Monday 24 January 2011

Some reviews for The Dark Road!

The Blog Tour de Force is still going on and has been a resounding success so far (and we're only half way through!). For me one of the best parts of the tour has been having so much support from our sponsor sites and from the other authors on the tour.

Because of this I would like to share with you some of the fantastic reviews The Dark Road has been getting:

Thrillers Rock!

'First couple of things about this novel. One, it's a lightning fast read. It's a hundred and fifty-two pages that simply fly past. Two, it only costs $5. That's not much of a risk--you can barely get lunch for five dollars.

That said, there's enough mystery, mayhem, twists and turns to keep you thriller fans happy, while those of you who don't typically feel the need for speed will love the detailed descriptions of exotic locales. There is definitely sense of verisimilitude as you read Farrar's words that evoke sight, sound and smell with seeming ease. The dark story of the dark road has the power to keep you up at night with your heart in your throat.'

The Scribe's Desk

'Hair raising and ominous come to mind just reading about this author’s actual journey through Thailand to Cambodia. I got the shivers just reading the recounting of her storm ridden night time bus ride. Luckily for us, this is the journey that got her imaginative author’s mind a whirring and hence The Dark Road was born! I mean, can you imagine being on a nocturnal journey far away from home with something terrifying and supernatural chasing after you wanting to drain you of your life’s blood? Good gosh! Scary indeed! You need to read The Dark Road or you will be missing out on an adventure and a half!'

Excelsior

"The Dark Road," a very intense and entertaining read.
I can speak from experience that I found this story to be a lot of fun, however I have to disagree with the one comment I read a lot from various sources. They're saying this is a quick read. That's not what Farrar has written here. She has filled in so much detail on her characters' trek through the seedy elements of Cambodia that the story is told with a more deliberate pace, and that's just what is needed here. Reading it made me think of moments from Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" or Coppola's "Apocalypse Now." I recommend Marissa's eBook...


The Pen & Muse

Want to get on a thrill ride with a bit of paranormal, fantasy and horror? Then look no further than Marissa Farrar’s The Dark Road! This book is an on edge horror and suspense ride and it’s one you won’t want to miss. I really enjoyed this book, the characters, the plot, its one of those stories that you grow to love because you are on the journey with the characters. As the reader, you become their eyes and ears of the characters, exploring with them and plot, dialogue flowed naturally. You can even at points sympathize and relate to these characters.
After reading the book courtesy of IBC’s Tour de Force , I ventured to the author’s website where I learned the book came to her as she traveled. If it’s one thing that I love about authors, being one myself is the amount of ideas and visions we get from our own experiences. Farrar has traveled far and wide and after reading the book, I know now why the visions for this book were so clear and crisp.
Farrar is an author to watch out for as with her travels, I expect to see more books come into fruition. Go and catch The Dark Road!

Thursday 20 January 2011

The Get Loaded Blog Tour! Win a Kindle or $20 Amazon gift card and ebook!

Whoo-hoo! It's my turn to blog on what is turning out to be one hell-of-a blog tour. I'm stop #4 in Get Loaded, Blog Tour de Force's first tour. For stop 3 click here!. We've had some amazing response from all you guys out there, and long may it continue!

Santa wasn't good enough to me to bring me the gift I most wanted this year--a Kindle. (I was obviously on his naughty list.) Only a few months ago I swore I would never want one, but now so many books I am dying to read are out as ebooks only, so now I'm desperate to get my sweaty little mitts on one. Unfortunatly I can't enter this competition, but you guys can and if you're feeling really generous, you can always pass it on to me!!!

Yesterday we met  Rebecca Tsaro Dickson  who introduced you to her novel, I Could Tell You Stories. Her novel is an intense memoir of a woman trapped in an unloving relationship and who cheats. Written in the first person, it is not a read that should be taken lightly, and I loved some of her language and the way she describes how she is feeling. It really is a breath-taking novel.

For those of you who are new to my blog, here is a bit about me and my work:

I've been lucky enough to spend much of my life either travelling or living in different countries. I've lived in Australia and, more recently, Spain. I've also travelled to a number of different countries, backpacking from place to place, sometimes hitching rides, other times enduring twenty-four hour long bus rides.

When I was twenty-two I backpacked round Greece and Turkey, and then a year after that headed out to South-East Asia where I spent a number of months travelling around Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

It was during this second trip that the idea for The Dark Road came to me.

