Remembering the Past

“Those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it.”

I’m uncertain who first said this, but he or she spoke with wisdom.  The past, whether speaking historically or personally, is a foundational element that has shaped the present and will continue to mold the future.   Learning from the past helps ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated; both those made by us and by others.  It is only when we pretend the past doesn’t exist that we find ourselves on a similar path toward destruction.

No one knows this better than Angel from the Just Call Me Angel series.  The problem she encounters is that she doesn’t know about her family’s past, so learning from it isn’t an option.  In fact, she doesn’t usually find out about the past until it has already come back to bite her in the ass.   Be that as it may, Angel is determined not to allow history to repeat itself.  From the moment she learns the truth about her identity and her Mafia roots, she sets out on a course to change the face of the mob.

Meet Angel and join her as she uncovers Tetterbaum’s Truth…now in Audiobook.

Unsuspected Uprising

RUSSIAN UPRISING _{by S.R.Claridge}

Third book in the Just Call Me Angel series

 After a brutal attack on Tetterbaum’s Pub, Angel discovers the five Chicago families have been infiltrated by the Russian Bratva. When the Cappo Di Tutti Capi orders a hit on her most trusted men, she is forced to walk a fine line between compassion and rage; taking drastic measures to flush out the infiltrators before more people die.  Traitors are friends and friends become enemies in this deceptive Mafia world, where Angel’s only hope of stopping the Russian uprising is to turn against her own blood. 

You can watch the video trailer HERE.

Purchase Russian Uprising today in either Ebook or print format.

USA Today Recommends LOOSE ENDS

I am excited to announce that my latest release, Loose Ends, the fifth novel in the Just Call Me Angel series is NOW AVAILABLE and has been included in the USA Today HEA listing of books.  You can view the full USA Today listing HERE.

If you have yet had the opportunity to read the Just Call Me Angel series, I will be offering a small sampling of each novel this week on my blog, so please check back daily. 

 

Loose Ends _{by S.R.Claridge}

Fifth book in the Just Call Me Angel series

It's been a year since Angel discovered her true identity in the Mafia world and being the first female boss has had its challenges. She's been kidnapped, shot at, Tasered, blown up and thrown out of a plane. Not many women can say that. Through it all she's learned that family loyalty means everything, traitors aren't tolerated and love can be deadly. Unraveling the truth means tying up loose ends so they cannot ensnare the family again. The only problem is some loose ends aren't fit to be tied.

 

Like all of the Just Call Me Angel novels, Loose Ends can be purchased in Ebook or print at any of these online retailers:
Smashwords
Amazon
AllRomanceEbooks
 Barnes & Noble

You can also visit my website for a free read of the first thirty pages of Loose Ends (or any of my other novels, as well):
www.AuthorSRClaridge.com
At the top, click on the tab:  FREE READ

 

 

Entertaining Enquiries

I love my readers and particularly enjoy it when they contact me out of the blue to comment about or question something I have said or written.  I laugh out loud reading some of the emails…so let me just say, thank you.  Thank you for reading my books and for taking the time to write to me and share your thoughts.  Keep 'em coming!

One of my favorite things to do as an author is to meet with book clubs.  Most of the clubs with which I have had the privilege of meeting have been predominantly composed of women, and we have spent the evening in a casual environment, drinking wine and gossiping about our favorite characters.  I love these meetings because it not only gives me a chance to meet some phenomenal women, but I get to hear their perspectives on the characters, scenes and circumstances I have created.  What’s more, they keep me quite entertained with their questions; some of which I would like to share. 

 

Here are the three most common questions I am asked with regards to my novels:

·         In No Easy Way, you wrote about a broken marriage, wherein both the hero and the heroine were engaged in inappropriate behavior with other people.  Do you believe a marriage can survive what Tom and Kate’s marriage endured in the book? 

 

Yes.  Marriage is a lot of work and no relationship is or ever will be perfect.  People make mistakes…painful, awful, life-altering mistakes…but those errors don’t necessarily have to destroy the marriage.  Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.  It’s a choice only the two persons involved can make.  The whole point of No Easy Way was to show that real couples can experience real heartache and come out stronger in the end…but there’s “no easy way” through it.

 

·         If you were Angel Maratinzano from the Just Call Me Angel series, would you pick Tony or Andrew?

This is one of the most popular questions I am asked and it also happens to be one of the first questions I ask my readers, as well.  Who would YOU pick?  Andrew is logical, stable and romantic.  Tony is passionate, fiery and strong-willed.  Both are tall, dark and handsome with a muscular physique and an appealing sense of humor.  Both are excellent lovers, cherish Angel deeply and would die to protect her.  Tony calls her “babe” and Andrew calls her “sweetheart.”  Surely if we could mesh the two together it would create the perfect man; but we can’t. 

