Book Review: "The Crack of Death" by Sharla Tann

This exciting erotic thriller fiction novel is the story of the beautiful hairdresser Nancy whose life spirals out of control when she meets the exotic Roberto. Little does Audrey know that Roberto is in fact a dangerous Colombian Mafia Drug Lord. Can she escape the clutches of Cucaracha, Espadrillo and their Boss, the wicked La Madre? From the seething underbelly of Colombian drugs to the evil web of intrigue in London, Nancy is swept up in an adventure that will change her life forever, right up to the cliffhanger ending where the kindly Scotland Yard detective Garry Lamont vies with intrepid FBI agent Duane Malaysia for her favours. But is it too late?

Yes, it's too late. The author has the signed contracts from PublishAmerica, proving once again that they don't bother to read the manuscripts that are submitted to them. They are a new-model vanity press, thanks to modern on-demand printing. The old-style vanity presses had to collect a few thousand dollars up front because printers insist on being paid. A modern vanity press can collect a couple hundred dollars from the authors as they print the books a few at a time. It's a good bet that an author will buy a few dozen for friends and family, and that's what keeps PublishAmerica in business.

The History of Crack of Death

Originally, Crack of Death was intended to be a sting manuscript for PublishAmerica's evil spawn daughter company evil spawn PublishBritannica, and it was intended to be an All-British work. The BBC Watchdog and Trading Standards were interested, and quite possibly it would have gone on TV. However, the British writers that were originally recruited backed out one by one, leaving only six authors behind. That's when the instigator, Sharon Maas, turned to American members for help. The result is a Published Book that tells a truly edge-of-your-seat story, a story so bad it's good.

But then, just as they were about to submit it to PublishBritannica, the Enclyclopaedia Britannica sued because of the "britannica" part of the name, and PublishBritannica was out of business.

But a bad book is a terrible thing to waste - they decided to submit it to PublishAmerica as a follow-up to the incredibly bad Atlanta Nights. With the craptastic writing, and an author's name of Sharla Tann (charlatan?) they would certainly spot the sting and refuse it. But they didn't. They sent signed contracts to the author of record ... who had her co-conspirators release the book through LuLu.com ... a company that has no illusions of being a printer.

About the Author, Sharla Tann

I'm a country girl at heart, being born and raised in a poor rural area of Montana. My parents uprooted us when we were young and we moved to Phoenix in search of employment. I was not popular at the new school so I amused me making up stories in my head about being back in my old home town. Later I wrote them down.

I had a short marriage to a man in the Navy, but he ran around on me and finally divorced me and married the slut. We are now divorced, with no children, which is a blessing. A failed marriage would be a terrible burden to have on a child.

Many temporary jobs have employed me since the divorce. I was working part time recently and it gave me time to write my first novel. A romantic thriller in an exotic country I have never visited but would like to some day. England has always been fascinating for me. I researched real hard to get the details and the slang right for my heroine.

My heroine Nancy experiences the thrilling excitement that has escaped my life and she will carry that thrill to others I am sure. Since drugs are a big problem nowadays she is trapped in the drug trade big time and is only rescued by the skin of her teeth and the hero.

I am now working at a good job in a call center for a big credit card company now and my dream continues - I want to be a author with a published book. While writing, it is so hard to get published. I was rejected by agents and publishers because it is my first novel. When I saw the Publish America advertisement on an article about getting published it was really like an answer to my prayers from Heaven. Being that so few publishers are willing to give a new writer the time of day or a chance.

I would really like to use my childhood maiden name, Tann, for when you publish my romantic thriller. I don't want to use my exe's name. If he divorced me his name doesn't deserve to be on a published romantic thriller. I will be going to court soon to change my name back to my maiden name.

-- Sharla Tann