Kill 4 Me - Author Interview - Joel M. Andre

The Real Hollywood’s Book Chat features for the second time this month horror fiction author Joel M. Andre. If you happened to catch the Kill 4 Me chapter 1 excerpt it opened our month with the theme of Hollywood Screaming. Here’s the link for those who didn’t get a chance to read it. Book Chat caught up with Joel in the middle of his virtual book tour with
Pump Up Your Book Promotion and he graciously agreed to grant us an interview. When we asked Joel how he came up with the idea for his novel, he had this to say, “I was working the graveyard shift at a former company when I received a text message. At that time I began to think how interesting it might be to be haunted through a cell phone. Anyone can grab a phone and text at random. It was an interesting form to explore if someone could be driven mad through it.

WIN A GIFT CERTIFICATEAs a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors’ blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they become available. The winner(s) will be announced on our main blog at www.pumpupyourbookpromotion.com on October 30!



ABOUT THE BOOK:
Kill 4 Me, a technological thriller set in rural America. The story follows Casey Dwyer, a small town girl who becomes caught in a spirit’s unrelenting quest for vengeance after she receives a cryptic and seemingly harmless text message. Kill 4 Me is a supernatural thriller that explores how technology can be used to torture others through the lens of a horror novel.




Hi Joel M. Andre- Welcome to The Real Hollywood


JMA: Thank you for having me. I must admit, I have secretly kept up with some of the interviews you have done in the past. I enjoy your site.

If your book were sold for movie rights which actor/actress would you want to play the main character?
JMA: Great question. If I had a chance to choose the lead actress, Casey Dwyer would be played by Amanda Stanton.

Who would you want to play the supporting characters?
JMA: Chelsea Handler would have to be in my movie! I would have it written in the contract, the woman is fantastic I watch her show Chelsea Lately on E! Every week night. I would prefer relatively new talent fill the remainder of the movie, sometimes having too many stars can side track from an actual film. I would also find Bruce Willis a part.

Who are your favorite actor and/or actress?
JMA: Bruce Willis is my favorite actor. Sarah Michelle Gellar is my favorite actress.

Is there a movie you could watch over and over again?

JMA: You know what, I watch Halloween (John Carpenter) several times a year. Another favorite of mine is the black and white version of The Haunting.

Who is your favorite author? What books have you read by this author?
JMA: Stephen King helped me through many years of formal education. Well, at least his book ‘The Stand’ did. I have read all his books, but ’It’ and ‘The Stand’ are ones I still read often. That’s right, it’s all his fault for some of my grades in school.

What is next on the horizon for you?
JMA: I have several books in the pipeline. The Price of Blood will be out shortly. It is a sequel to my book ‘A Death at the North Pole.’

Where can my readers find your website?
JMA: Well since you asked, www.joelmandre.com is my main website. You can also check out some of my other works at www.authorsden.com/joelmandre.

I thank you being sharing your book with The Real Hollywood’s Book Chat and I wish you continued success on your virtual book tour.

JMA: Thank you for allowing me the time to spend with you on The Real Hollywood. If I may, I ask everyone take the time to support the reading and writing of our youth. Find something that sparks their interests, and makes them want to embrace the written word.



KILL 4 ME VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR ’08 will officially began on October 1 and will end on October 30. You can visit Joel’s blog stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in October to find out more about his book!

Bleach/Blackout - Author Interview - David Grant

Today, at Valley Girl Musings we have a special guest, David Grant, author of Bleach/Blackout. Fans of fluffy romance novels and that all-too-familiar, over-hyped, edge-of-the-seat crap should steer clear. This is life at its most jaded. Offense Mechanisms is proud to present Bleach | Blackout by David S. Grant, two novels about drugs, sex, revenge, the corporate crunch, and the inevitable unpleasantness of life and death.



Hi David S. Grant

Welcome to Valley Girl Musings,



[DG} I am the author of Corporate Porn, Emotionless Souls, and The Last Breakfast. My current book I’m promoting is the double novel Bleach|Blackout from Offense Mechanism, an imprint of Silverthought Press. Bleach tells the tale of coming back home for the holidays to find decadence that forces a look inside. Blackout is a dark comedy with the theme of living moment to moment. A story about living.

VGM: If your book were sold for movie rights which actor/actress would you want to play the main character?

[DG] Ron Livingston (Office Space) would play “Jeremy”, giving the voice over at the same monotone level as Edward Norton did in Fight Club.

VGM: Who would you want to play the supporting characters?

[DG] Ryan Reynolds (Waiting) would be a good fit for Chip, a brash “I don’t give a shit” attitude with a sex addiction.

