tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post5567938012971398366..comments2024-03-25T13:27:32.790-07:00Comments on The Reading Addict: The Diamond Head Deception by James Blakley (Spotllight, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFTELFhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-8614062724850565302017-01-15T21:42:08.383-08:002017-01-15T21:42:08.383-08:00It's a fun tale, amy. Thanks for visiting!It's a fun tale, amy. Thanks for visiting!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-45562276041139608242017-01-15T21:41:42.963-08:002017-01-15T21:41:42.963-08:00I hope you get a chance to enjoy it, Desiree. Than...I hope you get a chance to enjoy it, Desiree. Thanks for popping in!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-14151277421772198582017-01-15T21:41:19.146-08:002017-01-15T21:41:19.146-08:00Great background info, James, thanks for sharing. ...Great background info, James, thanks for sharing. I love the opportunity to learn about other cultures in such an enjoyable fashion. ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-39306832557097399762017-01-12T13:28:25.465-08:002017-01-12T13:28:25.465-08:00I really enjoyed the excerpt! Sounds like a great ...I really enjoyed the excerpt! Sounds like a great story.Enchanting Reviewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03852807292752630398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-4970782745138596102017-01-07T16:57:03.797-08:002017-01-07T16:57:03.797-08:00This sounds great! I've added it to my TBR on ...This sounds great! I've added it to my TBR on GR. Thanks for the giveaway! :)BunnyClemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06581579265441428281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-66450221225598265982016-12-29T17:46:12.721-08:002016-12-29T17:46:12.721-08:00Now, as previously advertised, here is more about ...Now, as previously advertised, here is more about my inspiration for creating Luna Nightcrow.<br /><br />“The Diamond Head Deception’s” leading lady is a Cherokee Indian insurance investigator named Luna Nightcrow, and solving offbeat insurance frauds is her métier. The idea to make Luna non-white came from the stylish, often groundbreaking, TV crime fighters of my youth. Whether it was “Get Christie Love,” “Hawaii Five-O,” or “Miami Vice,” a lot of minority sleuths cropped up in the 1970’s and early 80’s. Also prevalent were then-exotic locations and professions for these crime fighters. Honolulu, Hawaii and Des Moines, Iowa serve as two rather unusual settings for “The Diamond Head Deception”: Made so by the fact that neither has a historic connection to diamonds. <br /><br />As for why I made Luna an insurance investigator rather than a policewoman or P.I.? I liked the old NBC Wednesday mystery series “Banacek”, starring George Peppard as the titular Boston bon vivant who handled high-end, hard to solve insurance frauds. Though white, his Boston base and jet-setting sleuthing were refreshing changes from the usually hardboiled, urban gumshoe image. Thematically, Luna is more in the vein of “Banacek” than your average 8 a.m. til 5 p.m. (Central) insurance agent. Despite not having Banacek’s Polish proverbs and doting chauffeur, she is witty and charming, but equally determined, daring, and even caring. <br /><br />Luna also draws conceivable inspiration from the then avant-garde TV show “Charlie’s Angels.” You might say that she exhibits Sabrina Duncan’s brains, Kelly Garrett’s penchant for dressing to impress, and Jill Munroe’s…well, everything else. (lol) Coupled with Nani Nyoko (a jewelry appraiser) and Narmata Buddhiman (an Indian interpreter) and you have a nice multicultural trio of female crime fighters for “The Diamond Head Deception.” This also allows more glamor and even romance to creep into this Nightcrow outing, thus appealing to a broader range of readers.<br /><br />So while I dubbed her "the 007 of insurance sleuths", Luna Nightcrow's roots are inspired more by the small screen than its silver counterpart.<br />James Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-57538505027993755462016-12-29T17:20:06.443-08:002016-12-29T17:20:06.443-08:00Yes, E.L.F...
