Tag Archives: tortured

Aug24

EXPRESSIONS Will Be the Third Installment of the DREAM CATCHERS SERIES Released Sept. 20th!

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EXPRESSIONS Will Be the Third Installment of the DREAM CATCHERS SERIES Released Sept. 20th!

EXPRESSIONS is the third and final installment to Sandy Lo’s DREAM CATCHERS SERIES set to be released Tuesday, September 20, 2011 for Kindle and Paperback.  The book is a series of vignettes written from the point-of-view of various characters throughout the book series.  “This was my chance to give a voice to some of the minor characters like Jordan’s brother Drew and the infamous Bippy Reynolds,” explains Lo.  “If you enjoyed DREAM CATCHERS and BREAKING THE MOON, this is the perfect 50-page quick read to compliment them.”

DREAM CATCHERS was first released in January 2010 and garnered independent book sales for Sandy Lo, especially in New York and on Kindle.  “LOST IN YOU was my first novel and it put my name out there, but with DREAM CATCHERS, I’m still receiving royalty checks from Amazon and keep selling out of copies at book signings,” she says.

Sandy Lo followed the book up with BREAKING THE MOON, which delved deeper into the love story between Haley and Jordan and all of the complications that came along with it.  “Releasing a sequel is a slower moving process, especially since so many people still need to read DREAM CATCHERS, but the exciting part is the more people who read that first book come back and want BREAKING THE MOON, and I’m hoping they’ll want EXPRESSIONS as well,” Lo says.

Fans of TORTURED, the fictional rock band from the series, will be happy to know EXPRESSIONS will feature five never before seen song lyrics.  Originally, Sandy Lo wanted to record an entire album of Tortured songs with the help of friend, musician and songwriter, James Manzello.  “Unfortunately, James doesn’t have much free time these days and with no funding backing us, we had to lay that idea to bed for the time being.”

In November, just in time for the holiday season, Sandy Lo plans to release a collector’s edition of the entire DREAM CATCHERS SERIES.  It will be the first hard cover release from the author.

Earlier this month, Lo left her home state of New York to relocate to Nashville in order to write her next novel, THE WATCH DOG, which is set in Nashville.

For more information on Sandy Lo and her upcoming projects: www.sandy-lo.com.

Follow her on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo.

Become a Fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorsandylo.

Apr12

Breaking The Moon (Sequel to Dream Catchers)

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Breaking The Moon (Sequel to Dream Catchers)

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Release Date: April 12, 2011
Genre: Romance/Coming of Age/Fiction
Purchase: Lulu and Kindle. Coming to Amazon.com in paperback soon.

BREAKING THE MOON is the tumultuous tale of heartache and love, and how sometimes it’s just not enough.

A follow up to 2010′s DREAM CATCHERS, Sandy Lo continues Haley’s journey of self-discovery as she is faced with new obstacles all while trying to understand the tormented past of her boyfriend, Jordan.

In the beginning, love is as easy as breathing. After almost two years of dating, Haley and Jordan are the perfect couple. They’re young, carefree and on the brink of their dream careers. Life is perfect until their world is turned upside down by unexpected news: Haley is pregnant. The couple struggle with the news as well as Jordan’s demons and concepts on family. Will they be able to pick up the pieces after their world shatters?

Read Chapter 1

Read Chapter 2

Apr11

Author Sandy Lo Releases Romantic Follow-up Novel BREAKING THE MOON

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Author Sandy Lo Releases Romantic Follow-up Novel BREAKING THE MOON

New York author, Sandy Lo releases BREAKING THE MOON, a follow-up novel to 2010’s rave reviewed DREAM CATCHERS, which spawned the song “Haley’s Letter” penned by Sandy along with musician/actor James Manzello.

BREAKING THE MOON continues the journey of Haley Foster and Jordan Walsh, who are both at the brink of fulfilling their dreams.  Jordan’s band, Tortured is already a success before the release of their debut album while Haley is set to graduate college and begin her career as a respected photographer.

It’s been moonlight and road trips for the couple so far, but it all stops short when Haley finds out she’s pregnant, and Jordan discovers some secrets from his past.  Haley and Jordan’s love for one another is tested while they are catapulted into adulthood without a net to catch their fall.

Sandy Lo decided to write BREAKING THE MOON out of demand from her fans.  “All I hear from my readers is how they love Haley, Jordan and the band, and how they want to know more about them, so I wanted to give them more,” she says.  Don’t expect the same carefree humor that was seeped into DREAM CATCHERS, though.  Its sequel deals with some tragic issues, but Sandy assures her readers there are many uplifting times throughout the novel as well.

