Category: New Releases

Dean Koontz’s newest novel, Ashley Bell * A Review

Koontz.new book.._AA160_‘Ashley Bell‘ by Dean Koontz **   A Review reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing

Every time I begin a new Dean Koontz novel (and I’ve read them all!) a few chapters in I say to myself, ‘this is the best one ever’. And it is. Just a few pages into this story, imagine my delight when a golden retriever, Olaf, appears in Bibi’s life.  Why? you might ask?

Dean Koontz and I have had a ‘doggy’ friendship for close to 20 years.  Over those years, he and I have coincidentally adopted rescue/service Golden Retrievers.

Dean Koontz and Trixie
Dean and his beloved Trixie

I’m on my fourth. Dean’s latest is lovely Anna. (for more about this read my interview with Dean).

Gus.Rocky.byebye
Gus & Rocky

I challenge any reader to not be totally enchanted by the third…no…the first chapter of Ashley Bell.  Dean writes what I call poetry-fiction…prose. Writing about a foggy coastal night:  “…those fumes were only slithers of mist seeping through the screen that covered the attic vents. As though the ocean of fog outside possessed curiosity about the contents of the houses currently submerged in it…” The imagery he creates makes me weep, as a writer. The characters draw you in and leave you rooting for them, hoping nothing bad happens, wanting a happy ending for someone besides yourself. Continue reading “Dean Koontz’s newest novel, Ashley Bell * A Review”

Looking for a Good Mystery?

Do you read mysteries? Then you’ll love this mystery series set in the tough streets of New York City. 1.worldofmurderBW..NEW.USE._820 - Copy (2)Detective Jack O’Roarke, a big rough Irish cop, and his gentle, lady-like partner, Stella Garcia (make no mistake; she can take down a perp twice her size) enter the mysterious world of stripper clubs, art museums, Broadway theatre, the priesthood, and cooking shows to catch their killer.

The series begins with The Art of Murder and currently ends with the most recent, The Taste of Murder, which takes you behind the scenes of reality cooking shows. Please enjoy the following excerpt.

Patrick Shelley, dressed in his signature pink dress shirt and matching paisley tie, walked up to O’Roarke and dropped a case file box on his desk, barely missing the detective’s nose. Another detective, right behind Pat, set two more boxes on a chair and, snorting in disgust, walked away. Pat scowled down at O’Roarke as he flipped open the lid.
“What’s this?” Homicide Detective O’Roarke asked.
“A cold case of mine.” The cop barked. “Boss said to give it to you.” Continue reading “Looking for a Good Mystery?”

Interview with Grant Blackwood, writing for Tom Clancy

While I was reading and reviewing Under Fire by Grant Blackwood (Tom Clancy) my burning question was:  ‘how do you write so well that we believe the iconic Tom Clancy is really the one putting pen to paper?’  These authors who write after the death of a beloved writer, like Ludlum, Parker, Fleming or Clancy, are really talented.  To be able to put their own unique ‘voice’ on the shelf and write so successfully for another author?  It boggles this writer’s mind!

Grant at work on his latest vampire/romance/thriller joined by his two consultants.”
Grant at work on his latest vampire/romance/thriller joined by his two consultants.”

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please provide a photo/s of your shed, room, closet, barn….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

A. I have an office in our house. As we’ve recently moved, I’m still in the process of getting things decorated. That said, here’s the view I have when I work in the morning…The wall behind my computer is intentionally barren; when I’m writing Continue reading “Interview with Grant Blackwood, writing for Tom Clancy”

Interview with Jennifer Ryan, Author (part 2)

Part 2  An Interview with NY Times best selling author, Jennifer RyanJ.Ryan.photo

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. Let’s just say I’ve got a very active imagination….an idea sparks from a song, a show, a book, a conversation with family and friends, seeing a couple on the street, overhearing a conversation in a restaurant…I can find a story in just about anything. Once that spark hits, my mind takes off.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. In 2005 when my 2 kids were in school and I had some free time. I learned I was pregnant with my daughter and not going back to work anytime soon, so I turned to writing as something to fill my time, give me a sense of accomplishment, and doing something that was just for me that I loved.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. It took five years and a lot of rejections from publishers and agents. Believe me, I have a stack of them, but I kept at it, always learning and honing my craft. I kept submitting even after those rejections with the hope that I’d find that person who loved what I wrote. I found several and used their support and encouragement to find my publisher. Continue reading “Interview with Jennifer Ryan, Author (part 2)”

All The Single Ladies…a Review

reviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writing(5 out of 5 quills)     A Review  All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank

I turned the last page with a hearty, well satisfied (but somewhat regretful) sigh, last night.  I think the ultimate compliment to a writer is when a reader says, ‘I didn’t want it to end‘.  And that’s how I truly felt having to leave best friends, Lisa, Suzanne, Carrie, and Miss Trudie. All the Single Ladies

Any woman over (oh, let’s say) forty years of age will really relate to these middle aged women.  They have had their failures and triumphs; they are now knocking along as best they can, having learned the hard way that nothing in life is guaranteed or forever. They come together initially to champion the memory of a friend… Continue reading “All The Single Ladies…a Review”

Interview with Author, Dorothea Benton Frank (part 2)

Dotty.head.shot

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

A. Procrastination is unprofessional and a heinous habit…. A good strong reliable work ethic is what will make your publisher think of you as a worthy partner. If you are not a self starter or you cannot find it in yourself to show up for work on your own and deliver on time you should not pursue a writing career.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?