If I can’t choose between them, how can I expect Angel to pick one? 

 

·        Do you find Angel’s promiscuity (i.e. sleeping with Grayson, Tony and Andrew) to be inappropriate?

I LOVE this question!  Here’s why…  Angel hasn’t slept with Tony in the series…yet.  She and Tony met in college, fell in love and were engaged to be married; then his family found out who she was and forced him to leave her.  In Tetterbaum’s Truth, Angel reminisces about making-love with Tony, but they have never again indulged in sexual activity beyond a passionate kiss now and again.  Furthermore, she has only made-love with Andrew one time during the course of four novels.  I would hardly call this promiscuity.  Grayson Galante was her only promiscuous fling and that was birthed out of her broken heart after Tony left.  Well, that, and the fact that she was driven by pure lust for his body.  For an un-wed, unattached, attractive, young woman, I’d say she hasn’t been very promiscuous at all.  J

 

 

 

If you would like to have Author S.R.Claridge visit your Book Club, click Here for contact and booking instructions.

The "Olga Complex"

Spammers piss me off.  That statement applies to online, email and telephone spammers.  People who intentionally comment on blog posts only for the purpose of marketing their products should be smacked.  I understand the importance of marketing but do they honestly believe this is an effective way to increase sales?  Are they really that stupid?  This type of spamming is up there in my book with all of the penile dysfunction spam emails I receive.  I mean, really?  I don’t even have a penis so why are they sending me advertisements for ED drugs?  Have they ever considered targeting their spam emails to an appropriate demographic?  Perhaps that would prove more prosperous…duh?!

Another form of spamming that I find utterly distasteful are the telemarketers that call me at home to solicit their products.  If I want a vacuum I’ll go purchase one at the store.  If I’m interested in a timeshare, I’ll contact a realtor on my own, thank you very much.  Please, don’t try to sell me something when I’m in the middle of homework or dinner.  I consider it rude.  It creates in me what I call the “Olga Complex.” 

This is a reference that has grown out of the Just Call Me Angel series and is based on the character of Angel’s Great Aunt, Olga.  When Olga gets angry or annoyed, she feels an ever-growing and powerful desire to Taser the object of her irritation.  With regards to spammers, I can totally relate.  One little zap through the telephone lines would most assuredly remove my name from their call list.  I have to admit, it’s an electrifying thought!  J

Tasers, Lasers and Phasers

When I grow old, I want to be like Aunt Olga from the Just Call Me Angel series.  I want to appreciate each day, have a positive outlook and a spunky demeanor.  I want to make people smile with my silliness or whimsical wit.  Sure, Olga can be an eavesdropping, mis-match-making, Taser toting nuisance at times; but she’s always there for Angel.  That’s the solid sort of woman I want to become, especially for my children.

 

I might be over-zealous, explosive and downright difficult to handle, but my loyalty and devotion will never be in question.  I want my loved ones to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m “in”… that I’m down with it, hip to it, up for it, in the mix, got a grip, rockin’, rollin’, willing and ready to participate in whatever life brings.

Whether armed with Tasers, lasers or phasers, I want my family to know I’ve got their back; that there’s nothing in this world we can’t work through and walk through together.

I don’t want years or fears to slow me down because the way I see it, we get one life and, like Olga, I want to live in the moment…every moment of every hour of every day. ~

 

Top 9mm Moments

Mafia boss, Angel Maratinzano, has a new best friend… a 9mm; and she doesn’t leave home without it.  People may betray her trust, but her 9mm always comes to her defense.  Stuffed neatly in the waistband of her jeans and resting on her tailbone, her gun literally “has her back.”

Her gun is like a trusted friend…you may not always need them but it’s always nice to know they’re there….just in case.

Let’s take a look at Angel's Top 9mm Moments:

1.       She pulls the gun on Andrew, unsure of whether she can trust him.

2.      Grayson takes the gun from her hand and, later, Tasers her.

3.      She pulls the gun on Andrew again, lowering it only after he pulls her into a deep, and passionate kiss.

4.      In a hospital shoot-out, Angel freezes while another woman uses her 9mm to kill their attacker.

5.      Angel finally learns she can pull the trigger in a train station, while saving her mother.

6.      In a shoot-out with the Russians, Angel’s gun is taken but she makes do with a handheld Uzi, which she steals from a Russian mobster who had just been shot.

7.      Thrown from a plane in Death Trap, Angel’s 9mm survives the fall with her.

8.     Blown off of a pier, her gun is retrieved from the bottom of the lake.

9.      With her finger on the trigger and her gun in Anya’s face, Angel must decide whether to let sense or rage be her guide.

