Tag: Marianne Mancusi

Miss Out on This Year’s RT Book Lover’s Convention?

Posted May 15, 2009 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

…then catch everything you missed in this 10 minute video that Marianne Mancusi and Liz Maverick put together.

As always, these two know how to keep the party going and they definitely show the lighter side of romance. In this video, you’ll catch the highlights of the different panels, awards, book signings and so much more.

Check it out!

Romantic Times Convention Recap from Marianne Mancusi on Vimeo.

Who’s already planning for next year? I’ve got my fingers crossed….you?

You can check out more Marianne Mancusi goodness by visiting her on her blog. You can visit Liz Maverick at her site, here. Also, check out their Rebels of Romance blog as well, here.


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YA Authors Mari Mancusi and Melissa Walker Celebrate New Releases in Style

Posted December 4, 2008 by Holly in Promotions | 0 Comments


You know, I’ve always been somewhat jealous of the New York life Marianne Mancusi leads. If you read her blog (or her Rebels of Romance blog, which she co-authors with Liz Maverick) you’ll see she’s constantly out on the town, having drinks or going to parties. Or, if she’s working her day job, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. And once again, she’s showing the rest of us how it’s done.

Date: 12/03/2008

On Tuesday, December 2nd at NYC hotspot Butter (http://www.butterrestaurant.com/), authors Mari Mancusi (marimancusi.com) and Melissa Walker (melissacwalker.com) celebrated the release of their latest Young Adult novels.

In honor of Mancusi’s Gamer Girl, each table had a game for guests to play (Hungry Hippos and Operation got the most action). And the fashion world came out in force for the third book in Walker’s Violet series about a young model, Violet in Private.

“It was the perfect way to celebrate both our books and young adult fiction in general,” says Mancusi. “Elegant, with a hint of whimsy.”

Guests sipped Butter’s signature martinis and sampled pastry chef Zac Young’s high-quality chocolates. Nationally syndicated lifestyle show Better TV was on hand, filming the event for an upcoming segment on Mancusi and Walker and their books.

In attendance were media outlets Vogue, Teen Vogue, ELLE, InStyle, Daily Candy, AOL, Parents TV and CNN. Leading authors in both Young Adult and adult fiction also celebrated with Mancusi and Walker. At the party were Scott Westerfeld, Justine Larbalestier, Maureen Johnson, Bennett Madison, Deborah Gregory, Diana Peterfreund, Michael Northrop, Liz Maverick and Anisha Lakhani.

Book CoverI’m just sorry I missed it. If you haven’t already, be sure to pick up Gamer Girl and Violet In Private (Violet).

I haven’t read Walker, but I think Mancusi has an excellent YA voice.Book Cover

*Featured top left: Scott Westerfeld, Mari Mancusi, Diana Peterfreund, Melissa Walker


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Guest Review: Razor Girl by Marianne Mancusi

Posted September 5, 2008 by Ames in Reviews | 4 Comments

THE WORLD HAS ENDED, MOLLY.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

Molly Anderson is not your average twenty-one-year-old. It’s been six years since she and her family escaped into a bunker, led by her conspiracy theorist father and his foreknowledge of a plot to bring about the apocalypse. But her father’s precautions didn’t stop there. Molly is now built to survive.

Yes, Ian Anderson’s favorite book gave him ideas on how to “improve” his daughter. Molly is faster, stronger, and her ocular implants and razor-tipped nails set her apart. Apart, when—venturing alone out of the bunker and into a plague ravaged, monster-ridden wilderness—what Molly needs most is togetherness. Chase Griffin, a friend from her past, is her best bet. But while he and others have miraculously survived, the kind boy has become a tormented man. Together, these remnants of humanity must struggle toward trusting each other and journey to the one place Molly’s father believed all civilization would be reborn: a magic kingdom, where everyone knows it’s a small world after all.

I LOVE zombie movies. I don’t know what it is, but there you have it. So I jumped on the chance to read Razor Girl. Also reading Holly’s review didn’t hurt. LOL (Thanks for that background info on Molly Millions.)

Razor Girl is a futuristic tale that deals with a DNA mutation that creates zombies out of the majority of the populace. Our razor girl is Molly Anderson. The book features Molly’s current existence interspersed with flashbacks from when she was 15 – when the zombies began appearing. I enjoyed how the backstory played out at the same time as the current one.

