Author Spotlight: Irving Podolsky

Irving H. Podolsky

Who's Irving H. Podolsky? He’s a young man who hates his name, and he thinks his parents unfairly gave it to him. They didn’t. This author did. You see, outside the trilogy of Irv's Odyssey and also Irving’s blog, there is no Irving H. Podolsky. Irv doesn’t know that though, and it’s best for all that we keep the secret to ourselves.

If you searched this author’s true identity, you'd find him laced through 23 consecutive pages of Google. That’s because he has earned nineteen film nominations and awards, including two Emmys. He is also a member of the Executive Board within his category branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and he has worked on every studio lot in Los Angeles in television and feature films.

The author’s personal life? He resides in an old house in a quaint neighborhood in Southern California. He loves vintage drums and antiques. Consequently, he has many. His wife collects and sells them. (Not drums, furniture.) He also enjoys fast sports cars so he owns two. The second is on its way to becoming vintage, which you might apply to this writer. But like Peter Pan, this writer refuses to grow old, and accordingly, Irv won’t either. Irving is perpetually twenty-five. So when the lad needs advice, he asks his alter ego, the creator of his thoughts.

Other than birthing Irv’s soul, this author leaves his character pretty much alone. Irving now has his own friends and Google links. You can contact Irv at IrvsOdyssey.com. Or check out his blog: IrvsOdysseyBlog.com. He will be happy to hear from you and respond as best as he can.

BOOK ONE – A NOVEL


A Comic Trilogy of Extremes

Irving Podolsky is a nice Jewish boy looking for a nice Jewish girl and a job out of college which would, you know, make the world a better place. But when our hero’s food supply dwindles down to a slab of Velveeta and a jar of pickles, our lad takes his only job offer: directing porn movies. This leads to the night shift in a mental hospital, only to be replaced by the lowest rung in food service, which drives Irv so bonkers his mind ejects out of his body to the Other Side. Irv’s Odyssey is a humorous quest for truth, love and meaning while lost in alternate life styles, a psychedelic drug culture and the free-love of the seventies. Lost in a Looking Glass starts the journey.


BOOK TWO – A NOVEL

A Comic Trilogy of Extremes

Irv’s still employed at the mental hospital, a place where all the people who don’t “fit in” get jobs behind locked doors. It’s a crazy circus and Irv’s life is far from settling down. A free-loading porn stud and con man moves into our lad’s apartment, and the jerk won’t leave! It gets worse. Irv discovers the place where humanity hides it’s most shameful secret. And it’s not in the Buckhead Steak ‘n Brew where Irv becomes a salad boy/dishwasher. And it’s not at the Cloisters Restaurant where Irv get pushed into bussing tables while tripping on acid. And it’s not in Europe where he meets three people who change his life in ways he only read about in Sci-Fi novels and mystical books. Actually that “shameful secret” is no secret at all, yet only Irv wants to know it. Will our friend ever find his way back to Normal? Not yet.


BOOK THREE – A NOVEL

A Comic Trilogy of Extremes

Food service and Irving Podolsky are NOT friends. Still, Irv rises to the level of waiter in the Fairmont Hotel. What about his film career, making the world a better place and finding a nice Jewish chick? Well, instead, Irv meets an exotic older girl from Germany. Could she be the one, Irv’s forever, but not-Jewish-at-all soul mate? Ben suggests she is. Ben is a drawling spirit voice channeled through a Puerto Rican pothead. And Ben knows all about Irv’s recent nocturnal fly-outs: those uncontrollable out-of-body trips that bring him to the Other Side where he encounters creepy crawlers in attack mode and goes back and forth in time and into his own future. These bizarre events are not dreams or fantasies. They are real. For as Irv finds out, magic and miracles do exist. And so does true love, if he can just convince his parents, it’s okay to marry a shiksa.

Guest post: 

You’re perusing novels. Some grab you. Some don’t. Some characters you like. Other’s you don’t. And some you hate so much you keep reading just to reach their demise.

I write novels. And I’m telling you shaping characters is the hardest part of writing fiction. I’d like a formula for that, like a recipe for rack of lamb. I want my characters popping off the page, and I want you to love them. But darn it, there’s no hard and fast rules, no black and white list or directions for building engaging characters.

And why? Because in real life, there’s no standard reason why anybody does anything.

The reasons why people are the way they are, and why we like them that way, or not, are freakin’ COMPLEX! Like hours-of-thought and five rewrites complex.

