Suspense, romance and a heart-stopping tale.... Shirley Kennedy's Deadly Gamble is available for everyone today! At the heart of Deadly Gamble is a mystery that will keep readers guessing as they try to solve it. In this case, what happens in Vegas, you can read about today! At Inkspell, we love sharing the stories we love with you, our readers. And we love making the dreams of our authors come true with another book birthday! :)  When attractive Kristi Andrews is hired as Assistant Marketing Director at the Parthenon hotel/casino in Las Vegas, she’s focused on succeeding at her new job. But from the very first day, strange events occur: a deadly escalator accident—the strange death of a candle shop owner—a psychic’s warning that the Parthenon is doomed AND IT’S ALL KRISTI’S FAULT.
Shocked and baffled, Kristi must determine if she could be responsible for the mysterious, evil presence that seems to haunt the hotel. She’s aided by a man she’s just met—famous western historical author, Mike Garvey. Attracted to Kristi, Mike goes one hundred fifty years back in time to draw upon his knowledge of old Las Vegas and the Santa Fe Trail. They are the key to a puzzling mystery which Kristi must solve if she wants to save not only the Parthenon but the entire Las Vegas Strip from total disaster.
Pick up your copy of Deadly Gamble today and share the love!
Don't you love when you see the cover for the first time? I think that the cover tells the tale of the book and should grab the reader's attention. What does this cover tell you? I know I can't wait to get my hands on the book! All that light and dark is perfect for this paranormal romance!  When attractive Kristi Andrews is hired as Assistant Marketing Director at the Parthenon hotel/casino in Las Vegas, she’s focused on succeeding at her new job. But from the very first day, strange events occur: a deadly escalator accident—the strange death of a candle shop owner—a psychic’s warning that the Parthenon is doomed AND IT’S ALL KRISTI’S FAULT.
Shocked and baffled, Kristi must determine if she could be responsible for the mysterious, evil presence that seems to haunt the hotel. She’s aided by a man she’s just met—famous western historical author, Mike Garvey. Attracted to Kristi, Mike goes one hundred fifty years back in time to draw upon his knowledge of old Las Vegas and the Santa Fe Trail. They are the key to a puzzling mystery which Kristi must solve if she wants to save not only the Parthenon but the entire Las Vegas Strip from total disaster.
Pre-Order Your Copy Today!!  About the Author:
Shirley Kennedy wrote and published Regency romances for several years for both Ballantine and Signet. She switched genres to write a wagon train romance. When struck with what she called “a great idea” about a haunted casino in Las Vegas, she was compelled to abandon both Regency England and the Old West to write Deadly Gamble.
Born and raised in Fresno, California, Shirley has lived in such diverse places as Denver; Houston; Torrance, California; Bogota ,Colombia; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Sciences at the University of Calgary. She worked as a computer programmer/systems analyst for several years before she went back to her first love, writing.
Shirley lives close to her two daughters in Las Vegas Nevada. Brutus and Sparky, her two editorial assistants on the furry side, love to nap in the sunshine next to her computer while she produces her next novel.
See Shirley’s web site at www.shirleykennedy.com
Her published books include:
Heartbreak Trail, Camel Press
Three Wishes for Miss Winthrop, Signet
Lady Flora's Fantasy, Signet
The Irish Upstart, Signet
The Selfless Sister, Signet
The Rebellious Twin, Signet
The London Belle, Signet
Lady Semple's Secret, Ballantine
After publishing and reading so many wonderful books this year, we thought to ask our authors about their favorites. What book did they feel was their favorite read of 2012. What do you think of their choices and do you agree? What books would you choose? Let us know your thoughts!  Sasha Summers:
I can’t give you an absolute favorite book of 2012 because that’s impossible but I can tell you that one of my favorite books was Anna and the French Kiss. I’m not sure if it was the dreamy British hero, the awkward American heroine, the transporting backdrops, or the ‘authentic’ tone that Stephanie Perkins managed to capture throughout, but this book stuck with me. The second book – not so much – but Anna and St. Clair are still some faves of mine… Why does some of this feel familiar… Hmmmm?