BREAKING THE MOON is in memory of Sierra Williams, the newborn daughter of Lo’s close cousin who passed away during the production of the novel.  Lo will be donating a portion of her book sales to First Candle in Sierra’s name.  For more information on First Candle: www.firstcandle.org.

Since the release of DREAM CATCHERS, Sandy Lo has merged StarShine Magazine into her website: www.sandy-lo.com in order to maximize her efforts as a writer and journalist.  The support received has been amazing.  Former 98 Degrees member, Jeff Timmons and pop star Aaron Carter have both publicly acknowledged Sandy Lo and her books on their Twitter accounts.  Jeff Timmons even sent Sandy a video to be played at the DREAM CATCHERS book release party last year.

Aaron Carter & Sandy Lo with two of her novels.

“It’s such a great feeling knowing I have the support of people I idolized and always promoted in StarShine Magazine.  I’m blessed that they have mutual respect for me and my art,” Sandy explains.

Sandy also interviewed Shannon Leto, founding member of her favorite band 30 Seconds To Mars last spring.  In the interview, Sandy told Shannon about DREAM CATCHERS and how the band inspired Tortured.  “I’m lucky enough to be in this amazing position in life that I get to pick the brains of my favorite music artists, and in turn, I’m inspired to create novels and even songs, like ‘Haley’s Letter’,” Sandy explains gratefully.

BREAKING THE MOON is available in paperback on www.lulu.com and on Kindle.

For updates and more information on Sandy Lo and the stars she interviews, go to: www.sandy-lo.com.  Follow Sandy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo.



Dec20

Winners Announced: 2010 StarShine Music Awards!

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Winners Announced: 2010 StarShine Music Awards!

2010 STARSHINE MUSIC AWARD WINNERS

Congratulations to all the winners!  We received thousands of votes from around the world, so thanks to everyone who voted!  Be sure to congratulate your favorite stars on Twitter!  Follow @AuthorSandyLo for all StarShine Magazine news & celebrity interviews!

BEST DANCE SONG
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”

BEST BALLAD
Colbie Caillat – “I Never Told You”

BEST ROCK SONG
30 Seconds To Mars – “Kings and Queens”

BEST POP SONG
Backstreet Boys – “Bigger”

FAVORITE BAND/GROUP
Backstreet Boys

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Lady Gaga

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Aaron Carter

BEST LIVE SHOW
Backstreet Boys

BEST NEW ARTIST
Justin Bieber

BREAKING ARTIST
Alexandra Amor

BREAKOUT ALBUM
Mandi Leigh – BLVD.

SONG OF THE YEAR
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Backstreet Boys – This Is Us

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Backstreet Boys



Oct17

2010 StarShine Magazine Music Award Nominees Diversify from new heartthrob Justin Bieber to old ones like Backstreet Boys along with Lady Gaga, 30 Seconds to Mars and Goo Goo Dolls

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2010 StarShine Magazine Music Award Nominees Diversify from new heartthrob Justin Bieber to old ones like Backstreet Boys along with Lady Gaga, 30 Seconds to Mars and Goo Goo Dolls

The 8th annual StarShine Music Awards (SMAs) nominees has branched out this year to include more rock-based artists like multi-platinum selling acts 30 Seconds To Mars and Goo Goo Dolls, who go head to head for many awards like Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Also up for the big honors are tween favorite Justin Bieber and party monster Lady Gaga. Bieber grabs the most nominations with 9, setting a new record for most nominations in a year.

What’s surprising is the Backstreet Boys being acknowledged for 7 categories with their latest, slightly under the radar release, This Is Us. “We choose nominees based on their presence on www.starshinemag.com,” explains founding editor, Sandy Lo. “The Backstreet Boys were at the foundation of StarShine when we began in 2001. It’s great to see now that we have popular, fresh acts like Gaga and Bieber that we still have readers that want BSB and Aaron Carter. We’re lucky to have such loyal readers, and these artists are even luckier to have such loyal fans who want to still see them in our magazine.”
Speaking of Aaron Carter, the now 22-year-old’s recent interview with StarShine, which received the most hits on the site this summer nabbed him 2 nominations for his recent efforts with two new songs available for purchase.