So, step one to writing likable characters, is making the time to study likeable people. And we authors better LIKE the process! ‘Cause if we don’t…if we’d rather surf porn or munch granola, our characters won’t get out of bed. They’ll lie on the page, boring as blobs, revealing our I-don’t-feel-like-writing mood.

This explains why some novels are better than others. Writing is work and doing it right takes serious commitment to living life ALL the way.
• How can he write a deep character when he’s not deep himself?
• How can she write a romantic character when she’s not romantic herself?
• How can he write about a kind character when he’s not kind himself?
• How can she write an optimistic character when she’s not optimistic herself?
• How can he write a humorous character when he’s humorless himself?
• How can she write a loquacious character when she’s not loquacious herself?
• How can he write about an informed character when he’s not informed himself?

Vivid characters are written by writers who live vivid lives, or at least imagine vivid lives. But imagination can bring an author only so far. A story has to ring emotionally true. Always! And it rings true only when it IS true. And the only way a writer can write truth, is to touch it, feel it, and watch it very carefully. And I don’t mean porn.
*****
Features and reviws links:
http://www.bibliophilicbookblog.com/2012/08/interview-with-irving-h-podolsky-author.html

http://www.moonlightgleam.com/2012/10/author-guest-post-with-irving-podolsky.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MoonlightGleamsBookshelf+%28Moonlight+Gleam%27s+Bookshelf%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
http://www.junipergrove.net/featured-author-irving-podolsky-giveaway/
http://bookswithoutanypictures.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/irvs-odyssey-lost-in-a-looking-glass-by-irving-podolsky/
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/399680053
http://www.masoncanyon.blogspot.com/2012/11/author-irving-h-podolsky-writing-trilogy.html
http://abitofdash.blogspot.com/2012/12/guest-post-by-irving-podolsky-and.html
http://tweedling.com/2013/01/guest-post-chop-wood-and-carry-water-irving-h-podolsky/
http://closeencounterswiththenightkind.blogspot.com/2013/01/interview-and-review-of-irvs-odyssey.html
From I AM Indeed:
Book one Feb 8 http://wp.me/p2wTNo-tG

Book two Feb 13 http://wp.me/p2wTNo-tP

Book Three Feb 20 http://wp.me/p2wTNo-tS

http://cynthiashepp.wordpress.com/2013/02/13/guest-post-and-giveaway-from-irving-podolsky/
http://megancashmanbooks.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/wednesday-interview-irving-podolsky/
http://bookhimdanno.blogspot.com/2013/03/book-feature-friday-irvs-odyssey-lost.html
http://bexnbooks.blogspot.com/2013/03/guest-post-18-seduction-mans.html
DISTRIBUTION & REVIEW SITE LINKS
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11799088-irv-s-odyssey
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Irv-s-Odyssey?store=book&keyword=Irv%27s+Odyssey
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Irv%27s+Odyssey

Blog Tour: Bewitched by Mark J Harris (Giveaway)

 Welcome to The Wormhole and my stop on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Mark Harris and Bewitched.

About the Author:

Mark Harris lives in Smithfield Utah, a small town located in a beautiful valley in Northern Utah. His wife, Shaundale, and he have four terrific children, two girls and two boys and a fifth one due to arrive in November of 2012. Mark has taught English and Special Education and currently works from home teaching English to people from all over the world. Writing has always been his true passion since he was a grade schooler writing about mushrooms. "Bewitched" will be his debut novel. He has two others underway and will soon start on the sequel to "Bewitched," called "The Return of the Familiar." He hopes you enjoy his work because he is working on several series geared toward younger audiences.

You can find Mark on: www.markjayharrisauthor.com

Bewitched
Is it love or is it witchcraft? He’ll never find out if he kills her first.

The first time Darren saw Samantha, she was floating above his high school gymnasium during a basketball game, invisible to everyone but him. Next time he sees her, she's sitting in front of him in class, wowing his friends and causing unexplainable things to happen that only he seems to notice. But things really get strange (and complicated) when his dying grandfather tells him that he is part of an ancient order, the “Pessum Ire,” whose duty is to destroy witches. What does he do now, since he’s almost positive Samantha is a witch…and he’s crushing on her pretty hard?

Giveaway:

For the giveaway, paperbacks are open for US, UK and Canada while ebooks are open worldwide. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Insatiable by Emily Kimelman (author giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Goddess Fish Promotions.
Click HERE for more tour information.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.
It is my pleasure to feature Emily Kimelman and Insatiable.

