The Mark of Abel by Viola Ryan Review / $50 Amazon.com Gift Code Giveaway

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Friday, March 8, 2013

The Mark of Abel by Viola Ryan Review / $50 Amazon.com Gift Code Giveaway

Here at Frugal Follies, we're going to take a quick break from all the coupons, deals, giveaways, and cheap recipes to feature a new author and an amazing book!

(Well, actually there will be a deal and a giveaway... read on!)

My longtime friend Viola Ryan has just published her first novel, the paranormal romance The Mark of Abel, published by MuseItUp Publishing. I've been hearing about her writing process for a long time over Facebook, so it was so exciting to see that her book had been published!

Paranormal romance usually isn't my thing, but of course I wanted to read the book. I dived into a different world filled with fallen angels, vampires, tortured artists, massacres, demons, heaven, hell... Once I was drawn into that world, it was a little hard to get back out! It's definitely a page (screen?) turner, and once you start you'll want to keep going. I definitely recommend the book!

Here's a teaser about the book:

The Mark of Abel

Lucifer is fed up with humanity. He created hell to deter evil, but man’s inhumanity is only escalating. He just wants to return home to heaven, but ever since that little problem in the Garden of Eden, the Pearly Gates remain firmly shut to him. It doesn’t help that he’s the first vampire, an abomination in God’s sight.

Fortunately, two thousand years ago Lucifer’s estranged brother, Jesus, gave him a prophecy. To fulfill it, all Lucifer has to do is find the right artist, study her artwork and the path back to heaven will be revealed. The artist even bears a symbol so he knows who she is. Too bad she is murdered every time he finds her.

Janie’s a frustrated artist and college art teacher who wants two things—a guy she can show her paintings to and a night without nightmares. Each nightmare plagues her until she paints it. She doesn’t realize these paintings are key to unlocking her destiny, one that could redeem the original fallen angel.

You can click here to read an excerpt from the book.

And you can also learn more by watching the book's trailer:

Ryan is spending the month of March on her Holy Hell Virtual Blog Tour. Click here to learn more about tour and to find a list of the other participating blogs, most of which know a heck of a lot more about literature than I do.

So please, leave comments and questions for Ryan - she will be visiting here all day to answer them!

You can learn more about Viola Ryan on these pages:

Do you want to read The Mark of Abel? It's available in e-book formats (PDF, HTML, Kindle, and/or Nook) in these places, and a print version is forthcoming!

Here's the deal that I mentioned earlier: Right now, MuseItUp Publishing is offering The Mark of Abel for 20% off - what a deal! This deal is only available for a limited time, so take advantage of it now! (Or, if you've earned Amazon gift cards through Swagbucks, you can get it for free at Amazon- an even better deal!)

And now the giveaway: To help you purchase The Mark of Abel - or any books you'd like - Viola Ryan is sponsoring a giveaway for a $50 Amazon.com gift code!

To enter, use the Rafflecopter below! All entries are optional. The giveaway ends on March 31, 2013 at 11:59 pm ET.

I hope that you enjoy reading The Mark of Abel as much as I did!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

(This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.)

36 comments:

Parenting Patch, March 8, 2013 at 12:21 PM: Sounds like a good read for those who like that genre.
MamaHen, March 8, 2013 at 12:24 PM: Thanks for this great giveaway and the good review. It's always interesting to find new books out there.
Brooke, March 8, 2013 at 12:45 PM: Definitely an interesting spin on paranormal fiction with the inclusion of biblical figures.
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 12:50 PM: Thanks, Laura. I'm always a little nervous when people I know read the book.
Melissa C, March 8, 2013 at 1:05 PM: Sounds like a book that is right up my alley! Wishing your friend all the luck on her new novel!
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 1:08 PM: No problem, Viola! One thing I really liked was that occasionally you'd use a name or a location that was not hugely important to the story but was important in your personal life.

How did you come to start writing?
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 1:42 PM: What inspired you to write this fusion of romantic vampism?
Heather Budler-Ronzoni, March 8, 2013 at 2:53 PM: What an interesting sounding book! I think this would make for a really cool movie one day?!?!?!
Ashley S, March 8, 2013 at 3:01 PM: Sounds like an interesting read!! My friend would enjoy this book very much. I'll pass this link onto her!
Shannon, March 8, 2013 at 4:03 PM: Congrats on having the first book published! Not the sort of book I normally read, but who knows! Thanks for sharing.
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 4:37 PM: Laura,

Even before we were married, my husband and I decided I would stay home to raise the kids. That is a lot of work. Because of this, when the kids went to school full time, I’d get a year off to do nothing. Then after that I’d go back to school or get a job.

When my youngest started 1/2 day kindergarten, I started thinking about what I would do with my year off. I’d been writing Buffy/Angel fan-fiction and decided to give writing original fiction a chance. I was hooked. I knew this is what I was meant to do. After my year was up, I volunteered to get a job. My husband said the most romantic thing. “You have a job. You’re a writer.”
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 4:41 PM: Brie,

I like stories with HEA, Happily Ever After endings. Romance fits this. I like stories where characters make sacrifices for each other and love makes them better people. Redeeming Lucifer was no easy task. It took a great mythic love to even begin the process. I love vampire stories. Give me a dark tortured hero and I'm happy. It is so very not much my life. Reading is great for experiencing more than life.
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 4:46 PM: Fun with Four,

My little one wants to have say in the casting. I told her if the book get optioned for a movie I say "Thank you for my check" and then have zero say in anything.