A. Yes. Unfortunately it never lasts long enough.

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?

A. Always the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When my mother died. I was forty-three.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. Six years later in 2000.

Q. What makes a writer great? Continue reading “Interview with Author, Dorothea Benton Frank (part 2)”

Interview with Dorothea Benton Frank * Blockbuster best Selling author

Long before I moved to Savannah which is just a hop and skip down the road from Dorothea’s ‘low country’ I was reading her extraordinary stories of women in the south.   This author draws you in, seduces you with her heroines’ triumphs and challenges that any woman can relate to.  That’s why I was particularly pleased and honored when she granted me this interview. 

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?  Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

A. I write in my office in my home in NJ or in my office in my home in SC. My dream work space would be to occupy my little office in SC full time. This cruelty of this past winter’s plummeting temps, deep snow and black ice has cured me of any desire I may have had to remain in NJ. It’s not that I have anything against NJ. I have had many wonderful years here. It’s that I’m trapped indoors for months. But check back with me in a few years when I finally do reside in SC and hurricanes have me Continue reading “Interview with Dorothea Benton Frank * Blockbuster best Selling author”

FREE Audio Book: “Bertie the Bookworm and the Bully Boys”

fairies, books for children, literacy, reading, bullying, bullies, elves,
A story book with full color illustrations

FREE!!  Have you got a child, grandchild or great grandchild under the age of ten??  FREE audio-book of “Bertie the Bookworm and the Bully Boys”  (Five lucky winners and One per family)

And I would like to share this with you…..first come, first serve.  Sign up for my blog and leave a comment on my site Code: ‘Bookworm’. and I will send you the code and the instructions on how to get your copy.

Listen to Sample of the book by clicking here

Bertie, the bookworm is the fabled forest’s elder and teacher. Every week he has a spelling and reading circle where everyone is welcomed. Slam, the badger and his gang of bully boys are forever teasing, disrupting, and bullying Bertie and the group of faeries and woodland creatures.
Continue reading “FREE Audio Book: “Bertie the Bookworm and the Bully Boys””

Slavery Isn’t Such an Ugly Word….

Rape, pedophile, shit, faggot, nig–r,….now those are ugly words.  You can taste the filth in your mouth if you say them.  You are repulsed when you hear them.  ‘Slavery‘ doesn’t sound ugly enough.  The word is bland, safe, and doesn’t make us sick in the way that other words do. Dear Reader, please understand that I’m not writing about what the word represents….I’m talking about the actual word. What happened in this country, during the 1800’s,  when a whole people were enslaved is emotionally unimaginable…..unless and until you read,  The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk-Kidd.  Available now.

A Review    reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing5 out of 5 quillsThe Invention of Wings

The story is of the Grimke sisters; Sarah and Nina, high born, white, plantation girls.  Based upon a true story, the author tells how the slave owner’s lives intertwine every day with their slaves.  The very slaves who are a part of the family if you talk to the owners.  A prison full of punishment if you were to speak with the slaves.  Continue reading “Slavery Isn’t Such an Ugly Word….”

Interview (part 2) with best selling Author, Barbara Taylor-Bradford

A Young Barbara
A Young Barbara

TS:  More than a treat, it’s a honor to interview this illustrious author with such a body of work! 

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

A. When I was ten years old, I was encouraged by my Mum to enter a short story contest with a magazine in England. It was about a young girl who desperately wanted a pony. Amazingly, long after I’d forgotten about it, I received a postal order with a small amount of money and a note that I was one of the winners in the competition. Seven years later, I joined the Yorkshire Evening Post as a typist. Within a year, I had become a reporter for them. I’ve been a journalist ever since.

Q. How long after that were you published?

A. My first novel, A Woman of Substance was published in 1979. I had tried to write four earlier novels that weren’t working for one reason or another. But all along, I was still a published journalist. I had a syndicated decorating column in the US throughout the 1970s. I also wrote and had published several decorating books in the 70s. Prior to that, I was a Women’s Page editor on Fleet Street with a handful of newspapers and magazines in England. Continue reading “Interview (part 2) with best selling Author, Barbara Taylor-Bradford”