Hello, I’m J. A. McLachlan, the author of The Occasional Diamond Thief. I’m so pleased to be meeting you, and I’d like to thank Amanda and Jessica for having me here on Writing Pearls, and reviewing my book. This blog tour is part of my online launch of The Occasional Diamond Thief, and I’ll have something different at each stop – book excerpts, author and character reveals, vlogs, reviews and blog posts – for you to enjoy.
Occasional Diamond Thief
Date: 05/15/15EDGE Publishing
from Goodreads:
in his footsteps, learn his “trade”? If you were the only one who knew,
would you keep his secret?
When 16-yr-old Kia is training to be a universal translator, she is co-opted into traveling as a translator to Malem. This is the last place in the universe that Kia wants to be—it’s the planet where her father caught the terrible illness that killed him—but it’s also where he got the magnificent diamond that only she knows about. Kia is convinced he stole it, as it is illegal for any off-worlder to possess a Malemese diamond.
Using her skill in languages – and another skill she picked up, the skill of picking locks – Kia unravels the secret of the mysterious gem and learns what she must do to set things right: return the diamond to its original owner.
But how will she find out who that is when no one can know that she, an off-worlder, has a Malemese diamond? Can she trust the new friends she’s made on Malem, especially handsome but mysterious 17-year-old Jumal, to help her? And will she solve the puzzle in time to save Agatha, the last person she would have expected to become her closest friend?
Kia is quirky, with an ironic sense of humor, and a loner. Her sidekick, Agatha, is hopeless in languages and naive to the point of idiocy in Kia’s opinion, but possesses the wisdom and compassion Kia needs.
Buy Links:
buys the print version of the book. If they send an email to events@hadespublications.com
with their Amazon receipt, they will receive a copy of a short story that
features Kia.
“J. A. McLachlan is a terrific writer — wry and witty, with a keen eyefor detail. I’ve been following her work with interest and delight since2003. In a world where young-adult fiction is booming, The OccasionalDiamond Thief propels McLachlan to the front of the pack.” — Robert J.Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of FlashForward”The story is full of humor, danger, fun, and adventure. This is ScienceFiction anyone would love.” — J. Jones, VINE VOICE“Flawless–The Occasional Diamond Thief was one of those rare storieswhere I found myself hanging onto every word. McLachlan delivers afast-paced, unpredictable story with perfectly-executed twists.
Descriptions were succinct and epigrammatic with no room for boredom. It
felt so real, it was almost like being in the theater with a surprise
treat at the end. Much like the theater, once the credits have started to
roll and the crowd starts to thin, there was a snippet at the end that you
do not want to miss.” — BittenbyBooks.com
“Loved it! I haven’t read a heroine I loved this much since Katniss
Everdeen. McLachlan’s Kia is smart, tough and hilarious, and pairing her
with serene, forgiving Agatha left me laughing long after I finished the
story. The settings were vivid, the plot raced along, and the themes kept
me turning pages. McLachlan combines her love of science fiction, ethics
and good, old-fashioned storytelling in The Occasional Diamond Thief, and
the results couldn’t be better. I loved every page.” — Amanda Darling,
Screenwriter
“J. A. McLachlan is a remarkable creator of worlds, a remarkable creator
of character, a master of suspense. In short, a remarkable storyteller.
You don’t have to be a young adult to love this book.” — Sheryl Loeffler,
Writer, A Land in the Storytelling Sea
In an Oyster Shell – With it’s complex plot, other world (space) setting, and overall well-crafted story makes for a great read and is well worth your time. I highly recommend it.
The Pearls –
Initially, I picked this book because I liked the description and I loved the cover. Once I started reading it I was not disappointed., The plot was intriguing from beginning to end. The story opens up with some complex dynamic going on in a family home. You don’t know all of what is going on, but you can tell by what the character says that there is a lot of tension in that home. The conflict of the story starts right away with her sick father. His illness is a mystery and was contracted when he was off on one of his trading expeditions. His death opens up a wide door of mystery and adventure for our main character Kia.
The setting of this books starts out on another world in a complex alliance of other planets. It immediately has a si-fi space feel to it. After the Lunar Chronicles, I was quite excited to come across another book that had the same setting. The setting moves from her homeland to an almost desolate place called Malem that takes three months of space travel to get there. I thought this was pretty exciting and felt the author did a great job building the worlds.
