Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Blog Tour - Art Feature: Michelle Monique

This blog tour is presented by Rachel Corliss @ Rachel Reads.
Welcome to The Wormhole and my day on the tour!
Today it is my great pleasure to feature the artwork of 
Michelle Monique!
 
Michelle Monique is a self-taught award winning photographer and digital artist. She began her journey when she was fourteen as more of an experiment rather than a dream. From there, her mediocre portraits blossomed into what she does today. Motivated by her desire to continuously pursue more intricate and believable artworks, she has branched out to creating elements of her pieces by hand including but not exclusively, makeup, costuming, set design, and sculpture. Monique photographs her models and works in post production stitching together her imagined worlds out of pictures.
You can find more about Michelle Monique at these links:
Website:  http://michellemoniquephoto.com/ 
Deviantart:  http://michellemonique.deviantart.com/ 
Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/michellemoniquephoto
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/michellemoniquephoto 

This one is my favorite ~ it's called "Temptation"

"Banshee"

"Kiss of Death"

 
"Sucker Punch: Babydoll"


"Lili Rochefort"

Here are some book covers she has done too:



Thanks for stopping by The Wormhole!
Be sure to check out the rest of the tour ~ for additional cover art, interviews, and more!

Review: The More I See by Lisa Mondello

The More I See by Lisa Mondello
Book 3 Texas Hearts (Contemporary Romance Western) 

Amazon Product Description:
As a top-notch cutting horse trainer, Cody Gentry was riding high until he lost his eyesight after a freak chemical accident. Unable to see the hand in front of his face, never mind the horse or cattle he trained, he knows his life is over and slips deep into depression. His whole future hinges on the success of an eye surgery that could give him his old life back.

When guide dog trainer, Lyssa McElhannon, arrives on his ranch like Florence Nightingale coming to save him, he wants no part of her or her guide dog. But something about Lyssa's musical laugh coupled with her tenacity digs under his skin and won't let go. Having been blind most of her life, Lyssa understands the paralyzing fear Cody feels after losing his vision. But she refuses to let the stubborn cowboy waste his life away sitting in a chair when she knows first-hand that a good guide dog can change his world. She just needs one month to prove it to him.

Falling in love with Cody was not part of Lyssa's plan, nor was having him open her eyes to see that there was a whole lot of living she'd been missing.


My Thoughts:
I fell in love with Lisa Mondello's characters in book one of this series and was thrilled to have the opportunity to continue reading her books.  Each book has different main characters, but we are given glimpses of everyone which is fun.  
This book was as good as the first two.  I was intrigued from start and was fully invested before I knew it.  The struggle that Cody is going through is heart breaking and Lyssa's determination is uplifting.  Lisa Mondello takes the reader on a wild ride with emotions that are all across the map.  Another fantastic installment to the series.  This one will pull your heart strings. 



EXCERPT:
"I was told I could find Cody Gentry out here by the pool," she finally said.

His face twitched slightly. "Who's looking?"


The timbre of his voice was deep, with a faintly ominous edge that reminded Lyssa of the voices she'd heard as a child when she and Kim would sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and watch old horror flicks on cable. She couldn't see the movies, she'd only heard the voices, and that added to the mystery, raised the level of anticipation, sending shivers racing up her spine.
Cody wasn't anything out of a horror flick. She ignored the swell of apprehension that had her confidence faltering. 

She knew better than to extend her hand in a normal greeting for her introduction. It'd be rude since Cody couldn't see her. Instead, she hoped her voice sounded pleasant. "I'm Alyssandra McElhannon."

He didn't move. "What do you want?" 

"I brought Otis," she said cheerfully.

"What's Otis?"

"Otis is a who, not a what."

Cody's whole body stiffened. His voice was controlled, but edgy enough to send shivers chasing over her skin. "Apparently someone failed to give you adequate information. I'm not training cuttin' horses anymore."

"Otis isn't a horse. He's a dog. Your guide dog. I'm here to train the two of you to work as a team." Otis, like many dogs trained as seeing aids for the vision impaired, were a lifeline to independence. 

He sat still, unaffected. It wasn't at all the reaction she'd been expecting. 

"Not interested."

"And you would be Cody Gentry, I take it?" she asked.

"I just said I'm not interested."

"And I heard you. My job is to make you interested." 

"Says who?"

She said, "Mike Gentry for one." 

He groaned and straightened up in his chair. "My father sent you?"

"That's right. He didn't tell you I was coming?"

"Did he already pay you for your troubles?"

"Well, yes, a portion is--"

"Then you're fired. I'll make sure you get the rest of the money you're owed. I'm sorry he wasted your time."

Cody was as difficult as Mike Gentry had warned but in a totally different way than Lyssa had prepared for. 

"In the first place, the school pays my salary. Second, training my dogs and students is never a waste of my time. Furthermore, you aren't the one who hired me, your father did. In fact, he asked me to stay on at the ranch until you and Otis were working well together. So, you can't fire me, no matter how much you squawk."

He made a face that made her laugh. "Squawk?"

Crossing her arms across her chest. "I call it like I see it."