Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Suzanne Brockmann: Military Romantic Suspense

New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann, who USA Today calls "the reigning queen of military suspense," breaks out a rapid-fire collection of pulse-pounding, heart-tugging stories and novellas featuring the intrepid men and women of Troubleshooters, Inc., fiction's hottest, ultimate counter-terrorism squad.


Headed For Trouble
Troubleshooters Series #18 


Tough-as-nails Troubleshooters operative Sam Starrett learns the agony of loving someone in danger--and the hell of waiting on the home front--as his wife and fellow Troubleshooter, Alyssa, hurtles into a foreign hotspot that's about to boil over.

Navy SEAL Frank O'Leary's ill-fated holiday reunion with his older brother takes a turn for the better-when a chance encounter on a rainy New Orleans street gives him a reason to be thankful after all.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Urban Fantasy- Suzanne Collins: Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay

Author Suzanne Collins
In the tradition of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) and Pittacus Lore's Lorien Legacies (I Am Number Four), Suzanne Collins presents a spell-binding trilogy, staples on the best-seller lists. These novels feed the taste of the TV generation who thrives on reality television modeled after the hit series "Survivor".






 
The Hunger Games
(Book One)

In an unspecified future time, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts.

Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

When 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen's younger sister, Prim, is selected as the mining district's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart, Peeta, the son of the town baker, will be pitted against bigger, stronger representatives who have trained for this their whole lives. Katniss, unlike the gladiators of old, is cold and calculating, but still likable. She has the attributes to be a winner. The plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing as realistic characters form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds.

Katniss regards the Games as a death sentence never dreaming that circumstances would forced her to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

Booklists says (The Hunger Games)"is a superb tale of physical adventure, political suspense, and romance."
The Lionsgate movie Hunger Games will be released on March 23,2012.





Catching Fire
(Book Two)


Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.






Mockingjay
(Book 3)
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins' groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.



More About Suzanne Collins:

Suzanne Collins joins J. K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer as an author of children's books that adults are eager to read. She currently lives in Connecticut with her family and a pair of feral kittens they adopted from their backyard.

Since 1991, Suzanne Collins has been busy writing for children’s television. She has worked on the staffs of several Nickelodeon shows, including the Emmy-nominated hit Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Most recently she was the Head Writer for Scholastic Entertainment’s Clifford’s Puppy Days,and a freelancer on Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, she was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you’re much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you’re not going to find a tea party. What you might find...? Well, that’s the story of Gregor the Overlander, the first book in her five-part fantasy/​war series, The Underland Chronicles.

Her next series, The Hunger Games Trilogy, is an international bestseller.