Emily Kimelman lives on a boat in the Hudson Valley with her husband, Sean and their dog Kinsey (named after Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone). Kimelman has a passion for traveling and spends as much time as possible in the pursuit of adventure.

Her Sydney Rye series feature a strong female protagonist and her canine best friend. It is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!

Website/blog: https://emilykimelman.wordpress.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ejkimelman

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EmilyKimelman

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4832911.Emily_Kimelman

Insatiable

by Emily Kimelman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

INSATIABLE is the third novel in my Sydney Rye Series of dark murder mysteries. This series feature a strong female protagonist and her canine best friend. It is recommended for the 18+ who enjoy some violence, don't mind dirty language, and are up for a dash of sex. Not to mention an awesome, rollicking good mystery!

INSATIABLE begins with private detective Sydney Rye living a simple, disciplined life in London, but when a dangerous man from her past calls, Rye finds she cannot turn him away. Robert Maxim explains that the daughter of a powerful friend has gone missing and he wants Rye to find her. In exchange he offers her something she had given up hope of ever having; freedom from her past.

With her dog, Blue, at her side, Rye meets up with her new partner, a handsome man she's not sure she can trust. Heading for Mexico City, they go undercover, posing as husband and wife. After meeting with the bereaved parents, Rye starts to sense that there is more going on than just a missing girl. But it isn't until they arrive in the Yucatan Peninsula, hot on the girl's trail in Paradise, that all hell breaks loose. Sydney has to reach out for help from old friends and deal with the consequences of her past, if she's going to find the girl and keep them all alive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Around the next bend a chicken was in the road. Jimmy saw it and swerved into a rut to avoid it. It was a wild, out-of-control move and I grabbed at the door trying to steady myself. The Jeep jerked down and then up again as Jimmy powered us out of the ditch and back onto the road. "What the f___!" I yelled.

"There was a chicken."

"Next time f___ing hit the chicken!"

That's exactly what the guy in the black Jeep did. I turned around to see the feathers exploding with a mix of blood and guts against the guy's grill. He drove through the chicken into the shade of a tree and I saw him. I saw Blane. He was wearing wrap-around sunglasses - the kind douche bags think look cool. His mouth was a straight line, his face made of stone.

I rested my new gun on the shoulder of my seat and tried to steady my aim as we raced back past the Home Depot. Jimmy swerved around other cars, at times facing oncoming traffic, to further our escape. It was impossible to get a clear shot. I turned back around as we crested a hill and we could see the town below us.

Traffic became congested as we got closer to town. I turned around and saw that Blane was stuck several cars behind us. There was no way he could fire off any rounds with all these people around. We stopped at a red light and I waved to Blane. He raised a gun and I dropped down in my seat as I heard a window shatter. It wasn't our car but the one right behind us.

Giveaway:

The author will be drawing a random commenter and giving away this great prize!

Cover Reveal: Reconnaissance - Colonization #2 by Aubrie Dionne (author giveaway ~ international too)

Welcome to The Wormhole!

It is my pleasure to feature Reconnaissance!

Blurb:

Nova Williams has lost her one shot at Lieutenant hood and at love. Lieutenant Crophaven has promoted her rival, Andromeda, all because her lifemate, Sirius, sacrificed their mission to win back Andromeda’s love.

While sneaking out to prove Andromeda is a fake, Nova finds an alien ship hovering over their colony. Lieutenant Crophaven assigns her to a reconnaissance mission, giving her a second chance to redeem herself. Sirius must fly her and a research team to the vessel to decide if they are a threat. Thrown together with the lifemate that betrayed her, she battles with her own jealousy while her team battles for their lives.

Can she forgive Sirius in order to save her team and warn her colony?

About the author:
Aubrie Dionne writes science fiction fantasy with romantic elements. Her writings have appeared in Mindflights, Niteblade, Silver Blade, Emerald Tales, Hazard Cat, Moon Drenched Fables, A Fly in Amber, and Aurora Wolf. Her books are published by Inkspell Publishing, Entangled Publishing, Lyrical Press, and Gypsy Shadow Publishing. She’s also a professional flutist in New England.
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2964057.Aubrie_Dionne ~ Blog: http://authoraubrie.blogspot.com ~ Twitter: @authoraubrie

Giveaway:
The giveaway for paperback and locket is open for US, UK and Canada. The ebooks are open worldwide.  