LUNA NIGHTCROW WILL ...Yes, E.L.F... <br /><br /> LUNA NIGHTCROW WILL RETURNJames Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-12876070070938987252016-12-29T10:05:09.322-08:002016-12-29T10:05:09.322-08:00I liked the excerpt.I liked the excerpt.Rita Wrayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16115952708502482157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-69285548153103244322016-12-28T23:05:42.387-08:002016-12-28T23:05:42.387-08:00I loved that it showed what an intrepid agent she ...I loved that it showed what an intrepid agent she is, Cali! Thanks fr the additional insight, James. I suspect there are more exciting cases percolating in your mind, lol.ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-55204970490299871292016-12-28T22:58:36.764-08:002016-12-28T22:58:36.764-08:00Great to see you, Victoria! Thank you for the comp...Great to see you, Victoria! Thank you for the compliment, James!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-90690475552205388752016-12-28T22:57:19.287-08:002016-12-28T22:57:19.287-08:00Happy to host, thank you for visiting and good luc...Happy to host, thank you for visiting and good luck with the tour!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-75429855427558390392016-12-28T22:55:49.078-08:002016-12-28T22:55:49.078-08:00Thanks for coming by, Lisa!Thanks for coming by, Lisa!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-62258122156063882692016-12-28T22:54:14.793-08:002016-12-28T22:54:14.793-08:00You're welcome!You're welcome!ELFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00507018016608103452noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-22820226896658736062016-12-28T16:20:28.188-08:002016-12-28T16:20:28.188-08:00You're welcome, Cali.
About the excerpt: It&...You're welcome, Cali. <br /><br />About the excerpt: It's one of the many action sequences in "The Diamond Head Deception", made in hopes of creating a dynamic character whose job skirts the edge of fact and fiction.<br /><br />In keeping with reality, Luna Nightcrow does what most insurance investigators do: Read various reports, interview or surveil a variety of people, and come to a conclusion about the case. And thus far, I've kept the Luna Nightcrow series of books fairly plausible. The opening crop fraud case is a common occurrence here in the Midwest. By comparison, the main premise of "The Diamond Head Deception" (that of locating a "Hawaiian" diamond) seems far-fetched. But without giving too much away, diamonds do owe a great deal of their development to volcanoes; and Hawaii is a volcanically active state. Hence the story's main plot: Finding and securing the islands' first hunk of ice. <br /><br />Since, however, "The Diamond Head Deception" is fiction, in order to make Luna Nightcrow a rather unique and up-tempo character I veered off course and made her a "freelance" investigator. That is, she's hired to crack cases--expensive and dangerous frauds--that most insurance companies' employees can't. As such, Luna works on and off the clock and often bends the rules--sort of the 007 of insurance sleuths (lol). She jets to often exotic or far-flung locales, is armed with a cell phone encased in a Yellow Jacket stun gun, and is quite the clotheshorse. And beaming with middle-aged beauty, brains, and confidence, Luna Nightcrow ain't your typical 8-5 p.m. (Central) insurance sleuth!<br /><br />Later, I'll post more about my inspiration for creating Luna Nightcrow.James Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-5796584455638870002016-12-28T15:33:10.840-08:002016-12-28T15:33:10.840-08:00E.L.F.'s review is good because it provides pr...E.L.F.'s review is good because it provides prospective readers of "The Diamond Head Deception" with not only the book's strengths, but its weaknesses. And it even gives an idea of who might best enjoy reading it which, to many writers, is a bonus because you hope for new readers, but always want to draw your intended (target) audience. <br /><br />And as for the giveaway, Victoria, you're welcome.James Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-15305005127897015942016-12-28T14:40:17.065-08:002016-12-28T14:40:17.065-08:00Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)Thanks for the giveaway; I like the excerpt. :)Cali W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/05423987046140017390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-28801322264407799262016-12-28T14:11:37.430-08:002016-12-28T14:11:37.430-08:00Thanks for sharing your review and for the awesome...Thanks for sharing your review and for the awesome giveaway :)Victoria Alexanderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00295305682468644975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-66956258513757532582016-12-28T10:18:29.017-08:002016-12-28T10:18:29.017-08:00You're welcome, Lisa. And thanks for your comp...You're welcome, Lisa. And thanks for your compliment.James Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-58446508885660429482016-12-28T10:15:06.616-08:002016-12-28T10:15:06.616-08:00Thank you, E.L.F., for not only hosting "The ...Thank you, E.L.F., for not only hosting "The Diamond Head Deception", but for also writing a fair and balanced review of it. I value reviews (good or bad) because while it's nice to bask in their glow, they can also provide helpful feedback on how I can grow as a writer going forward.James Blakleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-29080031048415851032016-12-28T06:07:51.379-08:002016-12-28T06:07:51.379-08:00Congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to ...Congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13115730343687745202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6466932581579081433.post-45080350836482486362016-12-28T01:38:50.313-08:002016-12-28T01:38:50.313-08:00Thanks for hosting!Thanks for hosting!Goddess Fish Promotionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07952608939319684406noreply@blogger.com