The journey from Thailand into Cambodia was certainly one of my more hair-raising experiences. I’d only been away for a week and getting the bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap (just as the characters in my book do) was an eye-opening experience. Just like in my book, I quickly discovered that when people say there are no roads in Cambodia—there really are no roads in Cambodia! We were basically travelling on dirt tracks in the middle of nowhere. Then night fell and the most incredible electrical storm I have ever seen started up around us. The lightning was like a strobe, and we were literally in the middle of nowhere. We had to cross some of the most rickety bridges, and every half an hour or so the driver would stop the bus and peer underneath it with a torch (to this day I have absolutely no idea what he was looking for).

So while this was all happening, I was sitting in my seat, watching the light show going on around me, wondering what the hell I had gotten myself into, when I thought I saw something long and black, loping alongside the bus.

Of course it was just my over-active imagination playing tricks on me, but it got the brain cells whirring, and I thought, what would happen if a group of backpackers got stuck in this situation? What if there was something out there chasing them, something that was unnatural and desperate for their blood?

And so The Dark Road was born.

Next head over to stop #5, George H. Siros and his sci-fi novel, Excelsior. His novel is action packed from the start, so hop on over to his blog, especially if you love your sci-fi!

If you're after scavenger hunt clues to  help you win that kindle, you must stop by our wonderful sponsors sites:
The Pen & Muse
Mark of the Stars
Your Need to Read
Parayournormal
Thrillers Rock
Indie Book Collective
Brighter Scribe
Chicago Culture and Events Examiner

Lastly, we authors are competing to win a book trailer and I would absolutely love to have one made for The Dark Road.  So, on Jan. 31st, go the the Indie Book Collective blog and vote for me! (Pretty please!)

My goodie bag is a £10 or $20 (depending on which county you live in!) Amazon gift voucher and an ebook copy of The Dark Road. Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite country or place to visit is. And if you'd like to check out some more free ebooks, my dark take on a vampire romance, Alone, is now free to download for a limited time only from  Smashwords. And, as if that were not enough, as an exclusive offer for anyone who likes my facebook page,you will also be given the free code for my short story collection, Where The Dead Live.

Good luck everyone!

Monday 17 January 2011

Win a Kindle! Blog Tour de Force starts today!

First up is Carolyn McCray and she is pulling out all the stops for her Blog Tour day!
For each comment made on her blog... you get a FREE eBook copy of her book!
Plus be automatically entered for her gift basket and the Grand Prize of a brand new Kindle!

We have so many fantastic sponsors for this tour, just check out a few of their badges to the right of this post! I'm up on the 20th, so I really hope you'll check back to enter for my gift basket as well!
 
Happy touring everyone!

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Amazing new blog tour starting--Win a Kindle plus heaps of other prizes.

Starting on the 17th, through to the 31st, I am taking part in a huge blog tour called 'Get Loaded' Blog Tour de Force. Each of us twelve authors has a gift basket of our very own to give away to 12 lucky readers, and our grand prize – given to one very lucky reader – is an Amazon Kindle, pre-loaded with all 12 eBooks.

My turn to blog is on the 20th, when I'll be giving away a goodie bag comprising of a £10 or $10 Amazon gift voucher, my novel The Dark Road, and my short story collection, Where The Dead Live.

There are loads of ways to enter, including shouting out the event on Goodreads, installing one of our badges or widgets onto your own site, or but for a full list head to the tour's website here!

I hope you'll all sign up and make sure you're in with a chance to win.

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Some changes...

Well, by now you've probably noticed that I've had a bit of a revamp of the blog.
Truth be told I was kind of running out of space on my side bars for books and I needed to add a couple of pages. The old format I had wasn't working so well, as the pages were almost hidden, so I've ended up having a complete change around. I hope you like it!
I've also changed the name since instead of deleted the old Something Wicked blog, we've ended up going from strength to strength, adding a couple of new writers and quickly adding on any new followers to the one's we lost while the blog was 'taking a break'. In addition to that we also now have a facebook page where you can follow all of our movie and book reviews!
So I hope you like the new look. Any feedback please let me know. I always love to hear your thoughts!!!

Monday 3 January 2011

2013: The Aftermath is now available!

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic new year and are now all ready to start 2011! My bit of good news for the new year is that an anthology featuring my story, After The Revelation, is now available to buy!

Here's my blurb..

When The Revelation happens, all those worthy are taken by God, and now those who have committed unforgivable sins are left to roam a burnt out, smoldering earth. But the Devil walks among them, and he has plans...

2013: The Aftermath


We've all heard the theories about 2012. Some say a change is coming; others say we are all doomed. But what happens next? How will humankind adapt to this new Earth? Join us as we take a journey through the end of days and peer into the minds of those who survived it. Some try to save mankind from darkness, some give in to their animal instincts; some search for salvation, others defend their lives against post-apocalyptic mutants. When all you've ever known is gone in the blink of an eye, what would you do?
 
It's available to buy here!