This book has a really grabby opener– it starts right bang on the action with no fooling around with scene setting or back story. Sometimes I find that disorienting. Here I found it engaging and suitable for the story, which follows the story of a *very* disoriented protagonist, Isabelle, as she navigates her new life-after-life career as an escort for recently deceased souls.Suddenly Isabelle is catapulted into an unfamiliar world of hard to pronounce Celtic myth and legend, and her ability to fit in will determine whether she gets to keep her new life or not.  The reader, like Isabelle, has a lot to learn about the inhabitants and workings of this Celtic afterlife world. Fortunately the author has provided us with a glossary and a pronunciation guide!Stylistically, it’s as if Chick Lit and High Celtic Fantasy had a love child. There have been other books that attempt a similar mash up and some that are quite successful, like Dead is the New Black. I think No Time to Cry is an even more ambitious mashup since it doesn’t just add supernatural elements to the modern world, but instead introduces us to a whole new mythology.There’s a lot going on in this book. Mistaken and secret identities, behind the scenes plots and subterfuges, hidden enemies and secret allies, unknown powers, romantic subplots. It’s all a bit much to resolve in one novel so of course it doesn’t, ending instead with a cliff hanger guaranteed to have readers anxiously biting their nails in anticipation of the next book. Coping with cliffhanger endings and waiting for book releases are not strengths of mine, so I finished with a bit of pouting and foot stamping.If you enjoyed the TV series Dead Like Me and/or Lost Girl, you’ll like this book. There seems to be quite a bit of angels and reapers type stuff around these days. No Time to Cry is a unique, well written, contender in this growing paranormal sub-genre. I lucked into a reveiwer’s copy, you can snatch up your own for only 99 cents right now on Amazon.
This book has a really grabby opener– it starts right bang on the action with no fooling around with scene setting or back story. Sometimes I find that disorienting. Here I found it engaging and suitable for the story, which follows the story of a *very* disoriented protagonist, Isabelle, as she navigates her new life-after-life career as an escort for recently deceased souls.Suddenly Isabelle is catapulted into an unfamiliar world of hard to pronounce Celtic myth and legend, and her ability to fit in will determine whether she gets to keep her new life or not.  The reader, like Isabelle, has a lot to learn about the inhabitants and workings of this Celtic afterlife world. Fortunately the author has provided us with a glossary and a pronunciation guide!Stylistically, it’s as if Chick Lit and High Celtic Fantasy had a love child. There have been other books that attempt a similar mash up and some that are quite successful, like Dead is the New Black. I think No Time to Cry is an even more ambitious mashup since it doesn’t just add supernatural elements to the modern world, but instead introduces us to a whole new mythology.There’s a lot going on in this book. Mistaken and secret identities, behind the scenes plots and subterfuges, hidden enemies and secret allies, unknown powers, romantic subplots. It’s all a bit much to resolve in one novel so of course it doesn’t, ending instead with a cliff hanger guaranteed to have readers anxiously biting their nails in anticipation of the next book. Coping with cliffhanger endings and waiting for book releases are not strengths of mine, so I finished with a bit of pouting and foot stamping.If you enjoyed the TV series Dead Like Me and/or Lost Girl, you’ll like this book. There seems to be quite a bit of angels and reapers type stuff around these days. No Time to Cry is a unique, well written, contender in this growing paranormal sub-genre. I lucked into a reveiwer’s copy, you can snatch up your own for only 99 cents right now on Amazon.

Stasia Morineaux is an author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and chick lit, and a guest of UndeadCon of New Orleans horror genre writers conference this October. Stasia's debut novel, No Time To Cry, Book 1 of The Nine While Nine Legacy series, is an intensely one-of-a-kind, knockout combination of Morineaux's writing talent and gifted imagination.In the book, Isabelle, an author finding success and beloved by her friends, enjoys the lush surroundings of a celebration thrown in her honor when Death crashes her party. She quickly finds that her own loss of life is just the loss of 'a life', her former life. She is thrust into a new undead existence, with a new name and slightly more enhanced features, yet there is no time for her to mourn her lost friends and family, not to mention herself. All in one blow, she must accept the fact that she has been selected to join the very forces that took her life from her, with a new name, Iliana, a new location, a new and dreadful job, complete with hard-to-pronounce titles for everything. Morineaux skillfully interjects Celtic language, sexual tension and fantasy woodland dreams into the reality of an afterlife so far from what her protagonist had been taught to believe, all the while maintaining her character's flaws, sass, libido, and compassion.This first-person narrative is fierce and tangible, addictive and powerful in an undulating roller coaster of feminine vulnerability tempered, but in no way contained, by maturity. The richness and depth inherit in Morineaux's writing spills across the pages of text uninhibited, akin to the drenching deep crimson of a fine wine of words, to be savored by all the senses of her readers. The originality is off the charts, intermingled with sophistication and smarts. The simplest of things become eye-catching when written in Morineaux's style. Her description of a fire, for instance, is pronounced in its completeness.

