Give Away & Spotlight On: The Taken by Vicki Pettersson

Urban fantasy author Vicki Pettersson, author of the popular Zodiac series, has expanded her repertoire to include mystery. She has a UF mystery noir series, Celestial Blues, and the first book, "The Taken", was released a few days ago on June 12th. I haven't been wildly impressed with the one book and two short stories in her Zodiac series but I do like mysteries so I will give this book a try.

At the end of this post is a giveaway.

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Photo from author website

A little about Vicki: She's the author of the NYT-bestselling Signs of the Zodiac series – a six-book urban fantasy series set in her hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Vicki holds a BA in English, essentially qualifying her for nothing (her words, not mine! ~ Bea), which was why she opted for a decade-long career as a showgirl in the now-retired Folies Bergere. That’s fine; she's now retired too, passing the time as a scribbler until she's old enough to join the cast of the Palm Springs Folies (55 is the minimum age requirement). There she hopes to once again fritter away her nights with sequins, eyelash glue, and her best girlfriends. You gotta have a dream, right? Besides, you know the saying: You can take the girl out of the show, but you can’t take the show out of the girl.

Since Vicki has a few years yet before she can un-retire, she's now writing a new supernatural noir trilogy, also set in Vegas, but with an entirely new world and cast of characters. Featuring a supernatural private eye, and a rockabilly reporter with a nose for trouble, the Celestial Blues series debuts with THE TAKEN, on July 12, 2012.

She currently divides her time between her family in Las Vegas and Dallas. It’s a hell of a commute.

By the way, Pettersson is pronounced “Pet-ter-suhn” – it’s Swedish.

Book Blurb:

He’s a fallen angel. She’s a rockabilly reporter. Together they must solve a deadly string of murders plaguing the mortal and the immortal worlds.

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was over fifty years ago when gumshoes hoofed the streets . . . and he was still alive. Now he’s a Centurion, an angel who assists other murdered souls through their journey to the afterlife. But while Shaw might be an angel … he’s no saint. Haunted by the mysterious events surrounding his own death, he seizes a chance to wreak some vengeance when he witnesses a deadly attack on journalist Katherine “Kit” Craig.

Joining forces, the unlikely avengers take to the streets, hunting a killer whose trail of bodies stretches across Las Vegas and into an immortal netherworld. It is a dangerous trek that lead them into the darkest corners of Sin City and into the heart of an evil conspiracy extending beyond the lights of the Strip that could destroy them both.

But destruction isn’t the only threat Griffin faces. The closer he gets to Kit, the more he finds himself bewitched by her mortal charms. Can he resist falling under her spell? And does he want to?

THE TAKEN
By: Vicki Pettersson
Publisher: Harper Voyager
ISBN: 9780062064646
Genre: FICTION, URBAN FANTASY, MYSTERY
Format: EBOOK, PAPERBACK
Length: 711 KB, 432 pages
Release Date: JUNE 12, 2012
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Buying Links:  Amazon    The Book Depository 

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Thanks to Harper, I have one paperback copy of "The Taken" for one lucky US resident. Harper will mail the book directly to the winner. 

To enter, follow the directions in the rafflecopter widget.

Please read my Giveaway policy. 

Charlotte's Web 60th Birthday

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the release of "Charlotte's Web", a much-loved childrens book that became a classic. While it wasn't one of my favorites growing up, I did enjoy it. One of my teachers, I think maybe in fourth grade?, read a chapter to us every day and I read it on my own several times. I still have a copy though I haven't read it in years.

First released in October 1952, it has won numerous awards over the years:

Newbery Honor Book (1953)
ALA Notable Children's Book
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award
Massachusetts Children's Book Award
Horn Book Fanfare
National Medal for Literature (1971)
Presidential Medal for Freedom (1963)
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (1970

HarperCollins Children's Books released special editions on April 24th in honor of the book's 60 years, including a hardcover, a paperback, and a paper-over-board and there's a special new forward by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo.

There's a 60th anniversary book trailer upon YouTube, a special page on facebook (where I found much of the information in this post) and a special page at the HarperCollins Childrens site, that even includes games.


Have YOU read the story? Did you like it? How would you classify it? I think it's a childrens fantasy book, I mean, the animals talk and Charlotte, a spider, can spell and write in English, a human language. Other people argue that it's not fantasy because it lacks elves, or spells or other elements sometimes found in fantasy. What are your thoughts on the story, what worked for you, what didn't? Have/will you read it to the children in your life?