Don’t Miss an Interview with Mark Childress tomorrow

Author of many novels and screenplays, (Crazy in Alabama) Mark Childress joins us for an interview about how and why he writes. Tomorrow & Thursday, April 2nd & 4th.
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Quotes from CRAZY in ALABAMA

Sheriff Doggett: ‘You’re trespassing on public property!’

Lucille: ‘I’m the kind of girl who can resist anything but temptation.’

Peejoe: ‘I learned a lot of secrets that summer: you can bury freedom but you can’t kill it. Taylor Jackson died for freedom. Aunt Lucille had to kill to get it. Life and death are only temporary but freedom goes on forever.’

Assistant: ‘You’re wanted on the set.’

Lucille: ‘Honey, I’m wanted in seven states.’

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Maya Angelou, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled in May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

500 Words of Wisdom..from Inspire Me Today.com

Several months, maybe a year ago, I was invited to share 500 words of wisdom with the world. InspireMeToday.com asked if they could re-run the article.

‘I sit in my cabin in the woods as I write my message to the world. With only five hundred words to use, I am inspired to send my message to young women. Growing up in traditionalism as I did, I found my freedom and my voice later in life. I discovered that I could be so much more than a wife or mother. I COULD BE ANYTHING I WANTED TO BE. An old refrain certainly, but it’s old because it’s TRUE. Don’t do it someday, DO IT TODAY!

I started out standing in the second-hand light of a man. (Traditional, remember?) I finally figured out that I couldn’t change, fix, repair or control another human being, as hard as I might try. I learned that the only person I could fix or change was me! And I am grateful every day for that lesson’…….to read the whole article go to: http://www.inspiremetoday.com/

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InspireMeToday has asked me to be one of their regulars and contribute to their blog. Today was “Growth through Writing”. Go to: http://www.inspiremetoday.com/blog/2013/03/growing-through-writing/

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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Maya Angelou, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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Feature article on InspireMeToday.com

InspireMeToday.com is posting my few words of wisdom on March 27th and has asked me to become one of their writers.

I am very honored to contribute to their empowering, uplifting and loving web site with over 10,000,000 subscribers. If you missed it last time, stop by and read what I have to say about life, love and surviving!

(excerpt) ‘Growing up in traditionalism as I did, I found my freedom and my voice later in life. I discovered that I could be so much more than a wife or mother. I COULD BE ANYTHING I WANTED TO BE. An old refrain certainly; it’s old because it’s TRUE! Don’t do it SOMEDAY! DO IT TODAY!

I started out standing in the second-hand light of a man. [traditional, remember?] I finally figured out that I couldn’t change, fix, repair or control another human being, as hard as I might try. I learned that the only person I could fix or change was me! And I am grateful every day for that lesson’…….. click on the link above.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander.
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Don’t Miss it! an Interview with Charles Bukowski on Tuesday

I would give much to interview great authors like Steinbeck, Bronte, Hemingway, Austen, Twain, London, Service, Chekov, Shakespeare. But at the top of my bucket list would be Henry Charles Bukowski {1920-1994}. So I asked myself would it be so very strange or inappropriate to imagine what it might have been like and then write an interview with “Hank” Bukowski?

Imagine that I am sitting with him, in a corner booth, in some neighborhood dive. Old die-hard drunks sit up at the bar and……………………
March 19th, Tuesday, don’t miss my interview with Henry Charles Bukowski.

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‘You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.’ ~~Bukowski
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Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”

So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Churchill’s Cat….research can be a joy!

Nazi codes in the hem of a dress?

I had just finished reading Susan Elia MacNeal’s Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and was inspired to write a short play about Winston Churchill and his cat, Nelson. Ms. MacNeal referred, in passing, to Mr. Churchill’s pets being allowed free rein to wander the war rooms at #10 Downing Street during Churchill’s time in office. I could clearly see the rotund, shambling figure of the Prime Minister with two pugs yapping at his heels while Admiral Nelson, the cat, silently observed the general hysteria of dogs, from high on a side table.