Scented smoke was rising forth from it, smelling of dried leaves, cedar, pine, clove, rosemary, mugwort, and sage. -- Stasia Morineaux, No Time to Cry

Now that's a fire! This book is burning with description. The reader begins to FEEL the surroundings, taste and see them, from the start of this novelist's debut, and the ending will leave more than a few new Morineaux fans begging for Book 2.Stasia was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on No Time to Cry with Examiner.com New Orleans Literature.Dionne Charlet: What led you to begin a story with such a positive twist on death?Stasia Morineaux: It actually all began with a dream I had one night. What occurs in the first two chapters (and many others as well), where the entire saga springs from, all derived from dreams I had over the course of a couple of years. So much of what I write comes from dreams. And it’s as if once I acknowledge the idea and the players they take hold in my head, the world they inhabit settles into my mind and becomes a place that I can travel to, and the characters’ lives grow and flourish and they just speak to me…sometimes they scream at me to turn off my favorite show or put aside my reading and get to work and tell their story, usually prompting me to stay up into the wee hours!I was concerned with opening the book the way I did, with that happening to Iliana, that people would not be able to accept it, so much so that I actually re-wrote it differently at one point. But that version just did not work, so I trashed it and reverted to the original.DC: The names you use in the story are fascinating. What are their origins?SM: The origins are all over the place! Sometimes the names come to me in dreams and other times I use the internet searching for names that really fit the characters’ personalities or who they are, the roles they play in the story. Iliana is of Greek origin, meaning bright. Gideon is Hebrew, meaning destroyer. Liam is of Irish/Gaelic origin and means strong willed protector. Uldwynah is UK English meaning a special and beloved friend. Deimari was actually the creation from one of my Indiegogo supporters (Deidre Marie Austin). And then there is Collum…he is a character that was completely unplanned and unexpected when he made his way into my head at the end of the book! He showed up pre-named. And his arrival in the woods in chapter thirty shocked me as much as it did Iliana! His name is Irish and means dove or gentle. I can’t wait to find out if it fits him!DC: You've placed such a heartfelt mention in the book for Anne Rice: Warmest thanks to Anne Rice for the inspiration that led me to writing and dreaming. Please tell our readers what authors inspire you.SM: Where to start? I was raised on Anne Rice, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon (They Thirst…have you read it!? You HAVE to read it!), and Raymond Feist. Oh! And more recently Michelle Bardsley (I just love her wit and take on vampires while being a Mom!), Tate Halloway, and Julie Kenner. They are all such talented writers and over the years have inspired me deeply in so many ways in following this dream.DC: UndeadCon is featuring you on a panel this year. Can you tell us a little about your panel and what about the horror/paranormal writers' convention and ball you are most looking forward to?SM: I’m even more excited about this year’s panel…mine is Halloween afternoon from 2:00 to 3:30 and is featuring some really wonderfully talented authors! Everything about UndeadCon is so fabulous and fun! You just can’t go wrong, it is the perfect Halloween recipe; for starters it’s held in New Orleans (the ultimate Halloween destination in my opinion) and the entire event is dark and mysterious fantasy fused with the supernatural, mingling with everything that goes bump in the night, and is artfully blended with elegance and decadence.There is so much to look forward to (and I begin looking forward and planning my next trip before the current party is even concluded!) The music, the guests, the elaborate costumes and gowns, meeting new people from all over the world, making new life-long friends, and seeing Anne of course—she is such an amazing and kind person! I look forward to this event every year and I’m so honored to have been asked back to the Con!Stasia Morineaux will be a featured guest of UndeadCon, located at the Hilton Garden Inn in New Orleans, where she will debut a preview of Book 2 of The Nine While Nine Legacy series, Dominion. Her panel appearance on Oct. 31 from 2-3:30 pm will also feature authors Alys Arden, Kristin Bone, Dawn Chartier, and Sarah M. Cradit. UndeadCon of New Orleans runs Oct. 29th through Nov. 1st. Morineaux is also a guest of the Gathering of the Ancients Ball to be held Friday, Oct. 30th atGenerations Hall. For ticket information, click here. Doors open at 9 p.m.Find Stasia on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. For more information on Morineaux and her books, click hereStasia Morineaux is an author of paranormal romance, urban fantasy, dark fantasy, and chick lit, and a guest of UndeadCon of New Orleans horror genre writers conference this October. Stasia's debut novel, No Time To Cry, Book 1 of The Nine While Nine Legacy series, is an intensely one-of-a-kind, knockout combination of Morineaux's writing talent and gifted imagination.In the book, Isabelle, an author finding success and beloved by her friends, enjoys the lush surroundings of a celebration thrown in her honor when Death crashes her party. She quickly finds that her own loss of life is just the loss of 'a life', her former life. She is thrust into a new undead existence, with a new name and slightly more enhanced features, yet there is no time for her to mourn her lost friends and family, not to mention herself. All in one blow, she must accept the fact that she has been selected to join the very forces that took her life from her, with a new name, Iliana, a new location, a new and dreadful job, complete with hard-to-pronounce titles for everything. Morineaux skillfully interjects Celtic language, sexual tension and fantasy woodland dreams into the reality of an afterlife so far from what her protagonist had been taught to believe, all the while maintaining her character's flaws, sass, libido, and compassion.This first-person narrative is fierce and tangible, addictive and powerful in an undulating roller coaster of feminine vulnerability tempered, but in no way contained, by maturity. The richness and depth inherit in Morineaux's writing spills across the pages of text uninhibited, akin to the drenching deep crimson of a fine wine of words, to be savored by all the senses of her readers. The originality is off the charts, intermingled with sophistication and smarts. The simplest of things become eye-catching when written in Morineaux's style. Her description of a fire, for instance, is pronounced in its completeness.

