tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91657593981324747502024-03-13T15:15:00.142-07:00A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book...<center>Jennifer's book reviews and interviews with authors</center>Jennifer Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05344200224073447245noreply@blogger.comBlogger301125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-21560771073818075332013-06-03T08:32:00.003-07:002013-06-03T08:32:46.757-07:00Book Giveaway<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">
<b>From Linda Weaver Clarke:</b></div>
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<b>Mystery/Adventure/Sweet Romance Book Giveaway<u></u><u></u></b></div>
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Book Giveaway <b><span class="aBn" data-term="goog_455842546" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">June 3 – 10</span></span></b>:<b> </b>To win one of the mystery books from <i>The Adventures of John and Julia Evans</i> series, leave a comment with your e-mail at <a href="http://lindaweaverclarke.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/four-mysteryadventure-novels" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://lindaweaverclarke.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/2013/06/03/four-<wbr></wbr>mysteryadventure-novels</a><u></u><u></u></div>
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MYSTERY…ADVENTURE...ROMANCE...<wbr></wbr>HUMOR...INTRIGUE!<u></u><u></u></div>
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<i>“One thing I admire about Linda Weaver Clarke’s writing is that she desires to put the reader right there with her characters by describing the setting so well that you are swept away. From page one Linda eloquently describes in interesting details the surroundings and the feelings of her characters. I love when I begin reading a book and am taken in! The relationships and the communication between the characters is top notch</i>.” <b>–Melanie Ski, Jubilee Reviews</b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-17514634270275807842013-05-28T10:49:00.003-07:002013-05-28T10:49:41.713-07:00Author Interview: Bob O'Connor<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today we learn a little more about Bob O'Connor, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Return of Catesby</i>, in this author
interview. Bob is currently on tour with </span><a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/the-return-of-catesby-virtual-book-tour/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Walker
Author Tours</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Enjoy, and pick up your copy of the book at </span><a href="http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-8206-1"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-8206-1</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/the-return-of-catesby-virtual-book-tour/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bwYpWuDfw9g/UXatXIXSEOI/AAAAAAAAAhY/rXkAbOmNAro/s320/CatesbyAUTHORbadge.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer Walker: What is one thing about you that most people don't know? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob O'Connor:</strong> That I do not own
a TV. I have not owned a TV in probably the last 15 years. And I don’t miss it!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: What you are passionate about right now? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob:</strong> I am passionate about Abraham Lincoln’s bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon. I
have written a historical novel abiout him (The Virginia Who Might Have Saved
Lincoln) and edited a book he wrote in the 1880s but was never previously
published (The Life of Abraham Lincoln As President) and do first person
historical impersonations of him for schools and other organizations. I also
blog as Lincolns bodyguard, psoting each Friday on what Mr. Lincoln was doing
exactly 150 years ago. </span><a href="http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">
and <u>www.lincolnsbodyguard.com</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qPOYosvfkOY/UXauUGf2rFI/AAAAAAAAAho/rbFhliVBwVg/s1600/BobOConnorsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qPOYosvfkOY/UXauUGf2rFI/AAAAAAAAAho/rbFhliVBwVg/s320/BobOConnorsmall.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: Do you edit as you go, or do you wait until you're all done with the first
draft? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob:</strong> No, I definitely edit as I go. I probably have printed out and edited
a book 30 or so times before it comes together for publishing. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: If you could go back in time and meet one person, who would it be and why?
</strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln’s bodyguard and a man who I have written about and
interpreted as a historical character.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: What is your favorite movie? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>The newly produced movie “Lincoln”. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: What is your favorite holiday? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob:</strong> Thanksgiving is my favorite. Each year I cook
for a church that provides 1200 or so free meals for anyone who comes by. It is
a real “feel good” kind of event. I have done it now for 12 years straight.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: What did you do to get people to your facebook page? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>I have three facebook pages – <a href="https://www.facebook.com/civilwarauthor?fref=ts" target="_blank">BobO’Connor</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bob-OConnor-Books-LLC/104172202956655?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Bob O’Connor Books</a>, and Bob O’Connor journalist – I post regularly
any article I have written or that is about me.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0CRgEyrbI/UXatpjM2VUI/AAAAAAAAAhg/e51n8sNYv4k/s1600/Catesby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0CRgEyrbI/UXatpjM2VUI/AAAAAAAAAhg/e51n8sNYv4k/s320/Catesby.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: Who does your cover art? </strong></span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>I have various book covers. Two are by fabulous
Civil War artist Mort Künstler. People ask me how I get him to do the covers. I
pay to get the rights to use his artwork that was already drawn.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
<strong>Jennifer: </strong></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Do you think we will still have brick-and-mortar bookstores will still be
around in 10 years? </strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>Yes, I think the local book stores (independently owned)
provide great service especially to local authors in making their books
available and hosting book signing events.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: How many hours a day would you say that you spend promoting your work? </strong></span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Bob: </strong>I spend 12 hours a day, seven
days a week, doing something in regards to my books – promoting, writing or
research. It would be hard for me to break them down or apart. Working on one
helps me to “get away” from the others for a time so when I am back I am ready
to do that part.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: Tell us about your book.</strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>
Bob: </strong></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My book is the continuing story of Catesby – a real colored blacksmith who
lived originally in Charlestown, VA as a slave to Colonel Lewis Washington, a
descendant of George Washington.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
first book Catesby struggles to find his freedom. He runs away from the
operation of a blacksmith shop under a cruel owner who permanently cripples
him. He flees on the Underground Railroad to Pennsylvania.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This book follows Catesby’s new adventures leading up to his teaching
position at Storer College, a new school to teach newly freed blacks to become
teachers. Ironically, the students’ first day in the classroom was Catesby’s
first day too, because he had been taught at home by his mother. Catesby’s vast
experience is helpful in encouraging his students and helping them believe that
if Catesby, a man with a bad leg who had been a slave could accomplish
greatness, they could too.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong>Jennifer: Where can we find out more about you online and buy your book? </strong></span><a href="http://boboconnorbooks.com/synopsis.cfm#Return"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://boboconnorbooks.com/synopsis.cfm#Return</span></a></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<a href="http://www.boboconnorbooks.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">www.boboconnorbooks.com</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<a href="http://examiner.com/civil-war-in-national/bob-o-connor"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://examiner.com/civil-war-in-national/bob-o-connor</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">,</span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<a href="http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com/">http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com</a></span><a href="http://lincolnsbodyguardblog.clogspot.com/"></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div style="margin: 6pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>www.lincolnsbodyguard.com</u></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-2791689922613448942013-04-25T04:00:00.000-07:002013-04-25T04:00:12.483-07:00Excerpt: The Return of Catesby, by Bob O'Connor<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today we have an excerpt from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Return of Catesby</i>, by Bob O'Connor, currently on tour with </span><a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/the-return-of-catesby-virtual-book-tour/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Walker
Author Tours</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Enjoy, and pick up your copy of the book at </span><a href="http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-8206-1"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-8206-1</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/the-return-of-catesby-virtual-book-tour/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bwYpWuDfw9g/UXatXIXSEOI/AAAAAAAAAhU/BIBCGyA6pyQ/s320/CatesbyAUTHORbadge.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">August 26, 1865 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I hobbled to the hearing room at a
quarter after nine so that I made sure I would be on time. Each time I had to
walk very far it reminded me how easy a short walk had been before the incident
in Keedysville, Maryland in June of 1862. That was when Mr. Newberry, who owned
me as his slave, decided to ram a flaming hot iron bar into my thigh to teach
me a lesson. My right leg has been of no use to me since then. I drag it behind
me and do the best I can. Thank God for my crutch. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
Mr. Thompson, the steno, arrived he explained that he had a series of questions
he would ask me from a form. I was to answer each one slowly and loudly as he
would be writing each word for transcription later. He said he was not able to
expand on the questions or comment if I didn’t understand what he was asking. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0CRgEyrbI/UXatpjM2VUI/AAAAAAAAAhc/2BB0wYLPLyQ/s1600/Catesby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RI0CRgEyrbI/UXatpjM2VUI/AAAAAAAAAhc/2BB0wYLPLyQ/s320/Catesby.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Are you ready, Mr. Catesby?” he
asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes
sir.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Question
1 – Please state your name, rank and regiment.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“My
name is Catesby. I was the blacksmith for the 54<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Massachusetts
Volunteer Infantry.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
am sorry sir. You must give your full name, first and last for the record. Will
you please state your name again?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Catesby is my full name. I do not
have a last name. I am just plain Catesby.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Question
2 – Please state the dates that you were a Union prisoner at the Andersonville
Prison in Georgia.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
entered the prison around February 25, 1864 and was transferred out on
September 11, 1864.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Question
3 – During your time in the prison, did you know a man named Captain Henry Wirz?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Yes.