Molly’s current existence is about survival. After people began getting sick, Molly and her mother were locked up for 6 years in an old fallout shelter created by Molly’s dad. Finally free, Molly’s main goal is to find her father – and fast. Before her encapsulation, Molly’s dad tampered with her blood to give her an edge, he put nanobots in her system and now those nanos are dying. But the nanos aren’t the only thing Ian Anderson did to Molly. He also gave her 4-inch blades under her finger nails and occular implants. She’s a lean, mean, fighting machine.

But on the outside, Molly’s still unknowledgeable about basic survival. She knows nothing about the Others and she ends up banding together with an old high school friend, Chase. After some Others attack their group, Chase talks Molly into taking their motley crew with her down to Disneyland, where her father was going to set up a new civilization and find a cure with his other science buds.

That’s the basic premise for Razor Girl. But their journey to Disneyland from California is wrought with danger and not all of it from the Others. I really enjoyed the roadtrip aspect to RG.

The characters…the characters are young. Molly was 15 when she was locked away, so now she’s 21. I don’t know that Chase is much older than her, so yeah, these are young characters for such a heavy theme (the end of the world and all). It makes sense though, that some of the reactions our characters have can be immature at times. That kind of got annoying, but it’s true to the characters. And there’s one person in particular I wanted to die a horrible horrible death. But it doesn’t happen so I’m giving RG a B. Well I’m not only giving it a B for that reason – I also would have liked to have seen some more zombie action. I don’t think Molly showcased her kick ass-ness enough.

All in all, definitely check out Razor Girl. There is action, there is love and there are zombies. What more can you ask for?

This book is available from Shomi. You can buy it here or here.


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Shomi Spotlight: Exceprt – Razor Girl by Marianne Mancusi

Posted August 14, 2008 by Holly in Promotions, Reviews | 0 Comments

Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy

I just finished reading this (see my review here) and I can tell you it’s fabulous. Do yourselves a favor and pre-order this today! Come on..you know you want to.

Book Cover

THE WORLD HAS ENDED, MOLLY.

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

Molly Anderson is not your average twenty-one-year-old. It’s been six years since she and her family escaped into a bunker, led by her conspiracy theorist father and his foreknowledge of a plot to bring about the apocalypse. But her father’s precautions didn’t stop there. Molly is now built to survive.

Yes, Ian Anderson’s favorite book gave him ideas on how to “improve” his daughter. Molly is faster, stronger, and her ocular implants and razor-tipped nails set her apart. Apart, when–venturing alone out of the bunker and into a plague ravaged, monster-ridden wilderness–what Molly needs most is togetherness. Chase Griffin, a friend from her past, is her best bet. But while he and others have miraculously survived, the kind boy has become a tormented man. Together, these remnants of humanity must struggle toward trusting each other and journey to the one place Molly’s father believed all civilization would be reborn: The Magic Kingdom, where everyone knows it’s a small world after all.

RAZOR GIRL by Marianne Mancusi

The zombie turned suddenly, bloodshot eyes zeroing in on where Chase stood in the shadows. Forcing himself to keep his breaths slow and regular, he lifted his rifle, trying not to make any sudden moves that would set her off. His hands shook, making it difficult to line up the female creature’s head. The money shot. The shot he’d need to take her down for good and protect his family with the least risk to himself. How had she gotten so close without him realizing?

The woman let out a muffled moan, hairless, bony arms outstretched like something from an old George Romero movie. But this was no film set. The world in 2036 had become a true horror flick, and Chase was one of its stars. He was the one who’d done the drugs, had sex with the girl and uttered the words, “I’ll be right back.” In other words, he was the one who was about to wind up dead.

It was more than a bit tempting to run. To get as far away as possible from this pus dripping creature formerly known as a human. But she was too close to the campsite where Molly and the children were sleeping. And while Chase had failed before things were different now. For the first time since the plague erupted, there was hope. And no dumb, oozing, post-apocalyptic monster was going to take that away. Not on his watch.

He blew out a breath and steadied his gun, eyes narrowing to slits. Steady as she goes, he told himself. This was a matter of protecting his family: both what was left of it and what he’d rebuilt. It was a matter of doing good, and not the simple rehash of senseless violence that once had been so popular on the silver screen. Shoot-’em-up slasher films… It was so different in reality-tougher to summon the courage to fire, to engage, to set in play the sequence of events that he knew had to follow.

