Blog Archives

Very Proud to Be Partnering with Cannonball Read 6 (@cannonballread) to Donate book Royalties the week of 2/21 t0 2/28 to the American Cancer Society

2/21/2014

The Below Post was Copied and Pasted from the Cannonball Read site.

Mswas's Review No: 2

This Isn’t a Book Review, but It’s Still Awesome
Hallways in the Night by R. C. O'Leary(Buy Hallways in the Night on Amazon.com)
We’ve had thrilling interactions with authors on social media and this blog already this year, but I must tell you, R. C. O’Leary is no ordinary author. R.C. O’Leary has put his money where his mouth is! Author of Hallways in the Night, O’Leary has not only offered free books but has generously pledged that he will donate all royalties of his books sold February 21-28, 2014 to our cause – with a guaranteed a minimum donation of $25.00, no less!

Hallways in the Night, a legal thriller, is his 2013 debut novel. From Bookstory:

When Dave Mackno, a veteran cop, leaves his stake-out in pursuit of a speeding car, it leads to a confrontation with Remo Centrella, baseball’s home run king. When the confrontation turns deadly, the worlds of professional sports, politics and the criminal justice system collide.

To get more of a feel for the novel, you can find reviews of it on these sites:

You can also read sample chapters at his website, or follow O’Leary on Twitter at @rcoleary or onhis Facebook page.

This year, we’ve doubled down on our mission to raise money for the American Cancer Society in AlabamaPink’s name. O’Leary’s efforts will be a welcome addition to our donations, which include all revenue from our amazon.com links, Google Ads, and CBR Merchandise.

Cannonball Read 6 participants may respond to my email to try for the free book offer, which should be in inboxes around the world by now. If you miss out on a free copy, I hope you’ll purchase his book and spread the word, far and wide. Tell the world how we, and R. C. O’Leary, are sticking it to cancer, one book at a time!

New Book Review Site Lets Authors and Writers Post Reviews

2/20/2014

I recently came across a new website where readers and authors can post book reviews. It was set up by Carolyn Howard Johnson and the link to it is here.

Here is a description of the review site in her words:

This review spot is NEW because it embodies the new idea that a book should not be judged by its cover or its press. If a reviewer thinks a book is great, The New Book Review lets readers know about it. Please submit your own favorite review. It makes no difference whether you're an author, reviewer or reader, I want to post your favorite reviews. See guidelines for submission on the left of this blog. And please note: It was named to Online Unversties' 101 Best Blogs for Readers.

The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

I personally like the fact that the site hosts one book review at a time and each review gets is own post. I also like that it's a good location for writers to share reviews that they have received. My guess is the newreview site will get increasingly popular.

"A totally unputdownable book. Looking forward to the sequel." --the Bookstory Blog

2/16/2014

Another very Positive Review For Hallways in the Night

The Bookstory blogspot read Hallways in the Night this weekend and was kind enough to tweet me a link to the review which I saw just before calling it a night tonight. If you check out her review, you'll see she is reading 52 books this year, so she is a power reader. My favorite quote from the review, in addition to describing the book as "totally unputdownable" is where it says the book is "an edge of the seat legal battle that makes you keep turning the pages till the very end."

You can check out the full review and her blog, where she reviews books below:

http://thebookstoryblog.wordpress.com/about/

Another Positive Book Review for Hallways in the Night from the Tampa Tribune's Bob D'Angelo on his TBO book Review Blog

2/11/2014

Bob D'Angelo of the Tampa Tribune Suggests Alternative title for Book: Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" because he Considers the book to be a Page Turner.

Here's a link to one of the best reviews of Hallway in the Night yet, largely because of the way Mr. D'Angelo personalizes the review and incorporates several aspects of my current life into the review. The full review is on Mr. D'Angelo's blog called The Sports Bookie that can be found by clicking here. Mr. D'Angelo has a wonderful blog upon which he reviews books, as well as baseball cards.

