I’m back after a not-too drastic gap in communication!
Because this blog appears on my Amazon.com author page, I’m going to take advantage of that to share some Lulu reviews for Along Came a Demon which do not appear on Amazon.com, because they were written by persons who live overseas, or otherwise do not want to purchase from Amazon.com just so they can put up a review.
These reviews can be found by going to my Lulu Storefront at http://stores.lulu.com/lindawelch.
Bring on the rest of the series! 13 Dec 2008
by Drew Dale Daniel Bryenton.
When Tiff Banks is asked to help the police with their investigations, it's never good news for the victim... because it means that they're already dead!
She's not a forensic psychologist or a crime-scene investigator - her talents are much more unique and bizarre. Unlike the many charlatans and pretenders on TV Tiff really CAN talk to the dead - the violently deceased whisper to her, and that can make it difficult to lead a normal life!
Enter a sinister world just beyond the everyday streets and homes of quiet little Clarion - a world inhabited by the souls of the slain, awaiting justice for their murders. And other, darker beings not of the mortal Earth... things that Tiff calls Demons, but who have their own Machiavellian hierarchies and intrigues.
And when the ghost of a drowned woman breaks all the rules of the afterlife and leaves the place of her death, be prepared for two worlds to collide. Suddenly speaking to the dead is the least of Tiff Banks' problems, and the Demons are closing in....
This is a great read - punchy, engaging and flowing prose which outlines a novel approach to the psi-thriller genre. Plenty of twists and turns, humor and tension, action and intrigue... and the best part is, this is just the first of a planned series!
Go on, get this into your hard drive, your book shelf, and your head!
A great and capturing story! 15 Feb 2009
by Valerie Long
The protagonist and storyteller, Tiff, is not just a tough and fearless, but an extraordinary woman: she can see and hear the violently slain. This would be enough substance for more than one book, but it’s just the beginning. As strong women go, she has some trouble with her love life, and she seems to tend to collect unusual friendships.
The story starts as an easy read with some funny and surprising ideas, but quickly takes up speed and tension becoming an edge-of-the-seat thriller that refuses to be put aside unfinished.
The most scary thought about this book is that it might be partially autobiographic.
I can’t wait for the next sequel (or prequel!) - luckily one is already available!
A fantasy story set in the real world 21 Jun 2009
by Carol Townsend.
I love a good ghost story and this is far more than that. It is an easy read that is impossible to put down from the very first sentence: "'There's a naked woman in the garden,' said Jack."
Tiff Banks may have special powers but those powers do not make her Superwoman, nor do they enable her to have an easy life - quite the contrary.
She has unusual housemates and a tricky love-life, and though she can speak to the dead and to non –humans she is all too human herself, and the reader sees the world through her eyes and empathises with her from the outset.
I devoured this book in three evenings and am hungry for more!
What you should know 30 Aug 2009 by Dana Donovan.
Right from the get-go, “Along Came a Demon” by Linda Welch, grabbed me. “There’s a naked woman in the garden.” Okay, you have my attention. What follows is a fast-paced drama, built on suspense, wrapped in mystery and sealed in the uncertainties of the paranormal. In her character, Tiff (don’t call me Tiffany)Banks, Welch convincingly conveys the reluctance of an ordinary woman, driven to exploit her uncanny ability to talk to dead people just to pay the bills, and in the process, maybe help solve a crime or two. Tiff is a casual narrator, leaving the cold, impersonal prose for the hard-boiled detective genre. Instead, her personable approach of articulating her case makes it easy to relate with her, giving the reader a sense of familiarity in her cause, and fostering an emotional attachment with the other characters in the story that carries all the way to the end.
It is my humble opinion that few in the self-published world of novels and novellas are truly ready for prime-time mainstream publishing, though most think they are. With just a nudge or two from a professional editor, I think Linda Welch and her Whisperings series definitely is.