Churchill was a master not only in crafting the English sentence but also in the coinage of words. His tongue-in-cheek comment: “A fanatic is one who won’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” is a favorite of mine. In a World War I speech, (1914) Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty coined the phase ‘business as usual‘. Saying the maxim of the British people is “business as usual.” Churchill gave the world the phrase: “Iron Curtain” in his speech in Missouri in 1946 when he said, “..…an iron curtain has descended across the continent.”

Having grown up during the post-war years, I knew something of Mr. Churchill. A historic figure that was a great statesman, orator and leader. But I really knew nothing of the man. And once again, (as I have mentioned before) I began a project and then started my research.

Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, (which I highly recommend) is fiction but based in fact. Ms. MacNeal was fortunate enough to have several interviews with Churchill’s private secretary before her death. The book is about a ‘typist’ who was relegated to a menial job because of her gender. She was actually educated in mathematics and cryptology and could easily have fitted in with MI-Five (British CIA) but for her being a woman. The novel’s heroine, Maggie, saves the Prime Minister from certain death by breaking a Nazi code. And this brings me to the fashion advert that actually ran in the London Times and was full of Nazi messages. All the stitching (around sleeves and hem) was Morse code for attacks at #10 Downing and St. Paul’s cathedral.

“German spies hid secret messages in drawings of models wearing the latest fashions in an attempt to outwit Allied censors during World War Two, according to British security service files. Nazi agents relayed sensitive military information using the dots and dashes of Morse code incorporated in the drawings. They posted the letters to their handlers, hoping that counter-espionage experts would be fooled by the seemingly innocent pictures. But British secret service officials were aware of the ruse and issued censors with a code-breaking guide to intercept them.” (actual advert from the London Times)

If not for my love of reading, my passion for writing, and the need for research, I would never have delved into Churchill’s life and his time in office. (my interests don’t generally take that path). It’s an unexpected delight to learn more about this amazing statesman. He was quirky, irritable, brilliant, and very funny.

And all because I had begun writing a short play about Mr. Churchill and his cat! I love when that happens!!

Recommendations: DVD “Into The Storm” starring Albert Finney as Churchill.
Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
The Wit and Wisdom of Winston Churchill by James C. Humes (paperback)
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Start your Month Off right! with MY NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other BEST- SELLING AUTHORS! Early February we shall visit with Jo-Ann Mapson, best selling author of “Solomon’s Oak”, “Blue Rodeo” and new release, “Finding Casey”.
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To receive my posts sign up for my blog. Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog“. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

Pushing out Experiments (part 2)

A Poet You’re Not!

In talking more about experiments I need to go back to 2010. I began writing poetry in my head. Wait just a darn minute! I thought, I’m not a poet! I don’t know the first thing about pentameter, or phrasing, or any of that stuff! Cut it out!, I ordered my brain! ……No sale!

So I began to put it down on paper to see what I might have. One day I remembered a little silver journal that sits in my bookcase where I keep quotes that I like and don’t want to forget, tidbits of this and that, and (surprisingly) quite a bit of what I, myself, had scribbled over the years and tucked away. (Remember what I said about the drawer and letting your writing rise like bread?)

So with my trusty ‘delete’ key at the ready, (the letters are practically worn off that key) editing and re-writing and with much trepidation I considered publishing my first book of poetry, “Butterflies and Bullets“…….but a little voice (the one that keeps me from exposing myself and keeps me from experimenting) kept whispering, “Who do you think you are? A poet now? HA!”

To protect myself if someone actually said: “She thinks she ‘s a poet now?!” I subtitled the book: poetry, musings and other stories. Then I showed a proof to an acknowledged poetess to see what she thought. To publish or not to publish, that was the question. With her encouragement (she thought I had some good stuff) I told my ‘little voice’ to shut up; I was going for it.

Well, I’ve never sold a single copy to a stranger. Plenty of friends and family say they love it but no real customers buying it for the love of poetry. An experiment that failed.…or was it?

This opened my brain and my heart further and I began to write Haiku. I had read the great Samurai warrior-poets for years and it must have rubbed off on me. For months I had an unfinished book with all the poetry written but the pen & Ink art work that I wanted to include wasn’t completed.

Enter my new website…….(May 2012) I started getting hits on my Haiku poetry. Almost every day! There has been a wonderful Renaissance of this time-honored poetry and people were coming to my site looking for more. So I put my book, “The World of Haiku” on the front burner and completed the art work. My audience was calling!

