No Brainer Blog Tour

No Brainer Blog Tour

Today is the final day of this fantastic blog tour and I would like to thank everyone who has helped. It is great when we can all come together and help out a fellow author and I have to say that I absolutely love this book series and I feel completely honoured to be able to take part in this tour.

So why don't I begin with talking about the first book in The Darcy Walker series:

Blurb:

Fifteen years ago, Darcy Walker's parents thought it was a good idea to give her a unique name: Darcy, meaning "dark walker." Whether that was a stroke of genius or stroke of stupid, they definitely nailed the irony. She lacks direction, her grades stink despite a high IQ, she's boringly average--although flirting admirers claim otherwise--and God help her, she's infatuated with a bad-boy.

A bad-boy that her hottie best friend, Dylan, wishes would get acquainted with his fist.

And, oh yeah, there's that tattoo that was a royally stupid idea.

With her life spiraling out of control, everything changes when she skips class and finds a dead body...in fact, it gets worse. It jump starts Darcy's inner-verb, and her brain hardwired for action gets caught up in a situation she can't let go.

Set in the fictional Cincinnati town of Valley, Ohio, Darcy falls into a world of threats, violence, and gangland exploits chasing down every clue to finger the murderer. When a fellow misfit is fingered for the crime, Darcy goes from zero-to-sixty trying to clear his name--constructing aliases, breaking the law, everything that makes perfect sense to her but reeks of Grade A Stupid to everyone else.

Trouble is...will she live to see 16?

My review:

When I first downloaded this I wasnt sure what to expect.

When Darcy comes across a dead body in a dumpster her life is turned upside down to try and find the killer after her friend is framed for the murder.

Now any regular person who finds a dead body would scream, vomit and/or phone the police. What did Darcy do?........ she decides to take off her shoes and jump in for a closer inspection!

I could say Darcy is all brains and no common sense but her grades are not really reflecting any brain cells.

I absolutely love Darcy and how she sees the world. I also love her relationship with her best friend Dylan (are they or arent they)

I love how the whole book is intense and gripping and I only put it down because I had to sleep.

The build up to discover who was the killer was fantastic and I was definitely not disappointed.

This book is definitely a must read for everyone. I am going to be buying a copy for my daughter for her 12th birthday.

Blurb:

Two weeks before junior year, Darcy hops a plane to Orlando for a little R&R with her best friend Dylan and his family. Fresh off the heels of solving three murders in Valley, you'd think she'd sit back and enjoy the vacation capital of the world … maybe if you're a noun. Darcy Walker, however, is nothing but verb. 

Before her feet hit the Orlando soil, she's meddling in the disappearance of a five-year-old boy who vanished six months earlier. 

With authorities still no closer to solving the case, Darcy is shanghaied by her impulsivity and runs headlong into that proverbial burning building, convinced she can bring him home. 

She travels down a road that not only follows this missing child but branches off into the corrupt and sinister world of mob activity when she tampers in a case on which Dylan's detective grandfather is working.

After a near disastrous midnight meeting in a warehouse and a date with a mechanical bull, Darcy realizes she might've bitten off more than she can chew. Add the boiling flirtationship with her best friend and the appearance of his romantic rival, and she is in over her head. 

Will she survive a life of flirting with death too easily? Or will her flirtationship with Dylan become the actual death of her instead? 

For a girl with a habit of finding dead bodies, No Brainer gives Darcy Walker more of the same…surprising twists and turns…and running for her life

My review:

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

In this second installment we see Darcy go away to Florida for two weeks with Dylan and his family.

Now you may think, 'okay she is with Dylan, how can she possibly get into any trouble?' well Darcy is Darcy and it doesnt help that Dylans grandfather Lincoln works in the police force.

This book gets more and more gripping the more you read it. Today I could not put it down until I had finished it.

I was intrigued in Darcy as she tried to track down a five year old boy called Cisco who has been kidnapped whilst wondering how the case Lincoln was working on would some how cross paths.

Whilst all this is going on both Darcy and Dylan are battling with their feelings for each other and I do love the will they? wont they? scenario.

I know others just roll their eyes but with Darcy's insecurities and the fact that lets say they get together and it doesnt work out then they have lost the other as a best friend.

I want to know will they? :)

I still have one other burning question......What happened to Darcy's mum? Please tell me soon as it is killing me.

So with all of these questions swimming around in my head I thought why not ask the author herself. So that is exactly what I did.

