Wednesday, October 5, 2011

LITTLE DID I KNOW BLOG TOUR SCAVENGER HUNT- AND GIVEAWAY

LITTLE DID I KNOW
A NOVEL
BY MITCHELL MAXWELL

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Samuel August dreams of producing bigger-than-life musicals in the grand tradition of summer stock. It is the summer of 1976, an endless party for America's two-hundredth birthday is in full swing with young men and women recklessly coming of age under star-studded skies lit by orange neon moons.
Sam has just one summer to learn how to grow into the theatrical producer he aspires to be.

LITTLE DID I KNOW is a wild sexy romp of surprise, a boundlessly entertaining story that proves the only option in pursuing a life of meaning and consequence is to follow your heart.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mitchell Maxwell is an accomplished producer, director and 35-year veteran of the entertainment industry, known for his ability to spot the next theatrical innovation. He is the visionary producer behind the percussive theatricality of Stomp!, the rollicking Broadway revival of Damn Yankees featuring the legendary Jerry Lewis – which was nominated for multiple Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical – and the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Dinner with Friends.  He has produced the Broadway musicals Play On!, Bells are Ringing (Tony-nominated for Best Revival of a Musical) Blues In The Night Tony Nominated as Best Musical) and Brooklyn.

Maxwell’s productions have been honored with nominations for 10 Tony Awards, 6 Olivier Awards, 15 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 9 Drama Desk Awards and 3 Obie Awards and have won in each category.  He directed the critically acclaimed Angry Housewives on London's West end and later off-Broadway, and produced the motion pictures and off-Broadway performances of Jeffery and Key Exchange

Off-Broadway he developed Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, and produced David Mamet's Oleanna, Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told and Scott Mc Pearson's Drama Desk winning Marvin's Room, - total 7 Broadway shows, more than 30 off-Broadway and regional productions, 4 National tours, 3 West End productions and 6 major motion pictures.  He has directed in New York, London and regionally, built 5 entertainment companies, and for over twenty years, owned and operated 3 off-Broadway theaters.

Maxwell attended Tufts University, where he later served as an adjunct professor, and has been a guest lecturer at Columbia and New York universities. He is the author of LITTLE DID I KNOW (Prospecta Press; October 2011) a novel in the classic roman á clef tradition that brings to life the glory days of summer stock.
---from MITCHELL MAXWELL'S Website at http://www.mitchellmaxwell.com/Home

PRAISE FOR MITCHELL MAXWELL AND LITTLE DID I KNOW:
 "Mitchell Maxwell has show business in his blood!  His theatrical passion courses though ever delicious and compelling page”
--Rob Marshall, Multi-Tony award winning choreographer and the Director of the Oscar winning Best Picture Film  - Chicago
 
When Mitchell Maxwell asked me to read the first 100 pages of his new novel LITTLE DID I KNOW---I could not put it down until I finished the entire book!  Over the years, I have represented many summer theatres across the country and the season he paints with such thrilling imagination and spot-on details, made me feel like I was instantly back in summer stock and the magic of youth.”
 --Peter Cromarty, Broadway Press Agent

“With wit and wile reminiscent of Moss Hart’s seminal Act One, Maxwell spins a tale of theatre in the provinces that will entertain, amuse, beguile, and inevitably move you.”
Frederick Zollo, Multi Tony, Oscar, Emmy-nominated TV, Film, Theatrical producer for Mississippi Burning, The Quiz Show and The Goat by Edward Albe
 
LITTLE DID I KNOW that Mitchell Maxwell’s first novel could be as titillating and epic as his award winning, tumultuous theater career. It’s an unforgettable summer, chockablock with passionate love, small town corruption and unbridled determination.
This book is truly too good to be true, but it is!”
Jeff Calhoun, Tony-nominated choreographer and director of the world premiere of Disney’s High  School Musical on Stage

THE BOOK BLOG SCAVENGER HUNT:
Here is today's excerpt from the LITTLE DID I KNOW  Blog Tour Scavenger Hunt:

We loved together, we lived together, and we shared more loony nights than days. Our experiences were infused with the urgency of having to live an entire lifetime within four college years. “Don’t miss out” was our mantra, and we honored it completely.
            Two months before this morning’s graduation, we had the cast party for the final musical we performed together. That night we had stayed up talking way past late.
 