[DG] Kate Hudson for the character of Angella. Hudson has showed her ability to turn the charm on/off with little notice. In Bleach, Angella is unsure of what she wants, creating an unbalanced person with a clouded mind, capable of violence.

[DG] Mary, the “ten” of Jeremy’s life, Heather Graham fits the bill. All is good, ex-sixties hippie girl that enjoys life for the moment.

[DG] Of course for Stoner, I have to go with the Sean Penn character, Spicoli, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Many actors have attempted to duplicate that character over the years with little, to no success.

VGM: Is there a movie you could watch over and over again?

[DG] Pulp Fiction. The writing, the casting, and the chemistry and energy between the actors make you believe this is happening. Tarantino combines shocking violence along side pop culture laced dialogue like no one.

VGM: Who are your favorite authors? What books have you read by this author?

[DG] Bret Easton Ellis and Chuck Pahlahniuk, I’ve read all of their books.

VGM: What is next on the horizon for you?

[DG] I am currently promoting Bleach|Blackout. I am finishing up a short story collection titled Lost Souls and will have my fifth book, a novella titled Hollywood Ending, published by Brown Paper Publishing on November 15, 2008.

VGM: Where can my readers find your website?

[DG]: http://www.davidsgrant.com here, you can find all of my books, interviews, contact information, and excerpt from Blackout.

I thank you being sharing your book with Valley Girl Musings and I wish you continued success on your virtual book tour.

[DG]: Thank you for having me. I do believe anyone that who reads Bleach|Blackout will enjoy themselves. The story is written at break neck speed with pop culture and obscure references throughout. It’s as if you are reading a screenplay in paragraph format, but will not realize until you are knee deep in it. Thanks again. –David


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Bleach/Blackout Virtual Book Tour ’08 officially began on August 4, 2008 and will continues all month. You can visit [name] tour stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in August to find out more about (his/her) and (his/her) book.

As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author with a recent release or a $50 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comment on our authors blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they come available. The winners will be announced on www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com on August 31!

Please leave your comments along the tour stops and join us on August 31 to see if you are a winner.

How To Survive Your Freshman Year - Guest Authors

As graduates of the class of 2008 anxiously wait to enter their freshman year at college, few will have a clue as to how to survive their first year. To make it easier the dynamic non-fiction author duo of Mark Bernstein and Yadin Kaufman have written the ultimate guidebook for first year college students titled, “How To Survive Your Freshman Year.”


Mr. Bernstein, a native of Knoxville, TN, is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania and New York University's School of Law. He was an attorney with the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta, served as senior legal counsel at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. and was a senior vice president of CNN and general manager of CNN's digital content division, CNN Interactive.

Yadin Kaufmann, a native New Yorker, is a venture capitalist, and is a Founding Partner of Veritas Venture Partners, co-founder of MainXchange Ltd., an Internet company that delivered financial and business content to the teen market, and founder of Tmura, a not-for-profit Public Service Venture Fund. He has served as a board member of numerous successful venture-backed companies. He received his B.A. from Princeton University, M.A. from Harvard University, and J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

How to Survive Your Freshman Year was compiled from interviews with hundreds of students at over 120 colleges across the country, and includes the latest advice and tips straight from students. The book is sure to help freshmen get off to a great start in college, armed with the experience of hundreds of others who have "been there, done that." The book also helps parents better understand how their teens can survive and thrive in college, and makes for a great high school graduation gift.
The book’s Special Editor, academic advisor and instructor Frances Northcutt, adds expert advice, guidance and insightful commentary.


How to Survive Your Freshman Year gives students great advice on:

• Getting off to a great start in college
• What to take
• Where to live
• How to get a good roommate
• Dorm Life
• Choosing classes
• When and where to study
• Exams secrets
• Filling free time
• The dating and party scene
• Finances, and
• Choosing a major



A few years ago, I, Yadin was thinking about how best to help my oldest son, Dov prepare for college. My own college experience (at Princeton) was a bit stale . . . and Dov wasn’t likely to listen to his father anyhow! Sure, I could introduce Dov to my circle of friends and acquaintances – but that’s a narrow group too.
It occurred to me that it would be great to find a way to give Dov – and everyone else who’s about to start college – input about what college life is really like, from thousands of kids who are in college today, and have something interesting to say about it.