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 Lisa Voisin:
It's a tough call, because I've read so many great books this year, but I'd have to say my favorite book for 2012 has to be The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. I'm a huge fan of Ms. Clare's Mortal Instruments series and loved the world and characters she created. As book two of The Infernal Devices trilogy, The Clockwork Prince is set in the same universe but instead of New York city in modern day, this series is set in London during the Victorian era. Ms. Clare's descriptions and storytelling ability just seems to get better an better with each book, transporting me not only to another world, but to another time and place. The Clockwork Prince had me reading late into the night, unable to put it down.
In fact, I love The Infernal Devices so much that I'm looking forward to The Clockwork Princess, the third book in the trilogy, coming out at the end of March almost as much as my own debut release of The Watcher on March 4th.
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 T. Michelle Nelson:
I don’t typically read a ton of YA literature. At least I didn’t until this last year. There are tons of great new YA books out there right now. Jamie Manning’s BLOOD BORN for example, is an awesome book, especially for us vampire lovers, and a book written by Inkspell’s own Stephanie Keyes called THE STAR CHILD was amazing as well.
THE STAR CHILD grabbed my attention from the moment I heard of it because I’ve been a little obsessed with Ireland for a while. I had hopes of reading about the beautiful scenery and Irish culture if nothing else. You get that with Keye’s book, but you also get a story that will suck you in and keep you up for hours reading. Kellen St. James, her main character, is relatable and well-developed. Exactly the kind of guy you want to root for to save the world.
Keyes builds a world that is magical and takes the reader on a journey unlike any other book. THE STAR CHILD is masterfully written and a fast read, and I’d suggest just that. Read it fast before her second book comes out in April. I know I can’t wait. (Hopefully she will read this review and send me an advanced copy. *hint*)
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 Kristy Centeno:
Baptism of Fire by Stephanie Constante had me hooked by the first chapter.
First of all, let me just say that not once since I began to read was I bored with this book. It was an absolute page turner. In fact, I read it in two days (and only because I needed a good night sleep). Otherwise, I would have read it all the first night.
The romantic elements to this story are strong and captivating. The characters are charismatic, fun, and entertaining. The plot is unique and keeps you interested from the very beginning.
Aidan, the hero of the story, is so easy to love because of his personality. His charm would win any girl’s heart. I loved the fact that his identity caught me completely off guard and I had no idea who he really was until he revealed it to Leito.
I’m looking forward to reading the second installment to this series. I just need to know what happens to Aidan and Leito.
Would I recommend this book to Young adults’ enthusiast? Most definitely. It has everything you love about a fantasy novel with a splash of romance and adventure added to the mix.
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 Stephanie Keyes:
This year, my favorite read was The Life & Death Of Lily Drake by T. Michelle Nelson. It seems like so many of the books that I pick up lately have wimpy female characters. When that happens, I don't feel committed to seeing the book through. Instead, I just bow out. Not only did this book have a gutsy female lead, but it's not like any other book out there. I just loved that.
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 Deb Peterson:
My favorite read in 2012? "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman.
Why? Because it was just so much fun! Princess Bride is one of my favorite movies of all time and so I wanted to read the book, just to compare the two. (After all, William Goldman wrote both the book and the screen play). There were differences, of course, and I found them both enjoyable and interesting. I enjoyed reading the back stories of the characters that we missed out on during the movie. All of the humorous asides put in by Goldman made for a lighthearted read. If you love "Princess Bride" the movie... then you must read the book if you haven't already!
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 Kacey Vanderkarr:
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare is the best book of 2012 for me. Her world-building skills always amaze me. I’m sucked into her books, which lead me through a gamut of emotions. I laugh, I cry, I get angry, and come out the other end more in love with the characters than ever before. The best part is knowing that I’ll get to experience it all over again as movies.
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 Shirley Kennedy:Since you didn't say the book had to be published in 2012, I'm taking the liberty of recommending an old book that's out of print, although copies are still available from used book dealers.
Gus the Great by Thomas Duncan is a book that somehow got lost in time and it shouldn't have. Here's a review I wrote on Amazon,http://www.amazon.com/Gus-Great-Thomas-W-Duncan/dp/2702836372/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358032386&sr=1-1&keywords=gus+the+great
"Recently I thought of a book I read many years ago. I couldn't remember the title, name of author, or even what it was about except maybe a circus. All I could remember was that it was beautifully written and held me fascinated from the very first page.