He was the commandant of the Andersonville Prison during my stay there.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Question
4 – At any time during your time in the prison, did you ever, even once, see
Captain Wirz kill one of the prisoners of war?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“No,
I did not.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That
is all, sir. I am sure Major General Wallace will inform you back at the
Willard Hotel when or if he wants you to testify.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“That’s
all you want to know?” I asked in disgust.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mr.
Thompson had already picked up his pad and was walking out of the room. He
looked back at me and said, “Thank you, sir.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That
was it. I hobbled back to the hotel. Mr. Quinn was waiting. I just shook my
head.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“What’s
the matter, Catesby?” he asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It
was a sham. All they wanted to know was did I think Captain Wirz was guilty.
When he found out I didn’t think he was, the interview ended. I would bet the
blacksmith shop that I will not be called to testify.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
sat silently in the lobby for quite a long time. The messenger returned with a
note from Major General Wallace. It was brief. I read it out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Mr.
Catesby. Thank you for your deposition. With 160 witnesses set to testify, I do
not feel that you have anything to add to the testimony already lined up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sincerely, Major General Lew Wallace”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Do you mind if we sit in on the trial anyway, since
we are here?” Mr. Quinn asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qPOYosvfkOY/UXauUGf2rFI/AAAAAAAAAhk/utgll1ahhiw/s1600/BobOConnorsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qPOYosvfkOY/UXauUGf2rFI/AAAAAAAAAhk/utgll1ahhiw/s320/BobOConnorsmall.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I
would not want to go back home without watching at least a part of it. Let’s go
over there right now.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We
walked to the courtroom. Although the room was quite full, the doorman pointed
to two seats in the next to the last row. We quickly found the seats and sat
down.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At
the end of the large room was the table where the members of the Military
Commission were sitting. I could see some of the name cards that were turned in
my direction. Major General Lew Wallace – Major General Lorenzo Thomas –
Brigadier General E. L. Bragg. The other names I could not see from where I was
sitting. But it was obvious that these were the “brass” of the U.S. Army. All
looked overfed. Obviously they had never been in prison.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Captain
Wirz lay on a make-shift bed near the front of the room. I was not sure he was
even awake.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
man testifying was not familiar to me, but he was certainly skinny and sickly
as most of the men had been in the prison. He was telling of the conditions. He
spoke of irregular rations, sickness of his men, lack of medicine, and the
like. He said men were dying every single day. He told of his men not even
being able to stand in line for rations because they were so weak.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
man was testifying about the prison. Any of us could have told the same story.
He did not mention Captain Wirz killing anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
next witness identified himself as Sergeant Boston Corbett, who said he arrived
at the prison in July, 1864. He was quite sunburned, possibly from his prison stay.
Sgt. Corbett’s testimony was about the deadline, the unclean water, infestation
of lice and the filth that was everywhere. Again, any prisoner could have said
that. He too said nothing about the killing of prisoners by the commandant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A
man who said his name was L.D. Brown was next up. He said in May, 1864, Captain
Wirz ordered a man with one leg shot. Brown claimed Captain Wirz shouted,
“Shoot the one-legged Yankee devil.” A guard shot the prisoner in the head. He
died within a few minutes. When the defense asked Brown the one-legged man’s
name, Brown said he did not know.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There
were additional arguments between the prosecution and the defense. Court was
adjourned early in the afternoon as Captain Wirz had become ill. On our way
out, I heard “Catesby. Is that you?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I turned to see the familiar face
of Father Peter Whalen, the priest from the prison. We greeted each other
warmly. I introduced him to Mr. Quinn who acknowledged that I had talked of the
pastor’s great work in bringing the word of God to a place as close to Hell as
any place on earth.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Will you be testifying?” I
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I originally thought so, but as
the days go by, I am certain that they don’t want to hear from me. They seem to
have a guilty agenda. My testimony would not support that,” Father Whalen
explained.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I have the same thought. They
didn’t want to hear from me either.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Father Whalen said he had returned
home after Andersonville closed and started a small church. He said it was a
Catholic Church but it was open to all denominations. His church was doing
quite well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It didn’t surprise me that even as