Ashley and Shannon,

Thanks.
Sarah Bailey, March 8, 2013 at 7:58 PM: Congratulations on publishing a first book Viola!

I will have too look to downloading it - do love a good paranormal book ;)

x
Julia Potvin, March 8, 2013 at 10:48 PM: My youngest daughter would love this book, I will be letting her know about it so she can check out your review and the author Thanks!
Unknown, March 8, 2013 at 11:37 PM: I am incredibly lucky. He does a lot of the housework. Before he leaves for extended periods, he makes sure the house is ship shape. When he comes home and I've spent all day at the computer hard at work (writing takes a lot of brain energy), he often says don't worry about dinner, that we can all fend for ourselves.

The kids are a big help at this point. They are 12 and 16 which is old enough to have real chores. Jessie (12) loves to cook. No one else is allowed to make meatloaf. The kids have both been very busy with school activities lately and I'm a taxi driver. I write and do marketing stuff while they are in school. I've did some responses for this tour during intermission. Meghan (16) is in Footloose.

The kids make sacrifices for my career and need to understand it will pay off for them, too. Dinner isn’t always on time and they were used to having me 24/7 since I’m a stay at home mom.

I love writing, but I also wanted to get paid for my writing. This is my job and I love it. I wanted my kids to understand this, so I gave them a stake. For every $5,000 I make, they each get $100. Now not only don’t they disturb me when I’m working, but they encourage it. They are my little task masters.

Funny story. RWA Nationals one year was supposed to be in Nashville. That's the year it flooded. We had to move the entire conference ASAP. We moved it in less than a week to the Dolphin Hotel at Disney World. Before it was just going to be John and me at the conference. We can't go to Disney without taking the kids. I told them we were going to Disney. Jessie said, " I knew your career would always pay off." I said, "I haven't sold anything yet." Jessie said, "I don't care. We're going to Disney." Between the conference rate at the hotel and the military passes for the parks, it was one of the cheapest vacations we ever had.
las930, March 9, 2013 at 1:26 AM: This book looks/sounds like it would be some intense reading.
las930, March 9, 2013 at 1:27 AM: How many books did Viola write before being published?
Some Lucky Dog, March 9, 2013 at 1:37 AM: Congratulations, Viola, on being published. I loved reading your story in your comments above. What a sweet family you have to be so supportive. I hope your book will be a best seller!

CINDY B on rafflecopter
Sarah Hayes, March 9, 2013 at 1:44 AM: thanks for the giveaway and for the nice review
Sarah Hayes, March 9, 2013 at 1:44 AM: How long does it usually take you to read a novel like the one above?
Lynda Del, March 9, 2013 at 2:04 AM: I would love to win this! Thanks for the chance!
ken ohl, March 9, 2013 at 6:15 AM: this book sounds interesting love to win. thankyou, ken pohl19@comcast.net
Unknown, March 9, 2013 at 11:59 AM: Laura,

This is the first book I finished, but it went through so many major revisions in the 5 years I worked on it, it is more like 5 different books. I started a YA fantasy first. I got 1/3 of it done before I decided I wanted to work on a vampire story.

Thanks.
Unknown, March 9, 2013 at 12:01 PM: Sarah,

It's the equivalent to a roughly 300 page book. It would take me under 6 hours, but I read fairly quickly. I read more quickly on the ereader than I do paperback.

Thanks
skkorman, March 9, 2013 at 1:36 PM: Sounds like a good read—thanks for the great giveaway!

skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net
Melinda Dunne, March 9, 2013 at 3:25 PM: This sounds like a great book that I would really enjoy. Thanks for the giveaway.
Unknown, March 9, 2013 at 4:51 PM: Thanks for the review and the giveaway! I'm always looking for good books to read!
Unknown, March 9, 2013 at 4:52 PM: Who is your favorite author??
Anonymous, March 10, 2013 at 5:19 AM: Congrats! And thanks for the giveaway!
What is your favorite book?
Unknown, March 10, 2013 at 5:10 PM: Favorite author and book are hard. I read a lot.

I have so many favorite paranormal authors and an incredible autograph collection. In no particular order: Neil Gaiman, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, Rachel Vincent, Kresley Cole, Keri Arthur, Charliane Harris, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Rebecca Zannetti, Nalini Singh, Adrian Phoenix, Gena Shoawalter and Angie Fox. I just finished Angie Fox’s latest book. It was fabulous, as I expected. She’s on my immediately buy list.

Fun story time. I’ve met all but 3 people on that list. One of my favorite autographs comes from Kresley Cole. I lent one of my best friends one of her books. My friend adored Laurel K Hamilton and wanted to start reading more. i got a call at 2 in the morning “B*tch. Bring over the rest now.” She’s beyond hooked on Kresley. I told this to Kresley and had her autograph a book for my friend. She wrote, “I hope you enjoy this, b *tch”
Annmarie Weeks , March 13, 2013 at 11:36 AM: This book looks good! I'm glad that you said the paranormal isn't usually your thing, because it's usually not mine, either...so I probably would enjoy this book...and I think my daughter definitely would too, since she likes that genre a bit more than I do
Annmarie Weeks , March 13, 2013 at 11:37 AM: Have you seen the new Oz movie? Did you enjoy it?
DEBIJOT, March 17, 2013 at 9:14 PM: I would enjoy the opportunity to read this book.
DEBIJOT, March 20, 2013 at 7:14 PM: If you could vacation anywhere (no work!) where would you go?
hedgerhousehold, March 22, 2013 at 12:06 AM: Thank you for the giveaway
jenhedger at hotmail dot com