Finally in the middle of the night it popped into my head: GUS THE GREAT. I bought a copy and just finished it. There are so many books written decades ago that are out-of-date but not this one. It's as good as ever and I can honestly say one of the best books I ever read."
What were your favorite reads of 2012? What books could you not have lived without? What books captivated your days and nights? We'd love to hear from you!
This Wednesday for our Writer's Spotlight we are fortunate to have a guest post by amazing author, Shirley Kennedy. Her books are wildly read and highly recommended. Shirley is writing today about the importance of research and getting it right. If you want to see more about Shirley Kennedy, check out her website at: www.shirleykennedy.com. 
A Writer’s Adventures in Researchland, The Good, the Bad, and the Very Annoying
by Shirley Kennedy
I once knew a writer named Glenn who didn’t believe in research. He was writing a fabulous men’s adventure novel which, style-wise, rivaled Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, and throw in a little Mickey Spillane. Just one little thing: Glen’s hero landed at generic airports throughout the world, stayed at generic hotels, dined on generic food at generic restaurants. No detailed descriptions, ever.
Surprise, surprise. Glenn never got published.
Of course, a good writer must do research. But how much is too much? Authors must tread a fine line between nothing at all to long, boring paragraphs of description which scream “Skip me!”
Equally annoying are authors who did the research and feel they must cram every factoid they discovered into the story. “Without warning, Snerdly pulled his Ruger SR9c compact pistol from his pocket—a menacing weapon weighing 23.40 ounces, overall length of 6.88 inches, with a standard magazine that could hold ten rounds…” E’nuff said.
Get it right or else! My earlier books were all Regency romances, a genre wherein the author enters the treacherous world of Regency England at her peril. Get every detail correct or a legion of dedicated fans will let you know YOU MADE A MISTAKE. To this day, my one-and-only horrendous slipup is on display for the world to see. See Three Wishes for Miss Winthrop on Amazon.
Among the reviews are two entitled, “A Great Story, slight Marred by Error,” and (yikes!) “A hole you could drive a truck through.” These sharp-eyed reviewers were, much to my dismay, correct. My hero, John Weston, Lord Granville, would not have remained a member of the House of Commons after his father died. Instead, he would have then belonged to The House of Lords. After all my in-depth research, how could I have made such a blunder? How could my editor have let it slip by? (Palm slapped to forehead here.) At least I was able to correct my error in the e-book edition. If you look in the “Comments”section under the reviews you will see my very humble apology and assurances such an atrocity will never happen again.
Back in the day, a diligent writer spent hours in the local library pouring over rows of card catalogs. Usually made of sturdy oak, these catalogs consisted of long, narrow drawers filled with a separate card for every book in the library. We hauled these heavy drawers to a table, thumbed through hundreds—thousands! of cards, copied down long, intricate numbers from the Dewey Decimal System, spent more hours combing the stacks for the actual books. Now computers save us countless hours of work.
Not all answers can be found in a book. That’s why I love the Internet and enjoy using it. In one of my Regency romances, my heroine was an avid bird watcher. (Off topic note: Don’t laugh. All heroines should have some kind of special interest—not easy back when women didn’t do much except marry and have children.) What kind of bird would my heroine see in the woods outside of York, England in 1815? I went on-line and found The York Ornithological Club. Its president, a friendly professor, went out of his way to describe birds that lived in the York area during Regency times. I ended up using a Yellowbird—easy to describe because that nice man even sent me a picture. A lovely experience.
Sometimes both books and the Internet are not enough. For my paranormal romance, Deadly Gamble, I had to conduct in-person interviews with casino employees in order to know what really goes on behind the scenes. Since my story goes back in time, via the Internet I discovered the Old Spanish Trail cut right through Las Vegas before it was even a town. Back then, it was all of three springs called ‘The Meadows’, or in Spanish, ‘Las Vegas.’ You could not drown in these springs! Even if you wanted to! Bubbling cauldrons at the bottom would keep you afloat—and yes, I could not
resist such a fascinating factoid. It’s in the book.
Somewhere there must be a graveyard for old card catalogs, typewriters, carbon paper, and ink erasers. Some things never change, though. One way or another, authors must still do their research, or perish career-wise, like poor old Glenn.
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