Maya feels the pull to take people’s lives by absorbing their auras (life energy) It was just really odd how that was described as a song, and wasn't really explained.

The language was off putting at times, some obscure words would pop up, and if not for having the kindle to look them up, would not know what the meanings were, and even then, some didn’t really fit the story.

Overall it was still interesting for sure, there is nothing like this out there for sure. It worth giving it a try, I am more sensitive to some things than most people, (animals) and overall the writing was pretty good. A good start to an interesting series.

I would also categorize this book more as a YA Paranormal/Urban Fantasy novel. Most people who enjoy paranormal books will most likely enjoy this one.

4 out of 5 stars for me, as it’s not my favorite, bit still good and interesting overall.

 I was provided a copy of this book by the author for my honest review.

FALLING

Excerpt From Book One of the Girl With Broken Wings Series by J Bennett

Chapter 6

“Your head,” the boy with elf eyes murmurs as he puts me into a car. Then, “this is, um, awkward.” He can only get me half in. I hear his steps moving quickly around the back of the car. He opens the opposite door and pulls me the rest of the way across the back seat.

“Thank you,” I say. I want to touch the blue glow around him. This will soothe the pain inside of me. Not pain. Hunger. Great, gaping hunger. I am shivering, still sweating. The strap of my bra has fallen to my elbow.

“Do we, uh, have a blanket in the trunk or something, Tarren?”

“Get in the car.”

I hear sirens. They sound closer than they could possibly be. Just like I think I can hear the boy’s heart thudding in his chest, but that can’t be real.

“Yeah, it’s a warm night. She’ll be fine.” The door by my head closes. I flinch at the sound. After a moment it opens again.

“Seatbelt.” He leans over me, grappling with the buckle under my back. His heart is a drum.  I hear the whoosh of air in and out of his lungs. I smell him, the sweat on him, the damp of his clothes. Glowing spirals of blue cloak his body like colored steam. I must touch the color. I am moving my arm, dizzy with even this effort but desperate. He is so close. My hands grow hot. Something is happening to them. The skin of my palms is puckering, splitting open.

“There we go.” The boy is gone. The door closes. I keep reaching up hoping to catch any lingering wisps of the glow. The skin furls back over my palm, seaming itself up into a dark X across the center. The car is moving. Every breath smells like blood. I’m giggling like a maniac, but only in my head. I shove my hands under my body, because this will somehow help. I’m still burning to death, by the way.

The driver whispers to himself, “We had him. We had him.”

The one with the backwards ball cap and elf eyes says, “Look, we got her; that was the whole point.” He turns to look at the driver. “We’ll kill Grand some other time.”

The driver doesn’t say anything, but the color ratchets around him, bright along the edges. I close my eyes, but I can still feel the skin pulling away from my palms again. 

“Your eye is swelling up,” the passenger says.

“I’m fine. You?”

“Ankle. Just twisted it a little. I’ll throw some ice on it whenever. No cops behind us. We need to switch our plates when we stop. Ditch the guns too. We left shell casings. Damn shame, though.” The passenger pulls a gun from his belt, hefts it in his hand. “My guy went through a lot of trouble to get this baby. Not that you care. Anyone can get Glocks.”

“Put that away,” the driver says. “We’ll cover cleanup later.”

The passenger turns to stare at me. I watch the delicate shades of blue pulse around him.

“We should probably get her a shirt,” he says. The driver doesn’t reply, but his eyes flick up to the rearview mirror when we stop at a light.

After a while, the elf turns to the driver and asks, “Is there any way this isn’t going to totally fucking ruin her life?”

I can’t stop shivering. My body jerks, so that I fall back painfully onto the buckle. The fire is starting to separate. There’s the part ripping up my bones and evaporating my blood, but there is something entirely different lifting out of the flames. This is an exquisite hurt, all neural and twitchy. It’s hunger, but not like a hunger I’ve ever known before. This hunger is cutting me wide open with a song, carving out its own channels in my brain and snuffing out the human parts of me.

I think that I am going to die, and I don’t want to, except that I do, because Ryan is dead, at least I think he is, but maybe he isn’t, because he can’t be. He can’t be.

