Random Reviews by Leanne

 Guest post from Mr. O'Keefe:

Music is a big part of my life, I go to many concerts every year, I play piano, I listen to music whenever I’m driving and so when I wrote a book music had to be a big part of it. Aside from weaving songs into the text, I also tried hard to have the song mean something to the scene it is used in and to the character who hears it. With all that in mind, I give you the soundtrack to my second novel, Killer on the Road. If these songs mean something to you, let me know! I always enjoy hearing from like-minded people.

1. Medley: Aquarius/Leth the Sunshine in – The Fifth Dimension
2. Bad Moon Rising – C.C.R.
3. Uptown Girl – Billy Joel
4. Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
5. Richard Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries
6. Imagine – John Lennon
7. Eye in the Sky – The Allan Parsons Project
8. Rooms On Fire – Stevie Knicks
9. Real – William Shatner
10. John Newton’s Amazing Grace
11. The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Bob Dylan
12. All Through The Night – Cyndi Lauper
13. Riders of the Storm – The Doors
14. Hey Jude – The Beatles

This time I was lucky that every song I wanted to keep in the book stayed. Also you’ll note that I choose two pieces of classical music, they fit the scene in the book well and I thought it was a nice touch.  With the classical pieces (and “Amazing Grace”) the reader has the freedom of listening to their own favourite singer/performer play them rather than ones I picked.

As for the other songs, “Riders of the Storm” is the theme for the main villain Donald (as he’s literally a “Killer on the road”). The final tune, “Hey Jude” is not only about Joseph’s sad feelings but also for Jude (a black cat) in the book who happens to be my pet in real life (and yes I do sing “Hey Jude” to him sometimes for fun).

Synopsis:

If Mathias thought being homeless sucked, being a vampire is worse. The vampires who transformed him believe he is the reincarnation of an ancient king. They expect him to quit swearing, use a napkin, and play by their weird,
ancient rules. Screw that.

But after the reigning queen assaults Mathias, he has visions of a past life in which he was that king. Turns out the current queen killed him then, and wants to kill him again. He’d better grow up fast, because if he doesn’t his second life may be shorter than his first.

 My review:  I enjoyed meeting Mathias and watching him grow. I loved the other characters and their huge differences. I even loved the villain in this book. Over all the characters were well rounded and the plot was pretty good too. I loved the lead up and found it hard to put down once I got started. (Which angered my family as I was not able to go to bed until I finished it at about 7 O'clock in the morning lol). I would recommend this book to those that like vampire novels. It met my expectation of a good read and exceeded it in a few instance but you have to buy the book to understand.

About the author:

Danielle DeVor spent her early years fantasizing about vampires and watching "Salem's Lot" way too many times. After living briefly in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she moved back to her hometown to write. When not writing and reading about weird things, you will find her hanging out at the nearest coffee shop, enjoying a mocha frappuccino.