Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven
Author: Robin Ray
Genre: Mystery / Sci-Fi
Book Description:
No one ever "re-dies" in Heaven; unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to singer Amy Winehouse. Her death, an unprecedented event in Heaven's history, has thrown a once docile world into unfortunate chaos. Because of the new uneasy alliance between angels and citizens, a freshly-arrived detective in the rock & roll town has been tasked with investigating the prime suspects, the members of the 27 Club - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. To make matters worse, a powerful angel from one of the upper levels of Heaven will soon arrive to make her ten-year inspection, a task that fills the other angels with dread since she has the power to banish anyone of them to the underworld. So, with time running out, the PI and his newly acquired sidekick, both aided by rock legends such as Eddie Cochran, Mama Cass, Kurt Cobain, Karen Carpenter and others, must quickly uncover the mystery that threatens not only to close Heaven’s doors forever, but promises to send a ripple effect through the entire universe that can rip it apart.
GUEST POST
About the Author
Genre: Mystery / Sci-Fi
Book Description:
No one ever "re-dies" in Heaven; unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to singer Amy Winehouse. Her death, an unprecedented event in Heaven's history, has thrown a once docile world into unfortunate chaos. Because of the new uneasy alliance between angels and citizens, a freshly-arrived detective in the rock & roll town has been tasked with investigating the prime suspects, the members of the 27 Club - Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. To make matters worse, a powerful angel from one of the upper levels of Heaven will soon arrive to make her ten-year inspection, a task that fills the other angels with dread since she has the power to banish anyone of them to the underworld. So, with time running out, the PI and his newly acquired sidekick, both aided by rock legends such as Eddie Cochran, Mama Cass, Kurt Cobain, Karen Carpenter and others, must quickly uncover the mystery that threatens not only to close Heaven’s doors forever, but promises to send a ripple effect through the entire universe that can rip it apart.
The book is on sale for only $0.99!
GUEST POST
What inspired me to be a writer?
Poverty.
Seriously, though. If I wasn’t writing I’d probably be running the streets, constantly dodging the police, getting into all kinds of trouble, and abusing every known substance known to man to just to keep this wicked, cruel world at bay. I find that writing is a great pacifier for me, and in a sense, it does keep the world at bay.
When I was young, I escaped into fantasy worlds by reading books like the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Aesop’s Fables, and myths and folklore from around the planet. My own world was a bust, and since theirs looked much more appetizing, I opted to spend as much time there as possible. Being a creative individual, I figured I might even be able to make my own stories, so I wrote a few. I thought my juvenile ideas were okay; unfortunately, I lacked the necessary grammatical skills to get them published so that would have to wait until I took some English courses in college; Iowa State University, to be exact.
As a reader, I enjoyed the works of Ivan Turgenev, Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck, Judy Blume, Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King. Even though they were literary artists, their work wasn’t as imbued with heavily overwrought literary descriptions as some other writers. In essence, they tend to get right into the action of the story while eschewing superfluous, time wasting detail, a quality I appreciate and emulate to this day.
When I was growing up, I practically had no friends. Sports were as alien to me as time travel. To pass the time, I practiced my guitar, wrote songs and stories, and ventured into woodland areas as often as possible to ease my troubled mind. It only made sense that I would attempt to be a full time writer later on. Unfortunately, for practical purposes, because I always stared poverty in the face, I had to lay aside my literary aspirations and do something more practical, like nursing or driving a cab. It wasn’t until about four years ago when I finally had the time to delve head on into writing. I had lost my job, my apartment, and became homeless - again. Waiting for disability to come in, living in my car, and eating from the food banks, I had enough time to write in various libraries around town. So far, I’ve authored about forty short stories, two novels, one book of non-fiction, eight novellas, and maintain my blog, The Writings of an American Author. I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my latest book, Obey The Darkness, which I hope to have out by Halloween. Thanks for reading.
Poverty.
Seriously, though. If I wasn’t writing I’d probably be running the streets, constantly dodging the police, getting into all kinds of trouble, and abusing every known substance known to man to just to keep this wicked, cruel world at bay. I find that writing is a great pacifier for me, and in a sense, it does keep the world at bay.
When I was young, I escaped into fantasy worlds by reading books like the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, Aesop’s Fables, and myths and folklore from around the planet. My own world was a bust, and since theirs looked much more appetizing, I opted to spend as much time there as possible. Being a creative individual, I figured I might even be able to make my own stories, so I wrote a few. I thought my juvenile ideas were okay; unfortunately, I lacked the necessary grammatical skills to get them published so that would have to wait until I took some English courses in college; Iowa State University, to be exact.
As a reader, I enjoyed the works of Ivan Turgenev, Albert Camus, Ayn Rand, Upton Sinclair, John Steinbeck, Judy Blume, Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King. Even though they were literary artists, their work wasn’t as imbued with heavily overwrought literary descriptions as some other writers. In essence, they tend to get right into the action of the story while eschewing superfluous, time wasting detail, a quality I appreciate and emulate to this day.