So, with an old friend (Mark Bernstein), we put together a team of journalists whom we call “headhunters.” These headhunters went out and interviewed many hundreds of students at over 120 colleges all across the country - big schools, small schools, Ivies, and state universities; Greeks, geeks, and jocks. They spoke with students at the college newspapers, kids hanging out in the library or in the rec center, kids on their way to class or lounging around in the dorm. One headhunter in Pennsylvania offered free pizza for students willing to share their advice. The interviewers asked the students questions about every aspect of college life – about what they would advise incoming freshmen, and why. We also collected tips at our web site, www.hundredsofheads.com.

We then compiled the best material that we felt gives our readers direct, informative and humorous advice they might not get, even from their best friends.

We also recruited a terrific Special Editor for the book: academic advisor and instructor Frances Northcutt, adds expert advice, guidance and insightful commentary. Fran is an academic advisor in the Macaulay Honors College of the City University of New York at Hunter College. She has advised students at Wesleyan University, the University of California, Berkeley; and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, where she also taught classes on college skills and professional development. Frances is active in the National Academic Advising Association, and was selected as the Outstanding Advisor (Primary Role) for the Mid-Atlantic region in 2006.

The resulting book - How to Survive Your Freshman Year – has become the sort of “bible” of college life for entering freshmen, and we just published its 3rd edition. The book offers hundreds of the best practical tips and fun stories to help entering freshmen better navigate their way through this challenging period.

How to Survive Your Freshman Year gives students great advice on:

• Getting off to a great start in college
• What to take
• Where to live
• How to get a good roommate
• Dorm Life
• Choosing classes
• When and where to study
• Exams secrets
• Filling free time
• The dating and party scene
• Finances, and
• Choosing a major

The book reflects today’s new freshman lifestyle and experiences, with new chapters covering:

• Social networking and Facebook
• Wireless & digital devices
• Student expectations vs. reality
• Changing the world and environmentalism
• Diversity
• Food, fashion, the party scene - and much more

A new appendix provides useful checklists for incoming freshmen.

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HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR FRESHMAN YEAR VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 officially began on August 4, 2008 and continue all month. You can visit the authors' tour stops at www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com in August to find out more about them and their book!


As a special promotion for all our authors, Pump Up Your Book Promotion is giving away a FREE virtual book tour to a published author with a recent release or a $25 Amazon gift certificate to those not published who comments on our authors' blog stops. More prizes will be announced as they come available. The winners will be announced on this blog on August 31!

Goddess Birth Signs - What's Yours?

Do you ever feel like you're not yourself and everything you do seems to be out of place with what everyone else is doing? Maybe, it's your inner Goddess energy trying to define who you are and what your life purpose may be.

According to Anita Revel, author of Outing The Goddess Within, One Girl's Journey with 52 Guides, says that pre-dating Astrology are the ancient gods and goddesses of all time. Each culture had its own divine being or pantheon of deities, yet they all transcended earthly borders and time with common attributes: security, creation, power, benevolence, judiciousness, wisdom and divinity.

And, each deity's energy was more evident at certain times of the year, season or moon cycle than at other times. But just like astrology, goddess energy defines who we are and what our life purpose may be. The alignment of stars and planets influence our personalities, values and choices. Every action, thought, projection of self and treatment of others is a reflection of your godess sign. Read the article at http://www.igoddess.com/GoddessBirthSigns.com, then return here to share your thoughts --does your goddess birth sign resonate with you?

Outing the Goddess Within Synopsis:
No matter whether you’re a pouting priestess, boardroom babe, feathery fairy, earth mother or warrior woman, there comes a time when every goddess gal needs to hold up her sword and claim her right to be true to her authentic self.

This is exactly what Anita Revel has been doing over the last 10 years. Tired of being a fizzled out corporate stress-chick, she made a sea change from Sydney to Margaret River in search of a happy beginning. What she found instead was a brown-eyed calf named Missy Moo and 52 archetypal goddesses with life lessons to share.

Anita wrote about her lessons for her column with United Press International. Sometimes poignant, infinitely insightful, but mostly snort-your-milk hilarious, Anita’s journey has led her to successfully ‘out’ her goddess within.

Subscribe to Anita’s weekly broadcast to get your inspirational 'goddess fix' delivered free, every week. Visit www.goddess.com.au/Subscribe.htm (case sensitive) to join.

You can visit her website at http://www.igoddess.com/or her blog at http://www.goddessgoodies.blogspot.com

OUTING THE GODDESS WITHIN VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR '08 will began on March 1, 2008 and will continue all month. If you would like to follow Anita's tour, visit http://www.virtualbooktours.wordpress.com/ in March. Leave a comment on her blog stops and become eligible to win a free copy at the end of her tour! One lucky winner will be announced on this blog on March 31!