And here I am again, risen from death (or from my lazy ass), with a tour stop of the wonderful YA mystery novel, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 by C.R. Hiatt. I will review it and there is an amazing guest post. Make sure not to miss it!
written by: C.R. Hiatt
series: McSwain & Beck #1
genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Action
pagecount: 351
publication date: April 31st, 2012
Sydney Marie McSwain and her pal, Cody Beck, team up to take on a secret club called The Devil's Door where members are branded with the tattoo of a devil and call themselves The Privileged Ones.
Sydney Marie McSwain loves her mom, Anna - a private investigator in the coastal city where they live - but they had a major issue between them. Anna refused to give Sydney the identity of her father. On the day of her high school graduation, they were battling it out, once again. An hour later, Sydney, Cody and Jaden were at the local café, and watched as Anna was gunned down, and it was broadcasted on live TV.
Faced with immediate responsibility, Sydney and Cody agreed to take over the agency, only they changed the name to McSwain & Beck. At the same time, Sydney convinced Sutter Beach Detective, Ace Carter, to help her track down her father.
Out of the blue, a model walked in and hired them to follow her step-brother. While Cody was busy editing a trailer to solicit new clients, Sydney settled into her lemon-yellow pickup to do surveillance, and wound up staking out a secret club called The Devil’s Door whose suspicious members wore the tattoo of a devil.
That same night, Sydney received a call from one of her mom’s former clients, only the client was gunned down at the location where they agreed to meet. The mysterious discovery of a DVD revealed the possibility that teenagers were being abducted, only nobody reported them missing.
On the hunt for the victims, McSwain & Beck were chased by men in ski masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel called the outlaws, Sydney’s precious pickup was broken into; then the step-brother they were hired to follow, was found dead and Sydney was the number one suspect.
If things weren’t bad enough already, they had to figure out how to crash a red-carpet Mardi Gras bash being held on a private cruise ship, before it sailed off into the sunset, where they just might meet the devil, himself.
Now, the clock was ticking…
And time was running out…
How was she ever going to find her father, now?
Sydney Marie McSwain loves her mom, Anna - a private investigator in the coastal city where they live - but they had a major issue between them. Anna refused to give Sydney the identity of her father. On the day of her high school graduation, they were battling it out, once again. An hour later, Sydney, Cody and Jaden were at the local café, and watched as Anna was gunned down, and it was broadcasted on live TV.
Faced with immediate responsibility, Sydney and Cody agreed to take over the agency, only they changed the name to McSwain & Beck. At the same time, Sydney convinced Sutter Beach Detective, Ace Carter, to help her track down her father.
Out of the blue, a model walked in and hired them to follow her step-brother. While Cody was busy editing a trailer to solicit new clients, Sydney settled into her lemon-yellow pickup to do surveillance, and wound up staking out a secret club called The Devil’s Door whose suspicious members wore the tattoo of a devil.
That same night, Sydney received a call from one of her mom’s former clients, only the client was gunned down at the location where they agreed to meet. The mysterious discovery of a DVD revealed the possibility that teenagers were being abducted, only nobody reported them missing.
On the hunt for the victims, McSwain & Beck were chased by men in ski masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel called the outlaws, Sydney’s precious pickup was broken into; then the step-brother they were hired to follow, was found dead and Sydney was the number one suspect.
If things weren’t bad enough already, they had to figure out how to crash a red-carpet Mardi Gras bash being held on a private cruise ship, before it sailed off into the sunset, where they just might meet the devil, himself.
Now, the clock was ticking…
And time was running out…
How was she ever going to find her father, now?
“Their lives were in the hands of two 18 year-olds…”Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 was a wonderful book full of surprises and packed with action. I don't read a lot of action novels, but I enjoy reading them once in a while. This book really was worth the time it took me to read it.
I was amazed by the characters. They were great, and not some lame stereotypes. The girl, Sydney, was not very girlyl, but more of a tomboy. She definitely kicks ass! Then there was her a) hot, and b) great fighter bst friend Cody. He loves filming and photographing, which is why his parents kicked him our. He lives in the house of Jaden, the third, and last, one in the friend group. Together they form a marvellous trio of teenagers that might be able to arrest some major criminals...