a Catholic priest, anyone could come to his church. In the prison, Father
Whalen hadn’t cared much what religion you practiced or even if you had any
religion at all. He had offered to fill a need, bringing God into a place where
there hadn’t been much hope for anyone.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I thanked Father Whalen. We parted
with a firm handshake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had been good
to see someone who had done great work for so many at the prison. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mr. Quinn and I left the courtroom
and walked slowly back to the Willard Hotel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“What did you think?” I asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Seemed to me like the military
commission was trying to pin the lack of food, water and medical supplies on
Captain Wirz. That would justify a guilty verdict. You had told me you didn’t
think the conditions at the prison were his fault.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Where do I know that Corbett
fellow from?” I asked. “I didn’t know all 34,000 prisoners, but he sure looked
familiar.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Isn’t he the same Boston Corbett
who killed John Wilkes Booth?” Mr. Quinn asked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“That’s it. I saw a drawing of him
in the newspaper. He sure gets around.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We stayed that night again at the
Willard Hotel. We planned to return to Gettysburg the following morning.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-11885011486222381872013-04-01T03:30:00.000-07:002013-04-01T03:30:02.751-07:00Guest post and excerpt: Marsha CorneliusEnjoy this guest post and excerpt from author Marsha Cornelius, whose book<i> Losing it All </i>is available this week only for just $.99 on Amazon. Read on to find out how you can win a free copy!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wSMb7BrI7Tc/UVO59mOuWRI/AAAAAAAAAg8/MpX3fD5H5kg/s1600/Losing+It+All-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wSMb7BrI7Tc/UVO59mOuWRI/AAAAAAAAAg8/MpX3fD5H5kg/s320/Losing+It+All-cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">WHY
TWO POVs?<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Doesn’t point of
view drive you crazy some times? I’ve read books where the POV changed
two or three times - in the same paragraph. I’ve tried not to create this kind
of writing faux pas, but I have been known to use two different POVs in the
same book.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">In my first
novel, <u>H10 N1</u>, my two main characters, Rick and Taeya, share quite an
adventure together. But they absolutely do not get along in the first portion
of the book. I thought the best way to give them equal time in their disdain
for each other was to include both of their perspectives on what was happening,
and what they thought about each other.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Even if you only
switch POVs a chapter at a time, it still gets a bit tricky. The author can’t
just cover the same ground from the other point of view. (Although I’ve seen
that done, too.) I read a novella where the author wrote the scene from the
female lead’s perspective, then went back and did the whole scene again from
the male’s POV. It was very disconcerting. Going back throws the reader out of
the story just as much as changing the POV. So unless the opposing POV is
critical to the plot, I say move forward. <u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I’ve changed
whole chapters, however, because I wanted the scene to come from a certain
character’s POV. It’s possible to add comic relief, or ramp up the drama, just
by switching the perspective. And an author has a lot more leeway in telling a
story when the main character isn’t around. In fact, it’s a great way to show
the reader something that the main character doesn’t know. A glimpse behind the
curtain, so to speak.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The Ups and
Downs of Being Dead</span></u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">, my
second book, is told strictly from Robert’s point of view. The reader
follows his journey as he waits to be brought back to life, along with other
cryonically-frozen ‘ghosts’. It felt natural to tell the story from this one
perspective.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">But for my third
novel, <u>Losing it All</u>, I’ve gone back to a dual point of view, not
because the two main characters are adversaries, but because their lives are in
two really different places at the beginning of the story. <u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I want the
reader to observe Frank and Chloe as their lives draw closer together. Kind of
like Sleepless in Seattle. There’s no way that story could have been written
from a single point of view.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Even when Frank
and Chloe do meet, circumstances keep them apart until Chloe is at the end of
her rope. <u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Here are two
short excerpts that introduce Frank and Chloe</span>.</div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>CHAPTER ONE EXCERPT</b></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Pain’s a bitch. <o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">The doctor at the VA called it
phantom pain, nerve trauma that would eventually go away. Yeah, right. Frank
was twelve years and counting.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">This morning, he woke to a cold,
sluggish fog that had his foot throbbing before he even stood. His only relief
was to shift his weight to his toes and keep pressure off the heel. Of course,
the gimp-walk didn’t do much for his appearance. People already shied away from