In an instant it happened. The creature lurched forward and Chase fell back a step, squeezing the trigger of his rifle. Its recoil bruised his shoulder. Blood gouted from the woman’s chest-he’d missed. Only a flesh wound. And she was still coming. And two other shadows had appeared behind her. Three…no, four? How much ammunition was left in his gun?

He fired again at the Other, twice more, and her head exploded in a mass of red and grey pulp. At the same time he reached around his neck and pulled free a whistle. Sometimes this worked, as the creatures were sensitive to high-pitched noises. He blew as hard as he could. Sure enough, the shadows that had risen behind the first Other stopped moving. There came a cacophony of inhuman screeches and then the shadows dissipated. The creatures had turned and fled, hands over their ears.

Chase watched them go, breathing heavily. The whistle fell from his bloodless lips. “Yeah, I thought so,” he said, shaking out his arms and trying to regain some composure. “I thought so! Run, cowards!” He nodded to himself and stepped out from the shadows.

Only to find himself thrown backwards.

He crashed hard onto the asphalt of the street, the impact knocking the breath from his lungs. His vision blurred and, for a moment, nothing made any sense. Then he looked up and saw what had struck him. An Other towered above, clearly not scared away by his whistle. It was growling and spitting.

It was a huge male, and it lunged forward, hands finding Chase’s neck, encircling and squeezing tight, cutting off his breath. Desperate, Chase kicked out, slammed his foot into the creature’s groin. The monster bellowed but didn’t let go. Chase struggled harder, panic slamming through him as he used one arm to brace himself, fighting to keep away from the monster’s mouth. He reached for his boot with his free hand, feeling for the knife he always kept there. It took what seemed forever to wrap his fingers around the hilt. The creature’s grip tightened, and Chase saw blackness swimming toward him. Pain seared through his shoulder. Then, in his final moment of consciousness, he managed to yank the knife free and drive it into the creature’s heart.

The zombie recoiled then fell on top of him, crushing Chase with his weight. But the fingers loosened and Chase was able to breathe. He sucked in a huge breath and pushed the creature off. It rolled back onto the pavement, staring up at the sky and whimpering. The heart was always a weak spot.

Chase surged to his feet, stared down at the monster. It looked a lot more human lying there now, vulnerable and bleeding. This was something he always hated. He wondered who it had been before the change. A doctor? A lawyer? Maybe a humanitarian who built houses for poor people.

It didn’t matter. It was none of those things now, he reminded himself. Just a monster. A monster that needed to be put out of its misery.

He grabbed his rifle and pressed the barrel to the zombie’s head. Closing his eyes, he pulled the trigger. The shot shook his arm and echoed in his ears. He let the sound fade away before looking. The body was twitching, the head disintegrated.

He forced himself to look away but as he did a piercing pain found his right shoulder. Startled, he glanced down, his mouth falling open as he saw where his leather jacket had come open, where the shirt below was ripped and bloody. Teeth marks. He’d been bitten. He’d been bitten.

“Chase! Chase, are you okay?”

He looked up. Molly. She was running toward him, her face white.

“Chase?”

“I’m okay,” he said, turning at an angle so she couldn’t see his wound. “I got him.”

She stopped a few feet away, looking down at the remains of the two dead zombies. “God, what happened?” she asked.

“One got the jump on me. No big deal. It’s all fine,” he lied. The pain gripped his shoulder like a vise and it was all he could do not to fall to his knees. But if he fell, she’d know. He couldn’t let her know.

She took a step forward but he held out a hand. “I’m all slimy,” he said. “Zombie gook. You know. I’m going to go find a fountain or something to wash off.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked, peering at him, confusion and worry warring on her face.

He felt sick to his stomach but nodded. The last thing he wanted was to lie to her. But what choice did he have? He had to think of her and the kids. She was too weak to get where she needed to go on her own now. Wonderful Molly. Tough Molly. His beloved. She needed his help to find her father. To complete her pilgrimage. To save the world. And who knew how her priorities would change once she learned the truth?