Breakout bands like Semi Precious Weapons and Neon Trees don’t go unnoticed with quite a few nominations split between them. Both bands appeared in StarShine earlier this year leading up to their recent radio and touring success. Other nominees include Landon Pigg, British sensation JLS, YouTube star Alexandra Amor and new Jive Recording artist, Matisse.

Voting will take place beginning November 15th at 12am (12am EST) on www.starshinemag.com, now located as a division of the all new www.sandy-lo.com . Polls will remain open until December 12th (11:59pm EST). Instructions to vote will be posted on the homepage. Winners will be announced in late December.

For a complete list of nominees, see below.
Visit StarShine Magazine: www.StarShineMag.com
For more information on StarShine and the SMAs: sandy@starshinemag.com

2010 STARSHINE MUSIC AWARD NOMINEES

BEST DANCE SONG
Aaron Carter feat. Flo Rida – “Dance With Me”
Alexandra Amor – “Superstar”
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
BEST BALLAD
Colbie Caillat – “I Never Told You”
Jeff Timmons – “Always Ends The Same”
Justin Bieber – “U Smile”
Landon Pigg – “Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop”
Tortured – “Haley’s Letter”

BEST ROCK SONG

30 Seconds To Mars – “Kings and Queens”
Goo Goo Dolls – “Home”
Neon Trees – “Animal”
Semi Precious Weapons – “Semi Precious Weapons”
Tortured – “Haley’s Letter”

BEST POP SONG

Alexandra Amor – “Superstar”
Backstreet Boys – “Bigger”
JLS – “Everybody In Love”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce – “Telephone”

FAVORITE BAND/GROUP

30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Goo Goo Dolls
LMFAO
Semi Precious Weapons

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST

Colbie Caillat
Erin McCarley
Lady Gaga
Mandi Leigh
Matisse

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST

Aaron Carter
Jeff Timmons
Justin Bieber
Landon Pigg
Tyler Hilton

BEST LIVE SHOW

30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Semi Precious Weapons

BEST NEW ARTIST

Ashlyne Huff
JLS
Justin Bieber
Neon Trees
Semi Precious Weapons
BREAKING ARTIST
Alex Roots
Alexandra Amor
Harlem Witness
Matisse
Push Play

BREAKOUT ALBUM

Jeff Timmons – Jeff Timmons (Free Album)
JLS – JLS
Mandi Leigh – BLVD.
Neon Trees – Habits
Semi Precious Weapons – You Love You

SONG OF THE YEAR

30 Seconds To Mars – “Kings and Queens”
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”
Goo Goo Dolls – “Home”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

30 Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Backstreet Boys – This Is Us
Goo Goo Dolls – Something For The Rest Of Us
Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Goo Goo Dolls
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga

Jul28

BLOG: Inspired.

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BLOG: Inspired.

It’s 2:54am.  I felt the need to write a quick blog to tell you how much I am getting into the sequel of “Dream Catchers” now!  I’ll admit it was a slow start.  The thing I hate about sequels and why I don’t usually plan to write them is because of the pressure.  Everyone who has read “Dream Catchers” are in love with Jordan and Haley.  Heck, I’m in love with Jordan and Haley–which is why I even considered writing a sequel.  I wanted to explore their characters more.  But I don’t want to ruin them or what I created in the first book.  So with that fear, it was hindering the flow for me a bit–I was cautiously taking the first few steps.  Now, things are moving along!  I have over 18, 000 words written.

I’m hoping to promote “Dream Catchers” more while I write the sequel.  So if you enjoyed the book, please pass it onto a friend or send them the link to purchase it.  I need to spread the word!  Also, if you could pass around links to my Twitter page and Tortured’s Twitter page as well, that would be great!

www.twitter.com/authorsandylo
www.twitter.com/torturedband

I would love to hear from you guys on here…please post a comment!  Thanks! :)

Hugs, Kisses & Stars,

Sandy Lo

Jul8

Follow Sandy Lo, Tortured & StarShineMag.com on Twitter!

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Follow Sandy Lo, Tortured & StarShineMag.com on Twitter!

Connect with Sandy Lo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo.  Sandy updates followers on her novels, fun things she’s involved in, quotes, and events.

Connect with Tortured on Twitter: www.twitter.com/torturedband.  Interact with characters from Sandy’s novel “Dream Catchers” by replying to their tweets.  Jordan, Sebastian, Darren & Danny post what’s going on in their day as well as with the band.  Note: Sandy Lo is really the one tweeting as her characters.  Have some fun and follow Tortured!

Connect with StarShine Magazine on Twitter: www.twitter.com/starshinemag.  Get the latest entertainment news, interviews + reviews when StarShineMag.com is updated!