For tomorrow's excerpt in the Scavenger Hunt, go to http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO ERIN AT MERYL L. MOSS
RELATIONS, INC, I HAVE ONE COPY
OF THIS FABULOUS BOOK TO GIVE AWAY
 
--U.S. AND CANADIAN RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
 

COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:


+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT LITTLE DID I KNOW  THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: I FOUND SO MANY INTERESTING THINGS AT THE AUTHOR'S WEBSITE. NOW YOU CAN COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING ABOUT AUTHOR MITCHELL MAXWELL AT HIS WEBSITE BY GOING HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU HAVE ENTERED MORE THAN ONE GIVEAWAY, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES
GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST,OCTOBER 29
GOOD LUCK!

Runway Report: Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012--Christian Dior--Photos + Full Runway Video!


Pretty Dior


Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012
continues and up next is the Christian Dior Spring 2012 Collection. Designer Bill Gaytten (John Galliano's right hand for over a decade)--who was tapped as Galliano's replacement after his escandalo--showed his first pret-a-porter (ready to wear) collection for the famed house. How did he do? Well, according to the editors and press, pretty good. The reviews are in and at least, they were better than what he received from his Dior Haute Couture show several months ago.

Dior Creative Director Bill Gaytten

Now, I'm sure you have been keeping up with all the "Who's Going To Design For Dior" DISH, Gaytten was picked as the "replacement" but word has it that his bosses feel it's a "transitional" position. It has been rumored that possibly Marc Jacobs might take over the Creative Director position. I've read this, so I'm sure Bill has too. It it said that contingent to taking the job, Jacobs would need (among other things, MULTI-MILLIONS!) to bring his entire team as well. Makes sense. But where does that leave Mr. Gaytten. Who knows. As a result of this "I don't know how long I will have my job" situation, Gaytten and his design team, did a just-very-nice job. No earth-shaking editorially-KRAZEE garments here. Just pretty clothes. Very "Lady Dior". Very sellable, which should make the execs happy. But let's be honest, the House of Dior doesn't really care if the clothes sell. It's ALL about the perfumes, sunglasses, and purses darling.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

But back to Gaytten's collection: These were dresses, jackets, skirts, that one could actually SEE in the the Christian Dior boutiques--as opposed to what Galliano did--most of that was Runway-only (which made for great WWD covers and lots and lots of press--good or bad--which in the end, sold more perfumes and sunglasses!). For Spring 2012, Gaytten showed the famed Dior Bar jacket, the late 40's/early 50's style dirndl and pleated full skirts. The Pretty lady-like sheath dresses. Reds, bold prints, bolder sequins and very Upper Class French Aristocrat styles: First Lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Totally.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

Capelet dresses were important, especially in light and airy gauze's, chiffon's and organza's.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

In the end of the Christian Dior Spring 2012 Runway show, supermodel Karlie Kloss (far right) sauntered out in a beautiful black lace and chiffon high-necked gown with a sheer single-layer floor-length skirt. As she turned around, all you could focus on was, well, her cheeks--her derrière. It was perfect, of course. Hello, it's Karlie Kloss. But many an editor couldn't help but wonder if showing her "you-know-what" as the FINAL vision one saw in his show--was a subliminal sign to his bosses...

Click Below for the Full Runway Show of Christian Dior Spring 2012
:


Runway Report: Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012--Christian Dior--Photos + Full Runway Video!


Pretty Dior


Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2012
continues and up next is the Christian Dior Spring 2012 Collection. Designer Bill Gaytten (John Galliano's right hand for over a decade)--who was tapped as Galliano's replacement after his escandalo--showed his first pret-a-porter (ready to wear) collection for the famed house. How did he do? Well, according to the editors and press, pretty good. The reviews are in and at least, they were better than what he received from his Dior Haute Couture show several months ago.

Dior Creative Director Bill Gaytten

Now, I'm sure you have been keeping up with all the "Who's Going To Design For Dior" DISH, Gaytten was picked as the "replacement" but word has it that his bosses feel it's a "transitional" position. It has been rumored that possibly Marc Jacobs might take over the Creative Director position. I've read this, so I'm sure Bill has too. It it said that contingent to taking the job, Jacobs would need (among other things, MULTI-MILLIONS!) to bring his entire team as well. Makes sense. But where does that leave Mr. Gaytten. Who knows. As a result of this "I don't know how long I will have my job" situation, Gaytten and his design team, did a just-very-nice job. No earth-shaking editorially-KRAZEE garments here. Just pretty clothes. Very "Lady Dior". Very sellable, which should make the execs happy. But let's be honest, the House of Dior doesn't really care if the clothes sell. It's ALL about the perfumes, sunglasses, and purses darling.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