his long hair and shaggy beard. The shuffling limp and tortured expression
convinced onlookers that he was a derelict.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">They should have seen him twelve
years ago at the VA. The pain was so intense all he could do was lie in bed,
groaning and thrashing, his hospital gown soaked in sweat. Once he was up and
around, he’d rolled down the hallway in his wheelchair, ranting at other
Vietnam veterans with missing legs and arms. His rage seemed to ease his pain,
but like a drug, he needed more. So he started ramming into other wheelchairs,
then chasing after those who could walk, bruising their ankles with his metal
foot-plates. <o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">On his feet, Frank was a regular
fighting machine, wielding a crutch like a club, or throwing sucker punches
when least expected. It never occurred to him that those guys were battling
their own pain. <o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">In desperation, he pinned a doctor
to the wall with his own clipboard, threatening to decapitate him if he didn’t
up Frank’s morphine dosage. An orderly put him out on the street.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Then the pain really took hold. The
dribble of morphine still in his system wore off while he slouched in the back
of a city bus headed for downtown Atlanta. When he threw up in the aisle, the
driver tossed him off. Unable to stand, much less walk, Frank crawled into an
alleyway and passed out. <o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">A wino rummaging through a trashcan
woke him. Frank offered the bum some dough for his bottle of Thunderbird, and
slugged the wine down in one long gulp. From there it was all downhill.<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iZsPIbQ-ba0/UVO6DPAVC2I/AAAAAAAAAhE/i5p07M0O9wQ/s1600/Marsha+Use+this.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iZsPIbQ-ba0/UVO6DPAVC2I/AAAAAAAAAhE/i5p07M0O9wQ/s320/Marsha+Use+this.jpg" width="215" /></a><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;">One
week only<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;">April 1
– April 7<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><i>Losing
It All</i><u1:p></u1:p></span></u></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 20.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Only
99¢ on Amazon.<u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://ow.ly/iG2wP">http://ow.ly/iG2wP</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">
(US) </span><a href="http://ow.ly/iG4jm">http://ow.ly/iG4jm</a><span class="MsoHyperlink"> (UK)</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">About the Author:<u1:p></u1:p></span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">After
15 years as an elementary school cafeteria manager, Cornelius quit her day job
and now writes full time at home. That is, when she’s not posting on Twitter or
sharing jokes on Facebook or chatting with other readers on Goodreads.<br />
She
has even been known to wipe a Swiffer over furniture surfaces and declare her
home clean.<br />
Her
two grown sons lead their own lives, while her husband competes with two
mollycoddled cats for affection.<br />
This
is her third novel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Want to win a copy of <i>Losing it All</i>? Leave a comment on this post and one random poster will win! Winner will be announced on April 8.<br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--></span><u1:p></u1:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-335984989025633022013-02-18T10:47:00.000-08:002013-02-18T10:47:06.000-08:00Book excerpt: Spin the PlateHappy Monday! Donna Anastasi is currently on tour with Walker Author Tours, and here on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book we have the honor of being the first tour stop! Enjoy this excerpt from the newly expanded, re-edited version of Spin the Plate. Here we get a little insight into the character of Jo, the heroine of the story. <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615748724/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0615748724&linkCode=as2&tag=jensboorev00-20">Click here to purchase your copy of <em>Spin the Plate</em>.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jensboorev00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0615748724" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spin-the-plate-donna-anastasi/1022813450?ean=9781935605393&itm=2&usri=spin%2bthe%2bplate" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"></a><br />
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spin-the-plate-donna-anastasi/1022813450?ean=9781935605393&itm=2&usri=spin%2bthe%2bplate" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/spin-the-plate-virtual-book-tour/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-79Nx5o7kQLo/USJ1wP3MtUI/AAAAAAAAAgg/QN_hDY6P_Y4/s320/STPAUTHORbadge.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
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Turning back to the dogs, she called
out to them by their street names, “Titan! Cain!” which she used when they were
out at night to help intimidate strangers. Rufus wriggled in delight and Ben
waved his powerful thin tail. They knew they were going into the city for the
evening.</div>
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Jo scowled at them and said, “Hey. Toughen up!”</div>
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Titan’s lip curled into a smile, exposing his long white
canine teeth, and Cain burst into an explosive series of barks.</div>
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“Okay, that’s a little better,” she conceded, though the
tails still beat the air, “Let’s go.”</div>
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The three started out into the night. Inspired by exercises
from the Sumo training manual, Jo had developed her own loping stride. She did