Apr27

Author Sandy Lo Interviews 30 Seconds To Mars, Her Inspiration Behind Latest Book Dream Catchers!

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Author Sandy Lo Interviews 30 Seconds To Mars, Her Inspiration Behind Latest Book Dream Catchers!

April 27, 2010—New York, NY—Author and journalist SANDY LO had the opportunity to speak with the musical inspiration behind her latest novel, DREAM CATCHERS earlier this month. In an interview for StarShine Magazine, Lo spoke with Shannon Leto, founding member of the popular rock band, 30 SECONDS TO MARS. Upon discussing his latest tour, she was able to inform Leto of the impact his music has had on inspiring TORTURED, Lo’s band in the novel. Leto was grateful and thought it was “very cool”.

“I am so fortunate to be in the position I am in to speak with my musical muse for Dream Catchers”, explains Lo. “30 Seconds to Mars are really amazing.” Mars’ front man and actor, Jared Leto even inspired the main character, Jordan Walsh, a bit. “As a teenager, I was a fan of ‘My So-Called Life’ and fell in love with Jared’s character, Jordan Catalano, which is why I named my main character Jordan,” Lo shares.

Following her interview with Shannon Leto, Lo saw the band live for the first time on their “Into The Wild” tour to support their latest album This Is War. “I felt like my character, Haley, seeing Tortured perform for the first time,” she says with a smile. “30 Seconds to Mars really know how to put on a show.”

To read Sandy Lo’s interview with Shannon Leto and to see her review of the 30 Seconds to Mars show, go to: www.StarShineMag.com.

DREAM CATCHERS is available now through LuLu Press and is coming soon to other online retailers. Lo’s coming of age story of sheltered college student, Haley Foster, running off to New York City with the carefree musician, Jordan Walsh, has been receiving rave reviews from Amazon readers.

“I truly appreciate this realistic work of fiction that tells a personal story in an engaging way. Dream Catchers leaves you wanting more, well after you’ve read the last page!” gushes one reviewer.

Another reader commends SANDY LO on her characters: “Dream Catchers is told from the main character’s perspective, therefore allowing you to truly understand what she, Haley Foster, is thinking and feeling throughout the varied situations she is faced with. Many of the other characters are also fleshed out rather well, including Jordan Walsh, paragon of bad boy good looks and lead singer of the band Tortured. It appears that the author, Sandy Lo, wanted to tell a love story which was able to indulge the reader, while not coming across as overly predictable.”

To read an excerpt from DREAM CATCHERS and to order a copy, go to: www.sandy-lo.com or http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dream-catchers/6137629.

Also, “Haley’s Letter”, the song written by SANDY LO for DREAM CATCHERS is now available on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/haleys-letter/id356084511! The song was also written, produced and performed by JAMES MANZELLO and co-produced by FRANS MERNICK.

For more on Sandy Lo: www.sandy-lo.com
Follow Sandy on Twitter: www.twitter.com/authorsandylo
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorsandylo

Feb9

"Haley's Letter" Now On MySpace!

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"Haley's Letter" Now On MySpace!

Check out the official Tortured MySpace page: www.myspace.com/torturedmusic to hear the official MP3 of “Haley’s Letter”!  The song is performed by James Manzello and was written by him and Sandy Lo for “Dream Catchers”.  James also produced the track with Frans Mernick, who also served as the engineer.

Sandy would love to hear what you think of the song!  Please leave feedback!

Jan29

"Dream Catchers" Party Huge Success!

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"Dream Catchers" Party Huge Success!

Sandy would like to thank everyone who came out on January 23rd for the “Dream Catchers” release party at Cargo Cafe!  Photos will be posted in the gallery soon.  A big thank you to all those who were able to perform: Harlem Witness, Darren Colvil & Chris of The Swill Merchants and of course, the ever so talented James Manzello & Alex Kikis, who debuted “Haley’s Letter” for the first time!  The song will be available for purchase soon.  Look out for a YouTube video of the performance up here as well.

Thanks to Jeff Timmons for the sweet video message he sent for the party.  You can view it here:

As a reminder, you can find “Dream Catchers” on sale at lulu.com!  Here’s a direct link: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/dream-catchers/7869073.

If you have already read “Dream Catchers”, please review it on Amazon.com.  The book will be available there as well within a few weeks.

“Dream Catchers” on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Catchers-Sandy-Lo/dp/055722604X/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1