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Altered Frequency by Joya Fields – Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

Alright, there will be 2 giveaways. At each stop, Joya is giving away some trading cards for the book. Then there will be a Rafflecopter grand prize of a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to one winner. The rafflecopter link is at the bottom of the post.  Good luck!

Blurb:

After losing her father and brother in the line of duty, Missy Prescott vows never to get involved with anyone who has a dangerous job. Blessed with a golden voice, she takes a job as a disc jockey with her own late-night lovelorn dedication show on a popular radio station in Baltimore.

Blake Decker has never had a family. He has come to count on the only family he knows—his brothers on the police force. He’s a one-night-stand kind of guy when it comes to relationships.

Betty McAllister, the caring woman who used to live in Missy’s apartment, is now a ghost. She refuses to cross over until Blake—whom she viewed as her own son—is happily in love. She thinks Missy is the perfect girl for him.

Missy and Blake need to keep each other at a distance as they work together to help Betty find a way to cross over. But when danger lurks, will Missy and Blake lose everything?

 Ten Reasons Old Buildings Make Great Settings for Books

Thanks very much for hosting me today to chat about my newest release, Altered Frequency (Hauntings at Inner Harbor, Book 2). The trilogy is about a haunted Baltimore apartment building that’s over a hundred years old. Each story features a different couple, and a different ghost.

I loved setting this series in an old building because structures that have been around for a long time have so much character. There are floorboards that squeak when nobody’s there, tricks to get ancient parts to work, and a history of residents that you can almost feel when you step through the front door. And speaking of doors, that’s exactly what happens on the first page of Altered Frequency. The heroine struggles with the doorknob on her apartment door.

An elderly lady appears and instructs Missy, the heroine, to jiggle the knob to the left while she turns the key. Well, the trick works to open the door, but it turns out the lady is a ghost. A matchmaking ghost named Betty who makes it her mission to get Missy, who has a very good reason not to date cops, together with Blake, the sexy man across the hall who is a Baltimore policeman.

In honor of aging structures everywhere, here are ten reasons that old buildings make a great setting for ghost stories:

  1. Shutters that really work.
  2. Creepy cellars.
  3. 10-12 foot ceilings
  4. Architectural trim (on the ceilings and the base)
  5. Skeleton keys for doors. (How cool is that in a ghost story?)
  6. Drafty fireplaces that can blow out candles or create a sudden chill.
  7. Scary looking cracks in plaster ceilings and walls.
  8. Faulty electricity. (Comes in handy for romantic cuddling when the lights go      out.)
  9. Creaky floorboards.
  10. Hidden passages.

What do you think about old buildings and houses? Do you cherish them, or think they’re outdated? I’d love to hear from you. Thanks very much for stopping by!

Review:

As a reviewer/owner of this blog, there are certain words that I hate to use when writing a review.  I try to be professional in my review and yes, occasionally some cuss words come out and I’m sorry.  I could give you a list but the word that I’m going to use today that I hate is cute.  Yes, cute.  Cute describes an animal, a teenage boy when you are 14 or a pair of shoes.   It shouldn’t be used to describe a romance novel, but cute describes Altered Frequency to me.

I was smiling from page one until the end and I haven’t stopped. As most people know, I love a good ghost story.  Depending on the mood, it could be scary, horrifying (I did grow up devouring Stephen King), or funny.  Another thing about me, I believe in ghosts/spirits.  Whenever I see a cardinal (male or female) I feel as if my grandparents are watching over me.  Our family has a thing about cardinals.  🙂  Anywoos…

Missy and Blake are one of the cutest couples that I have had the pleasure of getting to know.  Each steadfast in their resolve to not get involved with each other but somehow its impossible with a matchmaking ghost.  They were honest with each other from the start about each other not getting involved and for this reader, I loved it.  Ms. Fields didn’t drag it out and the fun of the book was watching them try to deny it.  The scene in the car? Wow!  Yep, there is no denying the attraction after that.

But the main thing that I loved about the book was Blake and Missy’s relationship with Betty.  Betty was the mom that Blake never had and Missy had a friend that would talk to her after a day at the station.  Once, they realized that Betty hadn’t crossed over and wanted desperately to be with her Stanley, it was a race to get Betty there.  Betty was a perfectly written secondary character.  Try not to picture the earrings and track suit that she was wearing.  I swear, I felt like I reading about someone from the Miami, Florida area.  He he!