But back to Gaytten's collection: These were dresses, jackets, skirts, that one could actually SEE in the the Christian Dior boutiques--as opposed to what Galliano did--most of that was Runway-only (which made for great WWD covers and lots and lots of press--good or bad--which in the end, sold more perfumes and sunglasses!). For Spring 2012, Gaytten showed the famed Dior Bar jacket, the late 40's/early 50's style dirndl and pleated full skirts. The Pretty lady-like sheath dresses. Reds, bold prints, bolder sequins and very Upper Class French Aristocrat styles: First Lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. Totally.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

Capelet dresses were important, especially in light and airy gauze's, chiffon's and organza's.

Christian Dior Spring/Summer 2012

In the end of the Christian Dior Spring 2012 Runway show, supermodel Karlie Kloss (far right) sauntered out in a beautiful black lace and chiffon high-necked gown with a sheer single-layer floor-length skirt. As she turned around, all you could focus on was, well, her cheeks--her derrière. It was perfect, of course. Hello, it's Karlie Kloss. But many an editor couldn't help but wonder if showing her "you-know-what" as the FINAL vision one saw in his show--was a subliminal sign to his bosses...

Click Below for the Full Runway Show of Christian Dior Spring 2012
:


Wednesday Remix: Red Jeans


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Previous Remixes:                                     Remixes previos:
- Red jeans.                                               - Jeans Rojos
- Leather pants                                        - Pantalones de "cuero"
-Denim vest                                             - Chaleco de mezclilla/jean.
- Pink jeans                                              -Jeans rosados
Lace tee                                                  - Camisa de encaje,
Leopard shirt                                        - Camisa de leopardo
- Simple white tee                                  - Camiseta blanca sencilla.
- White shorts                                         - Shorts blancos
- Pink blazer                                            - Blazer rosado
- Denim Shirt                                          - Camisa de mezclilla
Skinny cargos                                       - Pantalones cargo
- White blouse                                       - Blusa blanca
- HIgh waisted shorts                          - Shorts a la cintura
- Love shirt                                            - Camisa con un corazón.

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Which one is your favorite?

¿Cúal es tu favorito?


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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

LET'S GET COZY: BUTTON HOLED - PREVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 
 BUTTON HOLED
FIRST IN A NEW SERIES
BY KYLIE LOGAN
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Working out of her button shop in a Chicago brownstone, Josie Giancola has become one of the country's leading experts on buttons. Her reputation draws a Hollywood starlet to the Button Box to shop for one-of-a-kind buttons to adorn her made-to-order wedding gown. 

But after the Button Box is ransacked and the actress murdered, Josie's cozy world is thrown into chaos-and a killer is out to keep Josie's lips buttoned up...permanently.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kylie Logan is the pseudonym for author Casey Daniels. She has a degree in English, experience as a journalist and writing teacher, and lots of ideas for more her Pepper Martin mysteries. When she's not writing, she's usually with her family and two dogs, Ernie, an adorable Airedale pup, and Oscar, a rescued Jack Russell who spends far too much time watching TV. Daniels enjoys knitting, gardening and of course, stomping through cemeteries in search of history, stories and inspiration. BUTTON HOLED is the first in a new mystery series for her.

GIVEAWAY
THANKS TO KAITLYN AND THE GOOD 
FOLKS AT BERKLEY/NAL, I HAVE ONE
COPY OF THIS MYSTERY KYLIE
LOGAN, BUTTON HOLED,
TO GIVE AWAY
 
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
 

COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:


+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT BUTTON HOLED THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT KYLIE LOGAN'S (CASEY DANIELS) WEBSITE HERE

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE OTHER CURRENT GIVEAWAY OF MINE THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY ON EACH TO RECEIVE EXTRA ENTRIES

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 19
 GOOD LUCK!

Nick Verreos on Good Day LA TOMORROW Morning for Style Week Orange County 2011


Coffee, Eggs...Fashion...and Me!!!