Interview:

As both a reader and writer myself I just loved how your books hook the readers from the start and I love Darcy speak. Some of the conversations she has with her father are brilliant.

How old were you when you first started writing?

I started writing the Darcy Walker Series five years ago. Did I write before that? Not really. I majored in English and Journalism in college but I never imagined I’d become an author of a series.

Did you always want to be a writer?

My first love was journalism. So I did like to write, but always I imagined myself cracking big news stories with the mob breathing down my neck because I was ratting them out.

What inspired you to write the Darcy Walker series?

I wrote the first word to the Darcy Walker Series on Friday, June 13, 2008. She was an outlet for me during a particularly horrible time. The louder she became, the more I realized she deserved to live.

How many books will there be in the series?

I have outlines for nine books, but hopefully there will be more than that.

Awesome news. I will have to have them all and I have a feeling my daughter is going to love Darcy too.

How long did it take you to write each book?

On average, eight months.

Do you have a favourite character? And if so who?

Obviously, I love Darcy but I have a huge soft spot for her best friend, Dylan Taylor. I like what he says and how he views the world. To him, life and love are simple. If you love someone, then you have their back during the good and bad times. His loyalty is unmatched. And for me? Let’s just say I love a good alpha male.

Did you base Darcy on anyone?

Darcy has my sense of humor. I prefer to laugh than anything, and unfortunately, her penchant for getting messed up with the wrong type of guys is a little autobiographical. If there was a bad teenage decision to be made, God help me, I was first in line to make it. That being said, I’m not afraid to speak of my bad decisions. What the heck, I should probably be more embarrassed of things, but I’m just not. I figure they make you who you are and you just need to roll with it. I wish I was as smart as Darcy, though. That’s all her.

Okay, when are you going to tell us what happened to Darcy’s mum? I am itching to know and I am sure the rest of your readers are too 

Aaah, Darcy’s mother. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me this question I’d be one rich woman! Darcy obviously is harbouring some really deep feelings where her mother is concerned. She’s given subtle hints that whatever happened was bad (it was), and it happened while she was nine years old. Too young to be able to process. Darcy has processed what she can; unfortunately, she has stuffed a lot of things down as a coping mechanism. Book four (untitled at the moment) will open up the floodgates of her life. There will be no secrets in her past after that book.

Now how long do I have to wait until book three will be released?

Fall 2013.

I am not sure if I can wait that long :(

Do you have a title for book three?

100 Proof Stud…let your imaginations soar J

My imagination is going wild lol. I am hoping the book I referring to Dylan and him and Darcy get together lol.

When is Darcy finally going to release she is beautiful?

There’s a good chance that might be never.

Yeah I know that happens with a lot of people. No matter how times a person is told they are beautiful they have to feel it inside themselves.

Do you do a lot of research for your books? And if so do you have help?

I read about ten online newspapers a day to get ideas but currently I have no research assistant. I’d like to have one, though. If anyone reads this that would like to help, message me!!

Ooooo we could make an advert for one for you ;)

Okay so between you and me…… will Darcy and Dylan get together? 

I plead the Fifth. That’s a saying in the US that refers to the Fifth Amendment…which states that every American has a right to not incriminate themselves. In other words, I’m not playing all of my cards right now!!

Booooo I am so impatient. I want to read all your books now 

I don’t want to give anything away but OMG. How dare you write an epilogue like that! You are worse than me with cliff hangers. I was going to ask you questions about that but I have decided to leave that alone so it doesn’t give too much away

:) SERIOUSLY….I”LL ANSWER SOMETHING IF YOU WANT ME TO!!!

Oh really? Well how about this question:

You had a major cliffhanger, AJ. Can you give me any hints as to how it is going to turn out for those four characters involved?

I can't give you exact details other than the four characters in question will never be the same. I mean, how could they? Some will be affected more than others, but trust me, I have a master plan. This shakeup NEEDED to happen for several reasons. It will be the beginning of the end for one of the story arcs, and it will also be so life-changing for two characters that it sets them on a lifelong career path.

Does anyone die??? Good question...really good question.

*throws head back with an evil mad scientist laugh*

All I will say is...???????.