It’s only been out about eight weeks and it is selling! No one is as shocked and amazed as I am. I have since added a companion book, a Journal to inspire others to try their hand at writing Haiku.

So, writers, keep pushing your experiments….keep writing….if one thing doesn’t work try something else. Yeah, the money’s nice but what we, as writers, really want is for people to read what we write! Right??

Wind Horse ©

running free, wild, brave
tail streaming high in the wind
hoof pounding the earth

horses turn their haunch
to show their scorn for the storm
and nature’s tantrum

allows man to think
he can command elegance
and tame the wild heart

Trisha Sugarek

(image used with special permission by Lori Smaltz)

To receive my posts sign up for my blog. Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog“. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!

DON’T MISS NEXT WEEK’S BLOGS WHEN I START A NEW SERIES, “Behind the Scenes” INTERVIEWS with other AUTHORS!

Happy Holidays!!

Happy

Holidays!

Hope you are

writing a

little bite during this busy

time…

……. and wishing you and

yours a Happy New Year! Trisha

Trish

Move Over, ‘Gone with the Wind’, a Review

Ranking: 5 quills

“The Kitchen House” ….Kathleen Grissom has written a contemporary story of the old south with a new twist…that of the indentured servant.

White immigrants to this country, indentured for years, were nothing more than white slaves.
An immigrant would contract to work for an employer for several years in exchange for the cost of passage and room and board. They lived with or near their employer and worked as an unpaid servant. This was a common occurrence between the 17th and 19th centuries. They survived beatings, rape, and sometimes were killed by their employers with impunity.

Synopsis: ‘When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while on board a ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves in the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, a slave and the master’s illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. Forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.’

The Kitchen House is a tragic story of page-turning suspense, exploring the meaning of family, where love and loyalty prevail.

This is so well written you won’t be able to put it down. I cannot wait for Grissom’s next novel….I know it will be a good one!

To receive my posts sign up for my blog. Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box
where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. When you get an email from
‘Writer at Play’ be certain to confirm. Thanks!

Write what you know…..or..

…or research ’till your eye balls fall out.

I am working on my second novel, “Wild Violets”. It takes place during a period in America’s history that I am somewhat familiar with but not nearly enough as it turns out.

The story is going well, I am happy with the development of my characters. Suddenly I realized my (sketchy) heroine had a bar during the years of prohibition. Ops! So I quickly changed it to a speakeasy with illegal booze, which made the story even more interesting. Now Violet had to dodge the coppers and the Mob!

I have two photographs of Violet in the fashion of the day. Not nearly enough information to write an entire story. With a few clicks, using the Internet, I can research time lines, facts and fashion.

The fashion of the roaring twenties is fascinating. Women were just coming out of being laced up, tied up, strapped up and cinched up so tight that they often fainted from lack of air! The tiny waists (even if you didn’t have one naturally) and the huge bell sleeves were gone. Suddenly fashion dictated sexy, loose soft fabrics, with a suggestion of revealing more, but still covering up the female form.

The feminist women of the 20’s were called ‘flappers‘. They worked all day and danced all night! And Violet certainly did that! Worked a twelve-hour day in her bar and grill, ran upstairs to her apartment, refreshed her makeup, donned her bright red dress with the fringe and piled into a town car to hit her favorite road house. Seeking the coldest gin and the hottest jazz!

BOOK SIGNING TODAY !!

I hope you will come out today for my

BOOK SIGNING !!

  Shaver Book Sellers, on Madison Square in Savannah  
to hold a book signing.

This event will begin at

2PM today, November 17th.

Shaver’s carries all of my children’s books, my poetry and novel, “Women Outside the Walls”. Also available, today only, will be most of my play scripts.

Come by and say “hello” and enjoy this historic, iconic book store that is locally owned and operated.

SHAVER’S BOOKSELLERS

326 Bull Street

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Happy

Holidays!

Hope you are

writing a

little bite during this busy

time…

……. and wishing you and

yours a Happy New Year! Trisha

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

I hope you will come out today for my

BOOK SIGNING !!

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