lovesick by spencer seidel (arc)

Title: Lovesick
Author: Spencer Seidel
Pages: 376
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary (from arc):

THERE’S SOMETHING WRONG WITH LEE…

Late one night out on the Eastern Promenade Trail in Portland, Maine, the police discover an incoherent teenager sitting in a pool of blood, holding the body of his best friend and the murder weapon. The girl they both love has been missing for weeks. Dr. Lisa Boyers, forensic psychologist, receives a call from an old friend, a connection to her troubled past. Attorney Rudy Swaner wants her to interview the young killer, Paul Ducharme, who is claiming he doesn’t remember the events leading up to the murder.

In her jailhouse interviews, Lisa helps Paul to recover his memories. But Paul’s disturbing love story forces her to confront her own ugly, violent secrets. Lisa soon finds herself the focus of an over-zealous reporter and media hype that drags her unwilling into the spotlight and threatens to uncover secrets she’d rather not share.

My Two Cents:

I'm totally glad to have such a hope from the author. Since his debut novel; The Dead of Wynter, I knew the author is someone so promising with these kind of book genre.

Maybe the best part of his book is that they sound like a psycho books that will grab your attention real quickly with so many assumptions, doubts and feel like, " I knew it!". His style of writing does not differ much from The Dead of Wynter but I could tell that Lovesick consists like two parts of story. Either way, the book is still good. Psycho thrillers are the best because even though you like the story, you will at least felt that the book is violating your minds, but in a good way. You can't stop hating and loving the same the character at once! Other good part is that, reading the book also was like puzzling your mind to keep guessing what will happen next, and what's the ending would be. I think you can guess it right, it's very spot on, but tricky as well.

I have o complain for the book because I love it just the way he wrote it. You'll love it immensely once you start reading it too. I highly recommend it!

Disclaimer: I received this review copy from publicist Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for an exchange of a review. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.

interview: Author Spencer Seidel

Today we have Author Spencer Seidel to share some interesting part of his life and his latest book; Lovesick! I've read The Dead of Wynter by him last year and totally love the book. I'll share the review once I've finish writing it.

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D: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

SS: Just that I’m so glad I have readers! Thank you for spending time with my characters. I hope we have a long, complicated relationship!


D: Where do you do most of your writing?

SS: At a small wooden desk my father made for me in a small office with the lights off and the door shut tight.


D: Do you have any quirks that come out while you are writing?

SS: I think I’m secretly half-terrified that some psychologist will casually pick up one of my books and have a long, hard look at those quirks. “Perhaps a long rest in a relaxing countryside villa is in order, Mr. Seidel? Or these medications, maybe?”


D: What is your daily routine as a writer?

SS: When I’m trying to finish a manuscript, I write every day for about two hours when possible. I get uncomfortable missing more than one day of writing because then I risk losing momentum, and that can be a death sentence for a new manuscript, particularly a first draft. Oh, and I’ve begun to write in the evenings, after dinner. I like the open-endedness of writing in the evenings.


D: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

SS: Of course! I never feel that a book is perfect or complete. I could edit and revise forever. But I really do like Lovesick and my characters and believe in them, so I have to stand behind it as is.

Thanks so much to Spencer Seidel. For more giveaways, guest post and all, visit this SITE.

About the Author

Spencer Seidel’s love of reading and writing began as a child after he discovered Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His first novel, Dead of Wynter, was published in 2011 and was well-received by critics and readers alike. When he’s not writing novels, Spencer enjoys playing loud rock guitar, something he’s been doing for over twenty-five years.

interview: Author Spencer Seidel

Today I would like to welcome Author Spencer Seidel at Darlyn & Books. This interview is to celebrate the release of his debut book in Dead of Wynter, a mystery-thriller novel. You can read my review here. It's totally a good book!

D: Hello Spencer! Can you tell us what inspired you to write Dead of Wynter?

SS: My own family. My mother's side of the family has a troubled history. In the 1940's, an ugly rumor about a murder among cousins at a Michigan campsite surfaced. In a moment of dementia, my grandmother inadvertently revealed to my mother that there may have been some truth to the stories. Then, when my heavy-drinking uncle died (my mother's brother), I decided to combine the two tragedies into a novel. Dead of Wynter is a kind of fermented, concentrated version of those events with plenty of made-up things thrown in.

D: Where do you do most of your writing?

SS: When I'm planning a novel, the less it seems like work the better. The creative rocket sauce is more potent that way. So, I usually sit on my sofa under my headphones with my iPad. Then, once I start my drafts, I sit at a big bare desk my father built for me writing on a laptop. Unlike many other writers, I can't write in public spaces. I need to cocoon myself, preferably in the dark under headphones.