Once again, I’m amazed at the mind of some authors.  Ms. Fields painted a brilliant picture of the waterfront area of Baltimore for me and the building itself is a secondary character.  Plus, the world that she built is great, too.  Missy’s job was interesting and only added to the amazing twist at the end.  Who knew, right?  Oh that’s right…you need to read the book to find out what the twist is at the end.  😉  I would be remiss to not mention it but alas…read the book.  Missy can more than hold her own which only makes Blake fall in love with her more.

Altered Frequency is that perfectly cute book about a couple that didn’t want to fall in love but did.  A good-hearted ghost that wants nothing more to get to her beloved on the other side and needs our couple to fall in love to do it.  Oh, and finding her spirit guide, too.  She keeps missing him, too.

Again, I hate to use the word cute but I did.  Please forgive me.  But I can’t wait to read the first book in this series and bring on the third book, too.  Damn that building…

 

 

Author Bio: Joya Fields has had over 100 stories and articles published in local and national magazines. Her debut novel, a romantic suspense, was a NJRW GOLDEN LEAF WINNER FOR BEST FIRST BOOK OF 2012 and was nominated for RT Book Reviews 2012 Indie Press/Self-Published Contemporary Romance award. She’s since released three more books. Over the years, Joya has taught arts and crafts, worked in public relations, owned a daycare center, helped her children raise prize-winning 4-H livestock, competed in three marathons, and even spent a year as a Baltimore Colts cheerleader. Joya loves spending time with her high school sweetheart/husband of over twenty-five years, two very supportive children, and a pug who follows her everywhere. www.joyafields.com

Find Joya:

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=joya+fields

Goodreads Author Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5395700.Joya_Fields

Twitter: @joyafields

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/JoyaFieldsAuthor

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18 thoughts on “Altered Frequency by Joya Fields – Review/Guest Post/Giveaway

  1. I believe in some things not all, although i do wish sexy hot werewolves and beautiful vampires did exist, but hey ho a girl can dream……Thankyou for the great giveaway xxxxx

  2. Not 100 percent certain but there are so many unexplained things that I am open to the possibility

  3. Harlie, Thanks again for hosting me today. You have a wonderful following of interesting and fun commenters and I’ve had a blast. I really appreciate your support. 🙂 Joya

  4. I absolutely believe in things that go bump in the night (the paranormal) I have seen some odd things in my life, enough to at least have an open mind about it

    1. Stacey, I totally agree about having an open mind about things that go bump in the night. Seeing odd things can make you a believer! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

    1. Ghosts and angels are definitely fun things to believe in, Mary. I’m not sure about other creatures/beings, either. Thanks for stopping by today. 🙂

    1. Oh wow, Shelley. A 100 year-old railroad house sounds gorgeous. What a lot of history. Thanks very much for stopping by today. I hope you enjoy your old house. 🙂

    1. So glad you love reading about the paranormal, Victoria. Believing is fun…and a little scary, I guess. LOL. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

  5. Since I was little I’ve loved scary movies of all kinds. But there was a huge drawback to that.. No sleeping with closet doors open. Not owning a bed that wasnt a platform bed so nothing could be hiding underneath it and never sleeping in total darkness 🙂 I also would never live in an old house due to the 10 things you listed above. Ohh – would never live in a house with a basement either 🙂 That said I love the Hauntings series and the good ghosts like Betty and Angie from the first book.

    1. Cindy, you totally made me laugh out loud! At least you can watch scary movies. I can’t!! I can definitely see why basements are out of the question. Thanks very much for stopping by today and for all of your wonderful support. 🙂

  6. Oh my gosh, Harlie! I’m thrilled that you had such a great time getting to know Blake, Missy and Betty. Thank you so very much for hosting me today, and thank you for taking time to read and review Altered Frequency. And for the record…I am highly complimented by the word “cute” to describe this story!! 🙂

    1. You are most welcome. I just hate using that word sometimes but their story was very cute. It warmed my heart the whole time I read it. 🙂

      Harlie

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