The hum of the car seems so loud, and the passing street lamps blaze like sudden flares in the night.  We leave behind the highway and then the street lamps and then the other cars. I cry, but these are silent tears, hot by the time they tip over my chin. We sail through the night for a long while, and the tears eventually dwindle. All that is left is the hunger growing louder and louder in my bones.

Eventually, the car stops. The driver gets out. The door by my head is wrenched open. He grabs my shoulders and pulls. The seatbelt digs into my hips, and I cry out.

“Damn,” he mutters. He grabs my wrists in one hand and pins them against the back of the seat while he leans over and undoes my buckle. The passenger side door opens.

“Jesus, where are we? You gotta piss?”

The driver pulls me roughly out of the car. I hit the ground and curl my legs into my chest. There is only the hunger and the pain and the shadow of Ryan lingering behind the trees that edge each side of the road.

The driver pulls a gun from his waistband, and I am not afraid. The amber glow is so bright around him that it looks like some sort of unnatural fire. Everything is fire. I stare at the scar running along his jaw and recognize him. The enforcer of Avalon levels his gun at me. The blood stains across his shirt and jeans are already turning dark. In his eyes I see a cold that I would never be cliché enough to call arctic except that I can’t think of anything else. There’s a lot of blood on him.

“Tarren, no!”

Pant legs intrude into my visual field.

“She’s infected. We have to do it now while she’s weak.”

“One shot Tarren. She only got one shot. She’s like…a hybrid or something.”

“We can’t take the chance.”

“Yes we can, because, uh, because you could use her in your research. She could be, like, the key. The hybrids are always the key in, you know, stuff.”

“We’ll take the body back to Lo’s lab.”

“Cold hearted bastard! She’s blood.”

“His blood.”

“Our blood. She’s our blood Tarren.” The elf boy’s voice has gone harsh. “She’s our family, and you can pretend that you don’t care about anything anymore, that you’re suffering the weight of the entire world on your shoulders, but you’re just afraid. Fuck you. I’m not moving.”

“You done?” The gun doesn’t move.

“Yeah.” The elf takes a shaky breath. “I mean no! She could help us. Think about it.  She’ll get strong. She’ll get fast. She can fight with us. We can…”

“And the hunger?”

My protector turns and looks at me. I can hear how fast his heart is beating, the faint rush of blood as he clenches his fists. The light around him swells. So blue with sudden streaks of lavender lashing across. The song. They act as if they can’t hear the music flowing in hot torrents all around us.

“We’ll buy her rabbits,” he says finally.

“She’ll lapse and feed on humans.”

“No, she…”

“THEY ALWAYS FEED ON HUMANS.”  The enforcer’s voice echoes into the trees. He pulls in a deep breath. “You know that. She is Grand’s daughter. He’ll come after her again and by then she’ll be strong. I’ll take care of it. Just get out of my way.”

“I’m on fire,” I say for no reason. I lift myself up to my elbows with difficulty. I don’t know which one I want to prevail. A bullet would be quicker than this slow burn.

“No.” The legs in front of me step a little wider. “No,” the elf says again. “We’ve crossed a lot of lines, but I’m not going to let you cross this one. She may feed on humans one day, maybe not. Until she does, she’s an innocent, and we don’t kill innocent people. Not today. Not ever. She deserves a chance; I don’t care who the fuck her parents are. If she crosses over, I’ll kill her myself, but not today.”

The enforcer keeps his gun steady.  “Gabe,” he says.

“I’m not moving.” Gabe spreads his arms. “If you’ve got to kill her, then do it, but I’m sick of this shit. You kill me first, ‘cause killing innocent people is what bad guys do. I’m not a bad guy, and I’d rather be dead then see you turn into one.”

I hold my hands out in front of me and stare at the new dark slits running through my palms.

“Am I a monster?” I whisper. “Is that what this is?”

“No,” Gabe looks at me over his shoulder. “Well, kinda, but we’re going to help you. We’re family.”

Tarren lowers his gun. A slow descent.

***

Visit www.JBennettWrites.com to download an extended sample of Falling. For news and updates about the series or “Like” the series on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jbennettwrites


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