It' always exciting and gratifying when readers enjoy the book and Mr. D'Angelo's review captured a lot of the backstory that went into writing Hallways in the Night.

Here is a small excerpt from the review, but I do encourage anyone interested to read the whole article which I think is extremely well-written and does a great job telling its own story:

"Perhaps “Turn the Page” by Bob Seger is more appropriate, because this legal thriller by the 44-year-old Lithia author is certainly hard to put down. Major-league baseball is peripheral to the main story, but O’Leary has stitched together a very readable, fast-paced book with good character development and some surprising plot twists." - See the full review here.

Book Review: A Pitch for Justice by Harold Kasselman

2/10/2014

Original Thought-Provoking Premise Forms the basis of a Legal thriller

Having written a legal thriller that involves elements of baseball as part of the plot, I was curious to read Harold Kasselman's book "A Pitch for Justice," a book that begins with the idea that a major league baseball player could face criminal charges for actions taken during a game. In this case, for what a prosecutor deemed reckless behavior that led to the death of a player on the Mets. (One small note--the timing of the review coincides with the book being discounted on Amazon to .99 for a couple of more days. Disclosure, I was not aware of the sale and purchased book beforehand.)

I found it to be a very interesting concept and one that became more realistic as the story progressed. Upon first reading the book's blurb I thought the idea was a bit unrealistic--would a major league pitcher really get charged with murder for beaning a batter?--but Kasselman (who, more full disclosure, I have had some interactions with re: his book and mine on goodreads) creates an extremely plausible sequence of events and decision making that makes the idea seem completely credible. As a matter of fact, God forbid a major league player is killed by a bean ball, but if it happened, I think this book might be used as justification to potentially charge him.

As a matter of fact, I would recommend all high school, college and Major League pitchers read this book so they can be fully informed of the potentially life-altering consequences of ever throwing at someone's head.

I also think pre-law and law students would enjoy and greatly benefit from this book. Without a doubt, the strength of this book is the legal maneuvering and the pre-trial and courtroom scenes depicted. Harold Kasselman takes full advantage of his thirty year career to paint a very realistic picture of what happens in a trial. Unlike my book, Hallways in the Night, in which I take some artistic license with some of the rules of criminal procedure, Kasselman's book is "pitch perfect" on the law and procedure.

Everything from the grand jury setting, one of the best and most informative descriptions I have read, through hearsay exceptions, such as "excited utterances," you can learn some practical lessons about being an attorney. For example, even though I'm a law school graduate, I had no idea a grand jury can vote to bring a more severe charge than the prosecutor is seeking or how much of the proceeding is actually a conversation with those sitting on the grand jury.

Throughout the book, Kasselman offers some very interesting facts about baseball history, as well as some interesting facts about the speed and reaction times needed to hit a major league fastball.

Like most legal thrillers, Pitch for Justice ends with a trial. I honestly did not know which way the jury would vote at the end and I'm still not 100% sure if I agree with their verdict.

I enjoyed Pitch for Justice and the fact it made me continually think throughout the story. It forces readers to face a dilemma in which I'm not sure there is a black and white answer.

Law professors could probably use the premise as a good basis for a legal practice course using the facts as a set-up for a case that students are forced to try. I think it would be a great "case" to use because I bet jury verdicts would be different based upon the performance and effectiveness of those arguing the case, as well as some of the decisions of the Judge.

End of the day, I think both sides in this case can lay claim to the moral high ground. That is one of the things I enjoyed the most. Far from simplistic, it's a realistic and enjoyable read of an excellent premise that will keep you reading to the end to find out the eventual verdict and it will be up to you to decide if, in the end, justice is ultimately served.