Overall I just felt like the story was extremely well crafted. I though the concept was unique, the writing well done, and the characters enduring. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and hope that you get a chance to read it!
The Sand-
There were some parts of the story I didn’t quite understand. I ‘m not sure if I missed something or the necessary information was not there. There was so much going on it was hard to keep track of everything.
All in All, I give this 4 Pearls. Fantastic Read
the Author
author of a shortstory collection, CONNECTIONS, and two College textbooks on ProfessionalEthics. But speculative fiction is her first love, a genre she has beenreading all her life, and The Occasional Diamond Thief is her second inthat genre, a young adult science fiction novel, published by EDGE ScienceFiction and Fantasy Publishing. After over a decade as a college teacher,she is happy to work from home as a full-time author now.
Author Links:
GIVEAWAY:
Blog Tour Schedule:
May 18:
the bookdragon – http://sheisadude.blogspot.com/ – Guest Post: Do You Like Your Name?
Semi Short Chic – www.semishort.blogspot.com – Excerpt
Just Us Book Blog – http://justusbookblog.blogspot.com/ – Guest Post: Inspiration
CBY Book Club – http://cbybookclub.blogspot.co.uk/ – Excerpt
May 19:
My Full Bookshelf – http://myfullbookshelfreviews.blogspot.com – Review
Mythical Books – http://www.mythicalbooks.blogspot.ro/ – Guest Post: On Leaders, Followers and Friends, in YA fiction
3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com – Guest Post
Poetry and Book Reviews of a Young Artist – http://t.co/fqlcLfSazh – Author Interview
V’s Reads – http://vsreads.com – Review
May 20:
Sunshine Book Promotions – http://sunshinebookpromos.blogspot.com/ – Excerpt
Reading Addict – http://readingadd.blogspot.ro/ – Guest Post
Undercover Book Reviews – http://undercoverbookreviews.blogspot.com/ – Excerpt
May 21:
Plain Talk BM – Http://www.plaintalkbm.com – Guest Post
MichaelSciFan – http://www.michaelscifan.us – Author Interview: Why I Write Science Fiction
Mother/Gamer/Writer – http://empyreanedge.com – Author Interview & Excerpt
Hope to Read – http://HopeToRead.com – Guest Post: Author’s Favorite Things
May 22:
Author & Book Spotlights – http://authorcjanaya.com/ – Promo Post
The Written Adventure – http://nataliecarrollthewrittenadventure.blogspot.com/ – Promo Post
Dreamscape – http://www.dreamscape-blog.com – Review
A to Z Reviews – http://bookreviewsbyjackie.com/ – Promo Post
Literary Musings – http://literarymusing.weebly.com/ – Promo Post
Books Tea and Cats – http://booksaccordingtomaria.blogspot.com/ – Promo Post
May 25:
Archaeolibrarian – I dig good books! – http://archaeolibrarianologist.blogspot.de/ – Review
Book Lovers Life – http://bookloverslife.blogspot.ie/ – Promo Post
Elsie Elmore – www.elsieelmore.com – Promo Post
May 26:
A Book Addict’s Bookshelves – http://www.jesswatkinsauthor.blogspot.co.uk – Character Interview: Kia
A Dream Within A Dream – http://adreamwithindream.blogspot.com – Promo Post
Dalene’s Book Reviews – http://dalenesbookreviews.blogspot.com – Promo Post
May 27:
A Novel Kind of Bliss – http://www.anovelkindofbliss.blogspot.com – Review
deal sharing aunt – http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/ – Promo Post
May 28:
Writing Pearls – http://www.writingpearls.com – Review
Thewordsiread – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwPT71BRZiUVCwl2OVCkKxg – Review
Samantha Writes – www.samanthawrites.ca – Review
Living in a Bookworld – http://livinginabookworld.blogspot.gr – Promo Post
Le Petite Books – www.lepetitebooks.com – Review
May 29:
Books Direct – http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com.au/ – Promo Post
The Phantom Paragrapher – www.thephantomparagrapher.blogspot.com – Review
Indy Book Fairy – http://paranormalbookfairy.blogspot.com/ – Promo Post
Welcome to Book City – www.welcometobookcitynews.blogspot.com – Promo Post
Thanks for the great review, Jessica. I’m so pleased you liked my story!
I hope there is more to come! Thank you for stopping by.