When I was growing up, I practically had no friends. Sports were as alien to me as time travel. To pass the time, I practiced my guitar, wrote songs and stories, and ventured into woodland areas as often as possible to ease my troubled mind. It only made sense that I would attempt to be a full time writer later on. Unfortunately, for practical purposes, because I always stared poverty in the face, I had to lay aside my literary aspirations and do something more practical, like nursing or driving a cab. It wasn’t until about four years ago when I finally had the time to delve head on into writing. I had lost my job, my apartment, and became homeless - again. Waiting for disability to come in, living in my car, and eating from the food banks, I had enough time to write in various libraries around town. So far, I’ve authored about forty short stories, two novels, one book of non-fiction, eight novellas, and maintain my blog, The Writings of an American Author. I’m currently putting the finishing touches on my latest book, Obey The Darkness, which I hope to have out by Halloween. Thanks for reading.
EXCERPT
Plants of varying shapes and sizes sprouted everywhere, some just knee high, some as tall as mango trees. Rows of narrow pipes across the ceiling misted the foliage every minute. A few customers were sampling some of the edible flowers while others were reading manuals or informational tags about the unusual plants. Towards the back, the good PI spotted an employee who was busy pulling off the dead leaves from several botanical specimens. The clerk, he noticed, was very colorful with her psychedelic bamboo slippers, purplish pants, flowery blue and white tunic, rows of bangles on each wrist, several beaded chains around her neck, and a pink strip of cloth enmeshed in her long brown hair. As Gregory neared her, he could hear her humming along to the music playing over the virtual speakers high up in the corners of the center.
“Excuse me,” he introduced himself, “I was told Janis Joplin works back here.”
The employee turned and glanced at him. “You found her, babe.”
“Hi, Janis,” the PI introduced himself. “I’m Gregory Angelicus. And…”
“Oh, Lord,” she moaned, flinging the twigs in her hand down. “Another angel. What’d I do now?”
“Oh, no,” he stated quickly, “I’m not an angel. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“About what?” she asked, eyeing the intruder with suspicion through her circular yellow sunglasses.
Gregory looked around momentarily. “Is there some place we can talk?”
“Sure,” she answered, crossing her arms. “You’re standing in it.”
“Excuse me,” he introduced himself, “I was told Janis Joplin works back here.”
The employee turned and glanced at him. “You found her, babe.”
“Hi, Janis,” the PI introduced himself. “I’m Gregory Angelicus. And…”
“Oh, Lord,” she moaned, flinging the twigs in her hand down. “Another angel. What’d I do now?”
“Oh, no,” he stated quickly, “I’m not an angel. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“About what?” she asked, eyeing the intruder with suspicion through her circular yellow sunglasses.
Gregory looked around momentarily. “Is there some place we can talk?”
“Sure,” she answered, crossing her arms. “You’re standing in it.”
About the Author
Robin Ray emigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad & Tobago at the ripe old age of 12. Already steeped in the rich culture and mysteries of his native land, it would only be a matter of time before he, too, became a musician and storyteller. After a short stint at Iowa State University, he became a nurse for practical purposes but never abandoned his musical and literary aspirations. Eventually, he did play guitar in several bands, committing himself to localized tours and album releases. Leaving the music world behind, he delved headfirst back into his second love - writing. To date, he has authored six screenplays, two novels, seven novellas, around fifty short stories and many poems. Thus far, he’s published six books - five fiction and one non-fiction, all available in paperback and e-book formats. His latest novel, Murder In Rock & Roll Heaven, can be purchased from the following Amazon link.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY**
congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the excerpt, thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThe book description and excerpt sound intriguing. Thanks for sharing. Love the cover too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the excerpt and giveaway and congrats on the tour.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great title!
ReplyDeleteI would love to read your book.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, I enjoyed reading it!
ReplyDeleteWriting "Murder in Rock & Roll" was great fun. Part of the thrill was deciding which deceased rock star would have speaking parts. I've tried to represent as many genres as possible within the realm, that's why we get to "meet" folks from the 50's up till today, from Eddy Cochran to Glenn Frey. Of course, what fun would the book be if I omitted people like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Mama Cass, Elvis, and Wendy O Williams? Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteI tend to like more terse prose styles, too!
ReplyDelete--Trix
Love the text on the cover it looks so cool.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the excerpt, I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteSounds Incredible
ReplyDeleteI've never been so excited to read something just after reading the blurb. What an awesome premise. Definitely reading this one very soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the chance
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds like a good read. Thank you
ReplyDeleteWhat book would you like to see a sequel to? Thanks for the giveaway. I hope that I win. Bernie W BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeleteA roll call of legends.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed the post. Thanks for the giveaway chance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this post, it was very interesting. I will probably read this book.
ReplyDeletewho inspired your characters?
ReplyDeleteI love all the musical references. It must have been great fun to research!
ReplyDeleteOh, to spend time with Janis Joplin!
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone's having a good weekend!
ReplyDeleteAw, I remember the day Mama Cass died - a great voice silenced. So sad.
ReplyDeleteOh boy, the start of another week ...
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI can't get this book out of my head!
ReplyDeleteSold! One copy to this woman!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how Amy W. re-dies?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteBook looks absolutely amazing! I would really like to read it!
Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the best for this Robin. It really deserves to do well!
ReplyDelete