If you haven’t met Angel Maratinzano, her aunt Olga, Giovanni, Salvatore, her mother Sophia and love interests, Tony and Andrew…what are you waiting for????

 

The Just Call Me Angel series has been called a "non-stop ride of action and adventure" by BookWatch Magazine and a "bona fide suspense thriller" by APEXreviews.

 

In the words of the Godfather, "I'm going to ask you to do me a little favor".... read these books...that's an offer you shouldn't refuse.  :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mafia Queen

I have had the opportunity to be featured in an interview, entitled "S.R.Claridge Mafia Queen" with Smoky Zeidel.  It was a fun interview and I hope you will follow the link (in red) below and check it out.  Also, come back here and leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of one of the novels in the Just Call Me Angel series.


 

S.R.Claridge Mafia Queen by Smoky Zeidel

 

 

An Offer You Can't Refuse

Order your books today:   www.AuthorSRClaridge.com

Rave Reviews

The Just Call Me Angel series is receiving rave reviews!

"Murder, suspense, and thrills—all enmeshed in wild, intelligent plotting."  AllBooksReviews

"A non-stop ride of action and adventure."  APEXReviews

"A perfect mix of excitement, action, mystery and romance."  EuroReviews

Don't miss out!  Get your copies today in paperback or ebook at Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Smashwords.  Or visit my website for a free look at the first chapter of each book:

www.AuthorSRClaridge.com 

New Review of Tetterbaum's Truth

I am excited to announce that a new review of Tetterbaum's Truth is now circulating.  Thank you to AllBookReviews.   You can check out the review at this link:

http://allbooksreview.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/review-of-tetterbaums-truth-by-s-r-claridge/

TCM gives Tetterbaum's Truth a Thumbs-Up Review

Tetterbaum's Truth S.R. Claridge Vanilla Heart Publishing ISBN: 1935407899

5 STAR REVIEW by TCM

Twenty-nine year old Angel May Martin is the owner of Tetterbaum’s Pub in Chicago. Tetterbaum’s Pub was opened in 1936 by the Tetterbaum family and Angel worked as a waitress at Tetterbaum’s until the sudden death of Ernest Tetterbaum. His widow sold the pub to Angel at a price she couldn’t resist.

For the past year Angel has been carrying on with one Grayson Galante, it is only in Grayson’s arms that Angel feels she can be anyone she wants to be. Even after multiple warnings from co-worker Andrew, Angel continues seeing Grayson until a tragic accident changes everything and turns Angel’s world upside down.

To complicate her life even further Angel’s ex-boyfriend, Tony, reappears in her life and everything is spinning out of control. Angel’s obsession for finding answers grows stronger with each passing day and she decides to search for answers on her own. Angel soon discovers she isn’t who she thought she was and that Tetterbaum’s Pub may hold the key to her past – a past she knew nothing about.   Tetterbaum’s Truth is fast-paced, full of surprises and will keep you reading long into the night.

WELL WORTH THE READ.  5 STARS.

Press Release

PRESS RELEASE - VEGAS

Can You Handle the TRUTH?

April 2011 - Book one in a new mystery series by suspense novelist,

S.R.Claridge, takes readers on a riveting ride.

Mystery, Mafia and sexy Italian Men lay the groundwork for this tenacious tale of Crime Family mayhem set in present day Chicago.  TETTERBAUM’S TRUTH by author S.R.Claridge portrays a unique look at the Mafia from a fresh and feisty female perspective.  

When heroine, Angel Martin, learns her entire life has been one carefully orchestrated lie, she sets out to find answers.  Her quest begins at a Chicago Mafia hot-spot called Tetterbaum’s Pub, where she discovers that the late Mr. Tetterbaum held secrets worth killing for.  With her true identity now exposed, Angel must uncover the evidence Tetterbaum hid before the Crime families shut her down.  The closer she gets to the proof, the more she wonders if anyone can handle Tetterbaum’s Truth.

As the first installment in the Just Call Me Angel series contracted by Vanilla Heart Publishing and Author S.R.Claridge, TETTERBAUM’S TRUTH is an edge-of-your-seat mystery thrill-ride, where the characters are believable, motives are unpredictable, and the outcome will leave you wanting more. 

S.R.Claridge will begin her western book tour in VEGAS on May 5^th and 6^th to promote TETTERBAUM’S TRUTH, which is now available in Ebook and Paperback at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Smashwords.

More information on books by S.R.Claridge can be found at www.authorsrclaridge.com or by contacting Vanilla Heart Publishing. www.vanillaheartbooksandauthors.com  The author is available for comment at (303)926-8877 or (913)488-4557 or authorsrclaridge@gmail.com

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