The plot of this book sounded very promising, and it was just like I expected it to be. There was only one empty spot; no(t much) romance. Not that I am a 100% romance lover or something, but I just like to have some in every novel. But I get it, action and romance isn't always the best combination... Still, I was okay with it because of the whole story. Some teens who kick ass and save the world from criminals always are great to read about -this explains my obsession with Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider series- and I adored all characters.
It was very well-written and easy to read. However, sometimes it was just so easy to read for me. As a Dutch girl that's still learning English, I am used to having a hard time reading novels because of the use of difficult words. This book was so easy to read... Maybe I'm just getting better at English. That would be great :)
A book I'd recommend to all teens that love books packed with action, mystery and humor. You will not be disappointed.
I give this book 3 stars!
Now who's up for a guest post? :P
What are my writing quirks and must haves to write?
a guest post by C.R. Hiatt
Before I sit down and start writing, a lot of things need to be in place. Some may call them quirks. I call them: tools to a future bestselling novel. J
For starters, where I write is critical. I am somewhat of an odd ball when it comes to that. I don’t have an office (by choice) - at least not the kind of office that everyone would consider normal. I love the outdoors, and don’t like being confined to a room with a desk and a computer, or four walls closing in on me. Instead, I bought myself a portable laptop desk that I can move around to wherever I plant myself for a particular day. The portable desk has compartments for all my accessories, phones, Kindle and USB cords. The legs can be folded underneath, and it can easily sit on my lap, or I can put the legs down and sit opposite a comfortable chair.
If the weather outside is poor, I park myself in front of a large window of the seasonal home. Now that summer is creeping up on us and the temperatures are starting to get warm, I will move the portable desk out on a screened-in deck, or I might even park myself down by the water.
Another quirk is; I need noise. A lot of writers need it to be completely quiet when they’re writing. If I’m stuck inside because of rotten weather, I either have the TV on tuned into an action flick, or I have the music cranked up. When the weather cooperates and I can sit on the deck, I put a sign out letting the neighbors and toursis know I’m “working”; then they know to steer clear. I may like the noise when I’m writing, but I prefer to not be interrupted when I’m in the middle of plotting a scene.
Now comes the must haves…I must have tons of dark chocolate in the refrigerator, and a case of Dasani water. Once I start the writing process, the only thing that I will definitely break for is; exercise. Exercise is a major part of the process to keep the juices flowing. Chances are; I won’t have time for full meals during my process, so I will have stocked up on salad fixings, and of course, my chocolate. To keep the hunger at bay, I will nibble on small pieces of the chocolate. It also helps with my concentration - at least that’s my excuse for getting to eat chocolate. J
When I’m finally seated and settled, first I check emails and social media outlets. I CANNOT start writing unless that is done. Otherwise, my mind will constantly drift off while I’m writing, worrying that I might have missed something. With that out of the way, I begin my writing process using my regimented “quirky” process, and I do not deviate from:
1. Write out a one or two sentence logline describing the story.
2. Write out a list of my characters and mini bios and backgrounds.
3. Using my logline as a guide, I write a one-page outline which can be used as a synopsis later.
4. Using my outline as a guide, I then write a draft screenplay using the three-act structure, and make sure to include the action scenes and dialogue.
5. Now that I have three-act screenplay (beginning, middle and end), I start adapting the story into a novel.
CR HIATT is a writer of screenplays and an author of YA action-mystery novels. The daughter of a military veteran, CR grew up in a small town where she became an All-American athlete. CR knew early on that she wasn't cut out for the nine to five type of job - her tendency to day dream about adventures often got in the way. But, being the daughter of a Navy Veteran she also knew one had to do what was necessary to be ecure, so she disciplined herself to push those dreams aside and settled on working in the entertainment legal field. When those dreams invaded her world once again, CR finally gave in and set out to write her own adventures. What the heck, right. If you can't live 'em, you might as well write about them. The McSwain & Beck series are works of fiction, only based on real life events. Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00 is the first in the series, and available now. Fireworks on the 4th will be released in late June, just before the 4th of July holiday season.
Blog:
Twitter @mcswainandbeck
Facebook Author
Facebook Book
So, are you going to read Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00?
Love, Mar
*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*
1 comment:
Hi - thank you for being a host for my blog tour. Also, thank you for taking the to read the book, and post your thoughts. I appreciate that you've been busy, so I am grateful.
CR HIATT
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