“AMADOR LOCKDOWN”
by Coral Russell
REVIEWED BY:
Ellen Fritz
OVERVIEW
Something has moved into
the Amador Hotel. Hector, Marcos, Bev, and Tony of the Paranormal Posse are
called in to either debunk the haunting or get rid of whatever is causing the
problems. With the surprise arrival of Hector's son, he tries to keep his
professional and personal lives separate, but whatever is haunting the Amador
Hotel has other plans.
REVIEW
Gloriously
spooky, this book follows the paranormal posse as they investigate the strange
happenings at the Amador Hotel. No special powers here, just four people with
an interest in ghosts and the paranormal in general. When Darren, a rebellious
teenager who is said to be out of control, enters the situation, things get
truly complicated.
When
I started reading “Amador Lockdown”, I thought it was going to be yet another ghost
story. I soon realized how wrong I was when, a few chapters into the book, things
started getting intense and spirit possession entered the picture - turning
"just scary" into downright frightening!
What
really impressed me immensely about this book was that the author used
realistic situations, existing technology and paranormal phenomena known to
most people. This realistic touch continues throughout the book with characters who are the kinds
of people we meet in day to day life.
As
the story is not very fast paced, it provides an almost unbearably slow
build-up of tension to a truly hair- raising finale and an ending with an
unexpected twist. Every chapter starts
with a quote which hints at the contents thereof and what the reader can expect.
This ensured my undivided attention and kept me reading.
“Amador
Lockdown” is a fast read which I easily finished in one evening – but
disappointingly with a rather blunt ending for such a terrific book. I still
highly recommend it for those who are looking for a good old-fashioned ghost
story with a bit more to it and a moderately shocking ending.
READ more REVIEWS
“Amador
Lockdown” by Coral Russell has received 15 reviews on GoodReads. View it here –
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12817627-amador-lockdown
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/Amador-Lockdown-ebook/dp/B005TDRKZ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327089554&sr=1-1
Find out about the real ghost hunters and the
Amador Hotel on https://sites.google.com/site/amadorlockdown/
INTERVIEW with author CORAL RUSSELL
Q: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?
A: I got good grades in school and placed in advanced English. I enjoyed
research and writing and all that. I know, I'm a little nuts...
Q: What inspired you to write “Amador Lockdown”?
A: The Amador Hotel in Las Cruces, NM is an actual place. El Paso Ghost
Tours/Enchanted Ghost Tours offers an actual Lockdown and I was crazy enough to
spend the night in a haunted hotel. When the experience was over I knew it
would make a great fiction story.
Q: What books have influenced your life most?
A: That's a good question. I've read too much to not be influenced by all
of them in some way. A great story always leaves some little gem of truth,
which is why I adore quotes and love collecting them. Right now there is the
cult classic House of Leaves that still leaves some powerful imagery in my
mind, years after I've read it. The River Sutra has a story in it that I'm
still trying to come to grips with and War and Peace. If the story had
continued I would have kept reading because the story was that good.
Q: What book are you reading now?
A: I finished reading a couple of 5 star books in my opinion this month –
Wicked Good and Shuffled Off and Chill Run. I'm going to start reading
Corridors of the Dead which looks good too.
Q: Are there any new authors that have grasped your
interest?
A: OMG so many!!!! I first got turned on to Indie writing by the IBC and
their books and then I realized there are a whole BUNCH of great Indie writers
out there. It was wonderful because being a life-long reader sometimes you
reflect and think, why am I spending so much time reading and is it worth it?
I'd taken a long break from reading but only a couple of books every few years.
Then the whole eBook movement came about. All this has me excited about reading
again!
Q: What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an
author?
A: An independently wealthy bum.
Q: If you were to do your career as an author again, what
would you do differently, and why?
A: Nothing. I believe whole-heartedly in
serendipity and things happening at the right place and time. If I had done
something different, I wouldn't be where I am right now and right now it is
good.
Q: If you can have dinner with one person, who would
it be and why?
A: Leo Tolstoy or Jane Austen. They had to be fascinating people.
Q: What is your work schedule like when you're writing?
A: I'm a lazy writer. I write til I'm tired. I write only so much and it
will probably take me a year to do one book. But I enjoy it and as long as I'm
happy, I'm good.
Q: What do you like to do when you're not writing?
A: Watch movies, TV, listen to music. Read a lot. Play video games.
Exercise. I just went on my first major hike in 25 years. Will probably be my
last, too. Hehe I'm getting old. Live and love and laugh with my family.
Q: Do you have a favourite quote you want to share with
your readers?
A: I love quotes! Millions saw the apple fall, Newton was the only one who
asked, “Why?”
ABOUT author CORAL RUSSELL
Coral Russell won the 2003
McCaleb Peace Initiative which produced the non-fiction articles Peace on
the Peninsula about South Korean's view on reunification. You can also find
various articles written by her on Technorati and BlogCritics. After winning a
fiction writing contest (a fluke), she caught the fiction bug. An encounter
with something paranormal on a local ghost tour inspired her to start writing
the ghost hunter series.
Her titles include Peace
on the Peninsula, Twelve Worlds, Playing with Fire, The DIY Guide to Social
Media Marketing and eBook Publishing, and Amador Lockdown.
Ms. Russell runs the blog
alchemyofscrawl at alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com Stop by for
the latest in Indie book reviews, news, and resources. You can stalk the author
on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Google+
1 comment:
Thanks for having me and doing such a great write up! :)
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