I just got word that TOMORROW morning--Wednesday October 5--I will be doing a LIVE segment on L.A.'s Most Watched Morning News Program, Good Day L.A. on KTTV Fox 11. If you live in LA, you know the show is hosted by the FAB trio of Steve Edwards, Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Reynolds. I will not be in the studio but in fact will be LIVE from the Irvine Spectrum Center in Orange County talking about hosting Style Week OC 2011 and all the amazing events occurring during the week, including:

Fashion Designers Nick Verreos and Rachel Roy, Academy Awards 2011
  • Fashion Island runway presentations by Designers David Meister (tomorrow at 1pm)and Rachel Roy (Thursday at 1pm),
  • a Restaurant Rave with Mario Lopez and celebrity chef Jamie Gwen
Last Year's Cadillac Design Competition Winner, Design by Julia Nish
  • Three Fashion Shows THIS Friday NIGHT--which I am Hosting--including Cadillac: Contemporary Design Competition
So, if you happen to be up tomorrow morning making your coffee or your breakfast omelet, tune in to Good Day LA--KTTV Fox 11, 7-9am (around 8/8:30am might be my air time) and watch!

For More Info. on Style Week OC 2011:
  • Style Week OC 2011 Events at Fashion Island, Click HERE
  • Style Week OC 2011 Events at the Irvine Spectrum Center, Click HERE

Nick Verreos on Good Day LA TOMORROW Morning for Style Week Orange County 2011


Coffee, Eggs...Fashion...and Me!!!



I just got word that TOMORROW morning--Wednesday October 5--I will be doing a LIVE segment on L.A.'s Most Watched Morning News Program, Good Day L.A. on KTTV Fox 11. If you live in LA, you know the show is hosted by the FAB trio of Steve Edwards, Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Reynolds. I will not be in the studio but in fact will be LIVE from the Irvine Spectrum Center in Orange County talking about hosting Style Week OC 2011 and all the amazing events occurring during the week, including:

Fashion Designers Nick Verreos and Rachel Roy, Academy Awards 2011
  • Fashion Island runway presentations by Designers David Meister (tomorrow at 1pm)and Rachel Roy (Thursday at 1pm),
  • a Restaurant Rave with Mario Lopez and celebrity chef Jamie Gwen
Last Year's Cadillac Design Competition Winner, Design by Julia Nish
  • Three Fashion Shows THIS Friday NIGHT--which I am Hosting--including Cadillac: Contemporary Design Competition
So, if you happen to be up tomorrow morning making your coffee or your breakfast omelet, tune in to Good Day LA--KTTV Fox 11, 7-9am (around 8/8:30am might be my air time) and watch!

For More Info. on Style Week OC 2011:
  • Style Week OC 2011 Events at Fashion Island, Click HERE
  • Style Week OC 2011 Events at the Irvine Spectrum Center, Click HERE

Lattice Apple Pie Recipe

Lattice Apple Pie Recipe

Total Recipe Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Serves: 10

It’s the little things that turn a tasty pie into something outstanding. In this recipe, it’s the latticework top crust and apple filling laced with golden raisins, toasted walnuts and lemon zest.


Lattice Apple Pie Recipe Ingredients

DOUGH
2 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
1⁄2 cup solid vegetable shortening
7 Tbsp cold stick butter, cut in small pieces
1⁄2 tsp salt
6 to 7 Tbsp ice water
FILLING
1⁄2 cup apple cider or juice
1⁄2 cup golden raisins
1⁄2 cup walnuts, toasted (see Note) and coarsely chopped
1⁄2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 medium (2 lb) Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, cored and cut in 1⁄2-in.-thick wedges (61⁄2 cups)
1 Tbsp milk


How To Make

To make dough in food processor: Pulse flour, vegetable shortening, butter and salt until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle 6 Tbsp water over crumbs; pulse just until the mixture clumps together, adding remaining Tbsp water little by little if needed. Remove blade, then dough. By hand: Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in shortening and butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with 6 Tbsp water, then stir with a fork until the mixture clumps together, adding remaini

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 1-in.-thick disk. Wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour until firm enough to roll out, or up to 1 week.

Place oven rack in lowest position. Heat oven to 375°F. Have ready a 9-in. pie plate and foil-lined rimmed baking sheet.

Heat cider and raisins in a saucepan or a bowl in the microwave until hot. Cover, then remove from heat; set aside.

On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out half the dough to a 12-in. circle. Line pie plate with dough. Refrigerate.

On a piece of lightly floured wax paper, roll out remaining dough to a 12-in. circle. Cut with a pastry wheel or sharp knife into 1-in.-wide strips. Slide wax paper (with strips of dough) onto a baking sheet and refrigerate.
Mix nuts, sugar, flour, lemon zest, lemon juice and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add apples, soaked raisins and cider; toss gently to mix. Spread in pie plate, tucking apples in to fit. Scrape juices in bowl over filling.