Prize 1: 1 Paperback after release

Prize 2: 5 eBooks after release

Prize 3: 1 Necklace

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: The Summoner's Tale by Victoria Danann

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Click HERE for more tour information.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my last day on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Victoria Danann and 

The Order of the Black Swan: Book 3: The Summoner's Tale.

About the Author : 

For the past fourteen years, Victoria has illustrated and authored Seasons of the Witch calendars and planners for 7th-House.com.

Though works of fiction are a departure for me, I have had this series simmering on the back burner of her mind for years. In addition to authoring and illustrating Seasons of the Witch, I play rock music and manage one of Houston's premier R&B/Variety/Pop bands.

This series will include some of my actual experience in the paranormal with fictionalized anecdotes from my journals during the years when I was a practicing "metaphysician", but most of the material is fantasy. 

web http://www.victoriadanann.com

blog http://www.victoriadanann.me

facebook http://www.facebook.com/Victoria.Danann.9

goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/8920457-victoria-danann

The Summoner's Tale

Victoria Danann

The Order of the Black Swan Book Three

ISBN: 978-1-933320-67-0

E-Book

ISBN: 978-1-933320-80-9 Paperback

DESCRIPTION: 

A secret society, a witch, a psychic, vampires, modern day knights, heroes, elves, fae, assassins from another dimension, and fairytales come together where emotions intersect. Two souls, joined by a mystical bond, separated by distance, must simultaneously struggle through pain and darkness in an ultimate confrontation with character and an ultimate struggle for life proving that true love waits patiently through lifetimes and finds courage to survive. Even in the strangest places. Even when you're least expecting it. Even when you're far, far from home.

Erotic quotient: Some steamy scenes. No menage. No BDSM.

READING THE SERIES IN ORDER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

My thoughts:
Once again I found myself wrapped up by the story telling ability of this author.  
I love her characters and I was thrilled that we get to continue to follow their lives.  I am a huge fan of books that have multiple stories going on all at once, and Victoria Danann seems to have perfected it.  Fast paced, action packed, amazing characters - do not miss this series.

Blog Tour: Revelation by Erica Hayes (author giveaway)

This virtual book tour is presented by Bewitching Book Tours.

Click HERE for more tour information.

Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour.

It is my pleasure to feature Erica Hayes and Revelation.

About the Author:

Erica Hayes was a law student, an air force officer, an editorial assistant and a musician, before finally landing her dream job: fantasy and romance writer.

She writes dark paranormal and urban fantasy romance, and her books feature tough, smart heroines and colourful heroes with dark secrets.

She hails from Australia, where she drifts from city to city, leaving a trail of chaos behind her. Currently, she's terrorizing the wilds of Northumberland.

http://www.ericahayes.net ~http://erica-hayes.blogspot.com ~ http://www.facebook.com/ericahayes.author ~http://www.twitter.com/ericahayes  

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2922003.Erica_Hayes

Erica has stopped by with a guest post:

10 reasons you'll love REVELATION

Romance readers are busy people. Books to devour, chocolate to consume, hungry families to ignore while we fall in love with another strong, gorgeous, to-die-for hero and his amazing heroine. Talk to the hand, real life. We don't have all day.

So. Want the quick-and-dirty on REVELATION, my dark paranormal romance? First in the Seven Signs series? In paperback and ebook from Berkley Sensation? Sure you do. Here are ten reasons you'll love REVELATION, in sixty seconds or less. Ready, steady, go!

1.      The Apocalypse. Y'know, with seven signs. Complete with a zombie invasion of New York City and an ocean of blood. And we've only just begun.

2.      A posse of hot supernatural warriors. C'mon, every paranormal series needs one. These guys (and girls!) are called the Tainted Host, a bunch of angels thrown out of heaven for their sins. They roam the earth. They kick butt. They party hard.

3.      A smokin' hot fallen angel hero. Big muscles, cool magical powers, a wicked sense of humor. Luniel is a tough alpha warrior with a big flaming sword (ahem) and a tortured past. Oh, and velvety black feathers. You know you want one.

4.      A gutsy, modern heroine. Morgan is a pathologist, who does autopsies for a living, and she doesn't believe in all this angel-demon-end-of-the-world nonsense. Until a totally scrumptious one lands in her lap, that is. Oh, and when the zombies arrive? She kicks butt.

5.      Cool demons. Not wussy ones, who only pretend to be evil while they're swanning about managing nightclubs or whatever. My demons are snarky, cunning psychopaths who screw you over with the small print and munch your pathetic soul into hamburger. They like pain and death and destruction. And they really enjoy making angels miserable.