D: Would you tell us what is your favorite book?

SS: Honestly, I consume and like so many books that my "favorite" is usually one I've read in the last year or so. Joe Hill is in that category currently. I loved Horns and Heart Shaped Box, both of which I read this past year. A few years ago, I fell in love with Caleb Carr's The Alienist and The Angel of Darkness. Before that, I might have said Stephen King's The Shining. Ken Follett, Jack Ketchum, and Peter Straub have also written favorites for me at one time or another.

D: The whole story is awesome but which part of Dead of Wynter was the most enjoyable to write for you?

SS: When I was about halfway through the second draft, I happened to be at my parents' house on Cape Cod. This was in the summer of 2009. There was something about the plot as it was then that had been bugging me for several weeks. One afternoon, I stepped out of the shower and out of nowhere came a new, better idea for the second half. I rushed for a pad and pen and felt incredibly happy even though I knew I would have to go back and shuffle some things around to make it work. After that, the second half of the book was a thrill to write.

D: What are you currently reading?

SS: I'm always reading, so this is a moving target. I just finished Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, which I liked quite a bit and read quickly. Before that, I read The Exorcist by William Blatty for the first time with my Goodreads horror group. That was a trip. I loved the whole "Captain Howdy" thing. Absolutely brilliant. Now, I'm reading Port City Shakedown by Gerry Boyle, a wonderful Maine mystery writer. In addition, for bedtime reading, I'm slowly working my way through the Harry Potter series again in preparation for the last movie. I read the books too fast the first time through, so I've decided to savor them a bit this time.

D: As a new author, do you have any tips for readers who are looking to become published authors?

SS: A lot of writers I know make the mistake of becoming too enamored with the fact that they've written a novel, so they spend years revising it, shopping it around, and trying to convince the world that they've really got something. But if no one's biting, consider filing it away for another day and get to work on something else. No shame in having a couple of novels in the back of your closet. You always learn something when you write a new novel.

Thanks so much to Spencer Seidel for his time for the interview.

About the Author

Spencer Seidel lives and works in suburban New Jersey but has also called Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine home. He is an honors graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and attended the Berklee College of Music to study guitar, which he has been playing for over 25 years. His love of reading and books began as a child after discovering Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Later, he was drawn to darker work by authors such as Stephen King, Peter Straub, and Jack Ketchum, who continue to influence his dark novels and short stories.

His debut novel, Dead of Wynter, is due to be published in May 2011.

Find him at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

dead of wynter by spencer seidel (arc)

Title: Dead of Wynter
Author: Spencer Seidel
Pages: 272
Series: Stand alone
Published: May 1st, 2011
Rating: 4/5
Buy at: Amazon | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble

Summary (Goodreads):

“Dolly, it’s your mother.” Dolly. Jackie Ruth Wynter had called Alice that for years. The conversation that followed led her right back to the place she had run from for years. Her twin brother, younger by just a minute or so, had been fading, transforming into an image of their drunken, narrow-eyed father. Now her father was dead, and her brother, Chris, missing. Alice resigns herself to return, helping her mother and the local police with the mystery surrounding the crime. But there are some family secrets her mother would sooner take to the grave than reveal. Reacquainting with her past brings fresh pain and new friendships as she struggles with who to trust with the details of her father’s murder and brother’s disappearance. As the authorities come closer to solving the mystery of the men in her family, she begins to realize her past life as Alice Wynter is the missing part of the puzzle.

My Two Cents:

I'm glad to get an ARC of the book. It's a debut from new author, Spencer Seidel and this book is a keeper. I totally love a family secret and when the gave a full details and dig in into the secret, it's a wow. This book is something that I'm looking for. A book that is a book that you can't put down, totally absorbed as it makes you to keep reading and find what will happen in the end. The story has a mix between the present and the past but it easily to keep it on your reading track. I love the elements of mysteries, secrets that being kept tightly for years. What is very interesting for me about the story is that it's about family secret, being haunted with guilt and chasing them back causing murders. I was intrigued with the mystery till the end, with a shocking conclusion. I love the writing style with the author succeeded to portray each characters with a realistic feelings, but a few of characters are kind of off to me. All in all, the book is a very great mystery debut from Spencer Seidel. I personally think he's very talented, and he has a little bit writing style like Neil Gaiman, the kind of chilly and creepy. As that being said, I recommend this book to all mystery lovers and looking forward to read his next work.

Disclaimer: I received this review copy from publicist Meryl L. Moss Media Relations, Inc. for an exchange of a review. These are my honest review and receiving a copy in no way will ever reflected my review.