A nice Blog Comment from a reader of Hallways in the Night

2/6/2014

I was doing some work and book marketing on either Monday or Tuesday night when I got an email message there was a new comment up on the blog. Comments are infrequent enough that I always appreciate getting them. The comment was from Andy Mason who was kind enough to convey the following after reading the book. I do think Hallways in the Night would make a great read on a plane, train or long car ride as it will keep you engaged. Here's the comment from Andy that he posted:

Rob, I thoroughly enjoyed your book. I have to admit I read few books but this book makes me want to read more. I was able to read the book on a flight up and back to Chicago from Tampa. I was racing at the end to know the outcome. The elevator scene was tremendous. I could feel the tension.

Another Positive Review to Go Along with the Recent 5-star book Review for Hallways in the Night

2/3/2014

This review was Completed by Diane donovan, ebook Reviewer for the Midwest Book Review

It's always nice to get a positive review on a book. Last week, I was excited to get a 5- Star Review on Lance Smith's blog, "The Guy who Reviews Sports Books," and Mr. Smith was kind enough to also post his review on Amazon. So far, Hallways in the Night has 9 five star reviews. I don't expect all reviews will be 5 stars but I am glad to see that many people seem to really be enjoying the book. As a writer the best compliment I could receive is that people enjoy the book and refer it to family and friends. Here is the review in full from Ms. Donovan. (Please note, I did reduce the price to 2.99 for ebooks, although I do understand that time, not money is truly the biggest investment readers make in a book.) The full review is posted below and here is the direct link to read it on MBR's site.

Hallways in the Night
R.C. O'Leary
Haywood Street Press
ASIN: B00HCLRPPS $3.99

http://www.amazon.com/Hallways-Night-R-C-OLeary-ebook/dp/B00HCLRPPS/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1389053676&sr=1-1&keywords=hallways+in+the+night

Hallways in the Night is thriller writing quite different from your standard approach, and centers around a baseball star, a stakeout that takes a very different turn when a cop is prompted to pursue a speeding suspect, and a murder that changes lives. It's a recommendation for any who want something different in their mystery/legal thriller reading and it delivers on this promise with a tightly-wound story of suspense and intrigue that will keep even seasoned mystery and legal thriller readers guessing to the end.

One powerful element of Hallways in the Night is its focus on racial encounters that entangle a community and pit cops against blacks. That's what Dave faces when his probe of a serial killer who targets kids becomes entwined with a community's perceptions of the special interests and prejudices of police charged with protecting lives.

And so what evolves from a series of murders and a half-drunk baseball player's demise over a speeding ticket becomes a highly charged trial focusing on civil liberties as much as murder, with marchers and rioters adding tension and further complexity to a volatile situation.

It's this multifaceted perspective on how murder adopts political and social proportions that keeps Hallways in the Night far more than your standard 'whodunnit'. The web of intrigue holds motivations that move into personal realms as a policeman stands trial for a suspect's death and faces accusations that he has overstepped the boundaries of his profession by leaving a stakeout and acting recklessly.

Dave's impulsive decision one fatal night holds the power to not just change his life, but promote the political ambitions of a District Attorney who sees this case as a way of gaining fame and a toehold in Congress.

All this Dave realizes too late, after his love for Atlanta is forever destroyed and after events make their indelible mark on his future. Readers follow Dave's evolution and revelations with bated breath largely because these aren't evident from the beginning, but slowly evolve from the roots of confrontation and deceit.

R.C. O'Leary's story is complex on many levels; but perhaps its most satisfying quality is a continuing element of surprise, with unexpected chains of events and protagonist growth paired with legal and social changes. From the story of how a conscientious cop finds himself backed into a corner to how political ambitions play on circumstance to change lives, Hallways in the Night tackles one of the most basic issues of a public servant's life: balancing ideals with career demands and living with choices necessarily made as an impulse in the process of ensuring survival and safety.

Whether innocent or guilty, the focus here isn't on the serving of justice or its tenuous roots in the legal and criminal justice system, but on how individuals live with, react to and ultimately are changed by their choices and service. In the end it boils down to being "...honest about who you are".

Hallways in the Night thus will attract and satisfy readers looking for more than a light 'whodunit' mystery.