Arrange half the strips over filling, using longest near the center. Lay remaining strips in opposite direction. Roll the overhang of bottom crust up over ends of strips to make an even rim. Flute decoratively. Brush lattice and rim with milk. Place on prepared rimmed baking sheet.

Bake 60 to 70 minutes until crust is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced. (If top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil.) Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Spread walnuts in a baking pan. Bake in 350°F oven 8 to 10 minutes until fragrant and toasted.


Crazy, Funky, Junky...

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Even though it still is very hot in Miami- I feel like you are able to wear jeans without melting (just don't stay too long outdoors). Also, a lot of you have asked me to do more looks with jeans and I'm trying to incorporate them more often in my wardrobe in a chic way- and I actually love this outfit! A couple of days ago I saw a girl wearing a necklace with a big feather- so I decided to use my feather earring and put it on a chain! Finally, I decided to add my lit as and a fedora. About my day: it was my last day of "vacation" (the mini break I had)- I just started a new quarter at the university and I'm so excited about the classes I'm taking! I spent the day running some errands, and having lunch! Thanks for stopping by! XOXO

__________________________________________



Aunque todavía esta haciendo bastante calor- ya uno se puede poner jeans sin derretirse (mientras no pases mucho tiempo en el sol). También me han pedido bastante looks con jeans, y estoy intentando incorporarlos a mi día a día sin sentirme desarreglada- al contrario, este look me gusta muchísimo. Les cuento que vi en un catálogo a una muchacha usando un collar con una pluma gigante- y se me ocurrió agarrar un zarcillo(arete) y guindarlo de una cadenita; quedó igualito y no me costó ni un centavo. Finalmente quise combinar el outfit con mis litas y una fedora. Sobre mi día: fue mi último día de mis mini-vacaciones, ya empecé clases otra vez! Así que estuve haciendo unas diligencias, descansando, y paseando un poco. Gracias por visitar el blog- se los agradezco muchísimo!


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Shoes/Zapatos: Jeffrey Campbell via Nasty Gal.
Bag/Cartera: c/o Mimi Boutique
Jeans: Forever 21
Top: c/o Bebe
Fedora: Agaci
Necklace/Collar:  c.o Mimi boutique Earrings.
Ring/Anillo: c/o Brittney Miranda.

Monday, October 3, 2011

SPYCATCHER: A GUEST REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

SPYCATCHER
BY MATTHEW DUNN

ABOUT THE BOOK:
A real life former field officer, Matthew Dunn makes an extraordinary debut with Spycatcher, a masterwork of international espionage fiction that crackles with electrifying authenticity. Fans of Daniel Silva, Robert Ludlum, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn will be on the edge of their seats as intelligence agent Will Cochrane—working on a joint covert mission for the CIA and MI6—sets out to capture a brilliant and ruthless Iranian spy. Timely and gripping, Spycatcher rockets the reader into a shadowy world of terrorism and counter-terrorism, and holds them in an iron grip until the last pulse-pounding page is turned.  

The most electrifying espionage thriller debut in years—and one of the first in modern memory to be written by a former agent under his own name . . .

Matthew Dunn spent years as an MI6 field operative working on some of the West’s most clandestine missions. He recruited and ran agents, planned and participated in special operations, and operated deep undercover throughout the world. In Spycatcher he draws on this fascinating experience to breathe urgent, dynamic new life into the contemporary spy novel.

Featuring deft and daring superspy Will Cochrane, Dunn paints a nerve-jangling, bracingly authentic picture of today’s secret world. It is a place where trust is precious and betrayal is cheap—and where violent death is the reward for being outplayed by your enemy.

Will Cochrane, the CIA’s and MI6’s most prized asset and deadliest weapon, has known little outside this world since childhood. And he’s never been outplayed. So far . . . 

Will’s controllers task him with finding and neutralizing one of today’s most wanted terrorist masterminds, a man believed to be an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general. Intending to use someone from the man’s past to flush him out of the shadows, Will believes he has the perfect plan, but he soon discovers, in a frantic chase from the capitals of Europe to New York City, that his adversary has more surprises in store and is much more treacherous than anyone he has ever faced—and survived—up to now. 