Oh lady you do not play fair :p

So now I have asked the technical questions you may be aware that my blog is entitled ‘Complete randomness from a crazy author’ so now I will be asking you complete and utter random questions. You have been warned *evil laugh*

Now I have your dad Gene Miracle (loving the surname btw) on my facebook. Now if I am honest I did not realise he was your dad until I read Grade A Stupid and saw his name in the acknowledgements. It must be great have the support from your family. What I want to know is….. is your dad anything like Murphy?

My parents have always been uber supportive. Whatever my sister and I wanted to do they were all for us being the best. He’s a little like Murphy, but he’s more like Darcy’s grandfather Winston who shows up a couple of books later. My dad is full of trivia. He can work crossword puzzles like a maniac, and at 80 years old still might be the sharpest person I’ve ever met. He never forgets a name, face, or details to anything. My father is a minister. Murphy works as an insurance underwriter—and so does my husband. In other words, they are the people that decide whether something is a good risk or not. My husband knows what he pays for everything, how much something will cost him if it’s a loss, and absolutely loves it when he “beats the system.”

You father is 80? *jaw drops to the floor* He must have had a good life as he certainly does not look his age.

What would you rather be attacked by - 20 duck sized horses or 1 horse sized duck?

Oooh, good question. That one actually keeps me up at night J I’d say one horse-sized duck. I’d stay low and take it out at the knees. Always stay low, that’s my mantra in life. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Do you have any other books in the pipeline besides The Darcy Walker series?

The Saga of Jude Nichols is in the pipeline…she’s taken a backseat because Darcy is keeping me so busy, but yeah…she’s going to be good when she gets her day!

Yeah sometimes it is difficult to start something fresh when you are so focused on one. I have released three books from one of my series and even though I am currently writing a novella for it I have decided to write a complete different book. It feels both strange and refreshing at the same time, but I know I will have to be quick because my readers will get impatient lol

What is your favourite cheese?

Swiss or provolone…it’s a toss up

Do you have any scars? If so what is your most memorable?

I have a scar on my left hand from a car wreck when I was twenty years old. I should’ve died in that wreck but walked away. It’s a great reminder that life is a gift.

Wow we are very lucky that you walked away. The world would be a boring place without you and Darcy J

Tell me a funny story from your childhood J

Oh, jeez, the first that pops into my mind is my first and only attempt at being a kleptomaniac. I went to the grocery with my father and stole a pack of gum and Band-Aids. I mean, every girls needs gum and Band-Aids, right? I boldly sat down in the front seat of our car and like an idiot started to blow bubbles. My dad asked me where I’d gotten the gum, and I had to fess-up that my sticky fingers stole it. I had to march back in the store and confess what I’d done and pay for what I’d stolen. I never stole again I was so humiliated.

So funny. We call band-aids plasters here but our parents always kept them so I cant understand stealing them lol. I stole bio oil once. Which is like a plant feeder. Why? I have no idea lol.

If you could give advice to anyone out there who is thinking of writing a story what would it be?

Be real…don’t censor your characters and don’t be afraid of your imagination. If you are afraid of your imagination, then creativity is going to die on the vine.

If I could grant you one wish what would it be and why?

I wish I had perfect eyesight. That would be awesome if I could chuck the glasses and contacts.

I wear glasses so I hear ya there. I have never ever tried contacts though. Kind of scares me. I do need to buy sunglasses with my lenses.  But wow these things are expensive!

Where to buy:

Grade A Stupid - Amazon US
Grade A Stupid - Amazon UK
No Brainer - Amazon US
No Brainer - Amazon UK
No Brainer - Barnes & Noble

About Author:

A. J. lives in Cincinnati with her husband, two feministic daughters, an ADD dog, a spoiled hamster, and an unapologetic and unrepentant addiction to Coca-Cola. She studied English, Journalism, and Political Science at Morehead State University and left the business world when her daughters were born. Her love for suspense and a good story was born from watching Mystery Science Theater with her sister during childhood. That and any B-movie with comedic undertones they could get their hands on.

From a small town in Kentucky, her sister and she lived in their imaginations on a regular basis, and A.J.'s love for the bizarre and paranormal still holds true to this day. She loves roller coasters, scary movies, and haunted houses and the weird sense of accomplishment it gives her when she can make it through without keeling over.

When she's not riding that razor-thin line between creativity and insanity, she likes to read, watch too much cable TV, or cheer like a banshee at her daughter's sporting events. She's an avid Cincinnati sports fan and when she can watch a professional game, she's going to jump at the chance.

She's currently hard at work on the first installment of her urban fantasy series, The Curse of Jude Nichols.

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