6.      The archangel Michael. He's bold, he's gorgeous, he's twisted as hell. You've never seen him like this. Trust me.

7.      The demon king, Azaroth, ice prince extraordinaire. Satan's chilly lieutenant, intent on busting his boss out of the pit and creating hell on earth. He appears as wind, as darkness, as icy drips on your window. Be very afraid.

8.      This amazing cover. Nom nom. Is this gentleman delicious, or what? With special bonus taut man-midriff. Buy a copy just for that, if you want. I won't complain.

9.      This series is guaranteed to feature absolutely zero virginal interns, job interviews or billionaires who need therapy. Just for a change. There may be a small tying-up scene. Or not. You'll see…

10.  We all hate waiting, right? So in case you just can't get enough? Book 2 is nearly upon us! REDEMPTION hits shelves on 5 March. Check out those hot golden feathers. Enough said. This Apocalypse is far from over…

Bzzt! Time's up. Thanks for having me, and I hope you enjoy REVELATION.

Revelation
The Seven Signs, Book 1

Erica Hayes

Genre: paranormal romance, urban fantasy romance

Publisher: Berkley Sensation

ISBN: 978-0425258378

Number of pages: 330

Word Count: 100K

Cover Artist: Kris Keller

Paperback: Amazon  Book Depository  BN

Ebook:  Amazon   BN    Sony    iTunes

Book Description:

A fallen angel with a mission and a medical examiner who's lost her faith are fighting for their souls in a glittering, near-future Manhattan...

Blind faith is for fools. That's what Dr. Morgan Sterling believes. And she's going to prove it by curing the zombie plague ravaging her city's slums. She's certain it's not a sign of the End of Days, but a nasty disease—until an angel appears in her morgue in a flash of glory.

Luniel is not just a fallen angel. He's a powerful warrior sworn to fight evil in hopes of a chance at redemption. He's after the demon princes who are stealing the seven vials of holy wrath which, when perverted, will unleash eternal hell on earth.

To stop the plague, Luniel needs Morgan's help, and her faith. But Morgan believes science is their salvation. If the zombie plague is a demonic curse—and if Luniel is true—he’ll have to prove it. Even if he loses his heart to true love or his soul to Hell...

Excerpt:

White light erupted, brighter than any flashbulb.

She gasped, dazzled. Breeze ruffled her hair. Her elbow hit the trolley, and the camera jolted from her fingers.

A hand gripped her arm, steadying her. A man’s voice, deep and unfamiliar. “Sorry, lady. I didn’t think anyone would be here. Are you—oh, shit.”

Her vision cleared, and she scrabbled on the floor for her camera. “Jesus, you scared the hell outta . . . oh!” She looked up, and fell right back onto her ass, her nerves in disarray.

Whoa. Not just tall, or big. More, in every way compared to . . . well, compared to a normal man.

This guy wasn’t normal.

Black hair, blacker than soot and wilder than music. Blue eyes, hotter and deeper than summer sky, luminous pale skin, long dark lashes any woman would kill for. Arms thicker than her thighs in a dark shirt with no sleeves, strong wrists that made her weak, hands that could crush rocks. And his thighs in those jeans . . . long, powerful, rippling as he moved.

His face was familiar, she realized. Those carved cheekbones and, umm, luscious lips. The bird man. Only Birdy was blond, and this guy was dark and . . . tasty.

His gaze lasered onto hers, relentless, and she shivered. He looked dangerous. Driven. Not a patient man.

Morgan scrambled up, struggling to keep her mind on the issues. This was Babylon, the psycho-killer capital. Well-adjusted guys didn’t break into morgues after-hours. But how Mr. Huge-dark-and-oh-by-the-way-totally-hot had gotten in here was beside the point. So was how easy it’d be for a guy his size to tear her limb from limb, or worse.

He’d seen Birdy’s body. She couldn’t call security. Not yet. Not before she’d preserved the evidence.

She licked her lips. “Um. Hi. I was just . . .”

He strode up to the trolley, and his fingers clenched the edge, hard enough to dent the steel. On drugs. That explained the crazy swirl in his eyes. “You found my brother,” he said stiffly. “I guess asking how he died is redundant.”

Giveaway:

Tour Wide Giveaway 
1 $25 bookstore gift card (winner's choice of bookstore) 
1 a signed set of the Shadowfae series (4 paperbacks) 
2 Kindle copies of short vampire romance HUNTER’S BLOOD

a Rafflecopter giveaway