Scented smoke was rising forth from it, smelling of dried leaves, cedar, pine, clove, rosemary, mugwort, and sage. -- Stasia Morineaux, No Time to Cry

Now that's a fire! This book is burning with description. The reader begins to FEEL the surroundings, taste and see them, from the start of this novelist's debut, and the ending will leave more than a few new Morineaux fans begging for Book 2.Stasia was kind enough to share some of her thoughts on No Time to Cry with Examiner.com New Orleans Literature.Dionne Charlet: What led you to begin a story with such a positive twist on death?Stasia Morineaux: It actually all began with a dream I had one night. What occurs in the first two chapters (and many others as well), where the entire saga springs from, all derived from dreams I had over the course of a couple of years. So much of what I write comes from dreams. And it’s as if once I acknowledge the idea and the players they take hold in my head, the world they inhabit settles into my mind and becomes a place that I can travel to, and the characters’ lives grow and flourish and they just speak to me…sometimes they scream at me to turn off my favorite show or put aside my reading and get to work and tell their story, usually prompting me to stay up into the wee hours!I was concerned with opening the book the way I did, with that happening to Iliana, that people would not be able to accept it, so much so that I actually re-wrote it differently at one point. But that version just did not work, so I trashed it and reverted to the original.DC: The names you use in the story are fascinating. What are their origins?SM: The origins are all over the place! Sometimes the names come to me in dreams and other times I use the internet searching for names that really fit the characters’ personalities or who they are, the roles they play in the story. Iliana is of Greek origin, meaning bright. Gideon is Hebrew, meaning destroyer. Liam is of Irish/Gaelic origin and means strong willed protector. Uldwynah is UK English meaning a special and beloved friend. Deimari was actually the creation from one of my Indiegogo supporters (Deidre Marie Austin). And then there is Collum…he is a character that was completely unplanned and unexpected when he made his way into my head at the end of the book! He showed up pre-named. And his arrival in the woods in chapter thirty shocked me as much as it did Iliana! His name is Irish and means dove or gentle. I can’t wait to find out if it fits him!DC: You've placed such a heartfelt mention in the book for Anne Rice: Warmest thanks to Anne Rice for the inspiration that led me to writing and dreaming. Please tell our readers what authors inspire you.SM: Where to start? I was raised on Anne Rice, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Robert McCammon (They Thirst…have you read it!? You HAVE to read it!), and Raymond Feist. Oh! And more recently Michelle Bardsley (I just love her wit and take on vampires while being a Mom!), Tate Halloway, and Julie Kenner. They are all such talented writers and over the years have inspired me deeply in so many ways in following this dream.DC: UndeadCon is featuring you on a panel this year. Can you tell us a little about your panel and what about the horror/paranormal writers' convention and ball you are most looking forward to?SM: I’m even more excited about this year’s panel…mine is Halloween afternoon from 2:00 to 3:30 and is featuring some really wonderfully talented authors! Everything about UndeadCon is so fabulous and fun! You just can’t go wrong, it is the perfect Halloween recipe; for starters it’s held in New Orleans (the ultimate Halloween destination in my opinion) and the entire event is dark and mysterious fantasy fused with the supernatural, mingling with everything that goes bump in the night, and is artfully blended with elegance and decadence.There is so much to look forward to (and I begin looking forward and planning my next trip before the current party is even concluded!) The music, the guests, the elaborate costumes and gowns, meeting new people from all over the world, making new life-long friends, and seeing Anne of course—she is such an amazing and kind person! I look forward to this event every year and I’m so honored to have been asked back to the Con!Stasia Morineaux will be a featured guest of UndeadCon, located at the Hilton Garden Inn in New Orleans, where she will debut a preview of Book 2 of The Nine While Nine Legacy series, Dominion. Her panel appearance on Oct. 31 from 2-3:30 pm will also feature authors Alys Arden, Kristin Bone, Dawn Chartier, and Sarah M. Cradit. UndeadCon of New Orleans runs Oct. 29th through Nov. 1st. Morineaux is also a guest of the Gathering of the Ancients Ball to be held Friday, Oct. 30th atGenerations Hall. For ticket information, click here. Doors open at 9 p.m.Find Stasia on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. For more information on Morineaux and her books, click here