PRAISE FOR SPYCATCHER:
“Great talent, great imagination, and real been-there done-that authenticity make this one of the year’s best thriller debuts.”
—Lee Child 


“Not since Fleming charged Bond with the safety of the world has the international secret agent mystique been so anchored with an insider’s reality.”
—Noah Boyd, New York Times bestselling author of Agent X and The Bricklayer 


“A real spy proves he is a real writer—and a truly deft and inventive one. Spycatcher is a stunning debut.”
—Ted Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Warlord

 "Once in a while an espionage novelist comes along who has the smack of utter authenticity. Few are as daring as Matthew Dunn, fewer still as up-to-date. This isn’t the Cold War, this isn’t even the last ten years, it’s the CIA and MI6 as they are now.”
— John Lawton, author of A Lily of the Field and Black Out

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matthew Dunn spent 5 years in the British Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, as a field operative. His role required him to recruit and run agents, coordinate and participate in special operations, and to operate in deep-cover roles throughout the world in order to collect secret intelligence to support the West’s ongoing fight against hostile and unpredictable regimes, state-sponsored terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. His missions required him to travel extensively and typically he operated in highly hostile environments where, if compromised and captured, he would have been executed.

Matthew was trained in all aspects of intelligence collection and direct action including agent running and debriefing, deep-cover deployments, small-arms, explosives, military unarmed combat, surveillance, anti-surveillance, counter-surveillance, advanced driving, infiltration and exfiltration techniques, and covert communications. His skills were widely deployed by him in the field. Matthew typically worked alone but he also had significant experience of working with highly-specialized units of the British SAS and SBS as well as joint-operations with MI5, GCHQ, the CIA, and BND.

Matthew was security cleared to the very highest level in Britain.  Because of the nature of his work in MI6, Matthew is bound by a life-long pledge of secrecy regarding his methods of work, agents, missions and overall knowledge of the British Intelligence community and its allies.  He remains in close contact with MI6 and will never breach its trust in him. 

Medals are never awarded to modern MI6 officers, but Matthew was the recipient of a very rare personal commendation from the Secretary of State For Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs for work he did on one mission which was deemed so significant that it directly influenced the successful conclusion of a major international incident.


During his time in MI6, Matthew conducted approximately seventy missions. All of them were successful.

He is the author of the contemporary spy novel Spycatcher.

GUEST REVIEW:
Welcome to Guest Reviewer Steve Capell and please enjoy Steve's review of SPYCATCHER. If you haven't seen any of Steve's reviews on my blog before, check out some like THE CUT or THE SILENT GIRL.   You can also see Steve's reviews on his own blog at TRUE MEDIA SOLUTIONS. Steve is a family man who loves to read and spend time with his lovely wife where they live in the Kansas City area.

Spycatcher is the debut novel of Matthew Dunn, a former MI6 field officer. The protagonist character is Will Cochrane, the top MI6 agent who finds himself working mainly as his own boss but reporting to a joint MI6 and CIA higher command. Cochrane is on a mission to capture an Iranian terrorist mastermind by the name of Megiddo with the help of some of the elitist American operatives from the Navy SEALs, the Green Berets and Delta Force. Megiddo is so masterful and cunning that Cochrane has made up his mind that Megiddo death is both personal and also good for the world.

My thoughts.

I kept moving this novel back and reading others and now I wonder why. I really did enjoy this spy novel. Matthew Dunn obviously has the back ground and expertise to write a crime novel involving international espionage. I found the core story line to weave a tale of darkness and despair that kept me on the edge of seat through out the novel. The twists and turns especially at the end of this novel really added to the drama.  I liked the character development that Matthew Dunn did for Will Cochrane and I would have liked to seen more dialog and character development for Megiddo. The one area that I found hard to swallow was the amount of times Cochrane was shot, stabbed, chocked, hit, and kicked and was still able to go on with the mission. He must have been a super human ... needless to say I felt that the character lost some realism because of his ability to withstand almost anything that Megiddo threw at him.  I found the descriptions very vivid, and the emotions very raw. I look forward to Matthew Dunn's next novel.

I have given this novel a 4 rating out of 5.

Who should read this novel.

Anyone that likes mystery spy type novels will love this one.  While the novel is fiction I somehow felt that Matthew Dunn may have been involved in similar situations that this novel presents so if you would like to get a flavor of international espionage this will be must read.

 

In accordance with new FTC guidelines regarding endorsements and testimonials for bloggers I am disclosing the following: This book was provided by the publisher and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
GIVEAWAY

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