Well, he had two weeks. Two weeks before the virus could work its way fully through his system, mutating his cells, destroying his brain and turning him into one of them: a diseased, merciless monster with an appetite for human flesh. An Other. He had two weeks to get Molly where she had to go. Then he’d use his rifle one last time-to put a bullet in his own head.

This book is available from Dorchester August 26, 2008. You can pre-order it here.


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Shomi Spotlight – Review: Razor Girl by Marianne Mancusi

Posted August 14, 2008 by Holly in Reviews | 7 Comments

Shomi Spotlight – Review: Razor Girl by Marianne MancusiReviewer: Holly
Razor Girl by Marianne Mancusi
Series: Apocalypse Later
Publisher: Love Spell
Publication Date: 2008
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Time Travel
Pages: 308
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
four-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

THE WORLD HAS ENDED, MOLLY.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?

Molly Anderson is not your average twenty-one-year-old. It’s been six years since she and her family escaped into a bunker, led by her conspiracy theorist father and his foreknowledge of a plot to bring about the apocalypse. But her father’s precautions didn’t stop there. Molly is now built to survive.

Yes, Ian Anderson’s favorite book gave him ideas on how to “improve” his daughter. Molly is faster, stronger, and her ocular implants and razor-tipped nails set her apart. Apart, when–venturing alone out of the bunker and into a plague ravaged, monster-ridden wilderness–what Molly needs most is togetherness.

Chase Griffin, a friend from her past, is her best bet. But while he and others have miraculously survived, the kind boy has become a tormented man. Together, these remnants of humanity must struggle toward trusting each other and journey to the one place Molly’s father believed all civilization would be reborn: The Magic Kingdom, where everyone knows it’s a small world after all.

It was with some trepidation that I started this novel. As I mentioned before, it’s hard for me to break out of my comfort zone and try new things. Beyond that even, I was somewhat nervous about this particular book because Molly Anderson is based on the character Molly Millions, most notably from Johnny Mnemonic and Neuromancer (Side Note: I always want to type Necromancer in stead of Neuromancer – no idea why this is: End Side Note), and those are some pretty large shoes to fill.

Six years after a Super Flu wipes out most of humanity, Molly Anderson emerges from a bomb shelter where she and her mother have been holed up. Her father, genius mad scientist Ian Anderson, has turned Molly into a Razor Girl. She has ocular implants over her eyes and 4 inch retractable razors under her fingernails. These are necessary because of “The Others”, victims of the flu who died..and then came back. The living dead. Flesh eating zombies.

Just after leaving the shelter, she runs into Chase Griffin, her high school boyfriend and the one she betrayed the night she was locked into the bunker with her mother. He and his older brother Tank – along with a couple other adults – have been living in the local Wal-Mart with about a dozen children. He invites Molly to join them, but she has to travel to Disney World to meet her father. He told her before sealing her inside the bomb shelter that he and his coleagues were going to reestablish society there. Molly had to move fast, because the nanos her father had implanted in her to make her stronger and faster are going to start breaking down, making her tired and ill.

Shortly after Molly arrives Tank and all the other adults are killed, leaving Chase and Molly in charge of all the children. They decide it would be better for them to travel together to Disney World in hopes of finding a new society. But Molly and Chase are also battling personal demons – and an attraction to each other.

Non-stop action packed. That pretty much describes this novel to a T. I was drawn in from the beginning. Though the tone of the novel is somewhat dark in post apocalyptic America, there is humor interlaced throughout. I literally laughed out loud several times. The world building was fantastic. I was totally drawn in by it.

It flips between past and present from one chapter to the next. At first I thought this wouldn’t work, but it does – surprisingly well, actually. The backstory of when the flu first struck is told throughout the present, which kept me interested. The chapters are also short, which I think helped.

While I enjoyed Molly and Chase as separate characters, I’m still on the fence about them together and how they reacted to each other. There were several misunderstandings, and more than once one or the other decided to make the “ultimate sacrifice” for the other. While I was able to forgive all in the end, it did mar my enjoyment somewhat.

Overall, this was a fast paced action-adventure with a fun twist on an old story. There were a few flaws, but I enjoyed it. I’d say my first foray into the Shomi world was a huge success, and I can’t wait to pick up the next novel.

4.0 out of 5

This book is available from Dorchester August 26, 2008. You can pre-order it here.

four-stars


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