A great story. Read it, whether you like fantasy or not. It won’t matter, you’ll love it.

This is the first book in the Nine While Nine Legacy by Stasia Morineaux and I can’t wait to read the next.This is the first book in the Nine While Nine Legacy by Stasia Morineaux and I can’t wait to read the next. What an outstanding book. When I first read ‘Twilight’, my wife asked me what it was about and it was hard to explain. While I could have said it was about Vampires and Werewolves, it would have done it a disservice. So she asked me, what’s happening? My answer was it’s hard to explain. Nothing but everything. I’m totally gripped.
I hope you know what I mean by that, assuming you’ve read Twilight, because I need to describe this book in the same way. (It’s not the same style as Twilight, I’m just talking about the way I would describe it). It’s beautifully written, the storyline burns at what seems like a low level, but it is thoroughly absorbing and gripping. The characters are great and you are desperate to find out the truth along with Isabelle. I’m not going to tell you much more than that, because I won’t do the book justice, as I explained above. It is just a great story, well crafted, confusing at times (intentionally so – Isabelle doesn’t know what’s happening to her and you are following her efforts to find out) and sets up a great series.
I will say that I’m not a lover of fantasy novels and don’t tend to read them, so I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good story, like I do. I can’t wait for the follow-up. Hurry up!

Wow! I could not put this book down! From start to finish, I craved turning the pages of this unusual paranormal/contemporary romance novel! This is a very different kind of story and I love when an author can blend the old with the new and create such visually and emotionally captivating characters, as did Stasia Morineaux in No Time To Cry. I was given this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest review and the first thing I did when I finished reading this story was to immediately seek out the second novel; alas, there is not yet one, but I am hopeful that I will get to read a lot more about Iliana and Gideon, as well as all of the other fantastic characters in this very well written book.I do not write spoilers, but I will tell you that if you’re looking for that “something different” book that is engaging, funny, witty, and intense, look no further – you will find it here in this wonderful book by Stasia Morineaux.I highly recommend this book!Have You Heard Book BlogWow! I could not put this book down! From start to finish, I craved turning the pages of this unusual paranormal/contemporary romance novel! This is a very different kind of story and I love when an author can blend the old with the new and create such visually and emotionally captivating characters, as did Stasia Morineaux in No Time To Cry. I was given this book as an ARC in exchange for my honest review and the first thing I did when I finished reading this story was to immediately seek out the second novel; alas, there is not yet one, but I am hopeful that I will get to read a lot more about Iliana and Gideon, as well as all of the other fantastic characters in this very well written book.I do not write spoilers, but I will tell you that if you’re looking for that “something different” book that is engaging, funny, witty, and intense, look no further – you will find it here in this wonderful book by Stasia Morineaux.I highly recommend this book!Have You Heard Book Blog

This sounds brilliant and exciting!

.A fast paced beginning to an epic tale of a forthcoming new world order…of quite an unexpected nature.