not run or jog, fearing a lean and thin runner’s build would result. Instead,
she moved in a rolling rapid gait, bending her knees ever so slightly with a
movement somewhere between a chimp on two feet and a Native American Ute
hunter. She’d never yet hit her limit on how long or far she could go at this
pace.</div>
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It took two hours for Jo to travel the ten-mile stretch from
Newton to one of Boston’s grimier neighborhoods, arriving there after just
after midnight. Ben was the tracker, without formal training, but with a strong
natural instinct to sniff and find. Jo had shaped the behavior using verbal
praise, with Ben ready to work to exhaustion to attain a rare expression of her
pleasure. The huge hound was indiscriminate, able to search and rescue any
living creature, whether it was a rat in need, a cat, a dog, or even a city
pigeon with a broken wing. Most of his finds were lost or deserted pets of all
sorts, including reptiles, ferrets, bunnies, and the occasional gerbil. Ben
kept his nose to the ground in one continuous sniff. Rufus held his head high,
skipping along beside Ben, tail swishing back and forth. Ben’s tail waved the
air as he walked, until finally, often behind a large green dumpster, he would
tense his shoulder muscles, freeze, and stare intently.</div>
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Ben was always the first to find a creature, having both the
superior nose and concentration over the adolescent Rufus. Jo was never sure
what species they’d encounter. She came armed with rolled oats, meat, an apple,
baby food, and lactose-free milk for the animals. She carried packets of
vanilla energy paste, too, which she consumed herself every forty-five minutes
for concentrated calories, protein, and potassium. These she would sometimes
share with severely emaciated carnivores.</div>
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She’d been picking animals up off the roadside for as long
as she could remember. Jo found it ironic that this passion was initially
ignited by her mother, of all people. It was nearly impossible for Jo to think
about her mother as the person she once was. In fact, she thought of the woman
in that memory as a different person all together, one long dead and gone.</div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615748724/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0615748724&linkCode=as2&tag=jensboorev00-20"><span style="font-size: small;">Click here to purchase your copy of <em>Spin the Plate</em>.</span></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jensboorev00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0615748724" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-31221372103867766062013-01-28T10:38:00.001-08:002013-01-28T10:38:31.748-08:00This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Kelly Preston<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yZLbrZ6jFz4/UQbFiPiwTDI/AAAAAAAAAfw/s5nfVJegEMs/s1600/realdogs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yZLbrZ6jFz4/UQbFiPiwTDI/AAAAAAAAAfw/s5nfVJegEMs/s1600/realdogs.jpg" /></a></div>
This week on the <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks" target="_blank">A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book</a> BlogTalkRadio show, Jennifer will interview Kelly Preston, author of Real Dogs Don't Whisper. Listen live on Wednesday, January 30 at 3:30 Pacific Time or hear the recording any time after the show at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/30/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/30/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</a>.<br />
<br />
Kelly lives her belief that all lives are precious and deserve a chance. Her book is a unique and heartfelt collection of stories about some of the rescue dogs (several thought to be hopeless) she has invited into her home, punctuated by Mr. MaGoo's reflections, of course! Mr MaGoo is a nine-year-old Lhasa Apso and the book's co-creator. He is, in his own words, "the alpha and omega of all dogs".<br />
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Kelly's writing comes from her life experiences and that of her dogs. Her goal is to inspire and motivate her readers to enjoy life and live it to the fullest extent, much like our animals. She also hopes to encourage the adoption of special needs dogs. Kelly has a children's book on the way for early 2013 publication. Visit Kelly, Mr MaGoo, Buffy, Carla Mae and her latest rescue Mini Me at <a href="http://www.realdogsdontwhisper.com/">www.realdogsdontwhisper.com</a>.<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-60216308928057696922013-01-18T13:16:00.000-08:002013-01-18T13:16:18.692-08:00This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Milt Toby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NoorAUTHORbadge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/NoorAUTHORbadge.jpg" width="248" /></a></div>
This week on the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show, Jennifer talks with Milt Toby, who is currently on tour with Walker Author Tours with his book Noor: A Champion Thoroughbred's Unlikely Journey from California to Kentucky. Listen live on Wednesday, January 23, at 3:30 Pacific Time or hear the recording any time after the show, at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/23/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/23/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</a>.<br />
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While Seabiscuit is perhaps the best-known Thoroughbred in history, Charles S. Howard owned another remarkable race horse that should never be forgotten. Howard's Irish-bred Noor dominated the 1950 racing season, setting three world records in victories over Citation and winning the Hollywood Gold Cup by defeating a Triple Crown winner, the Horse of the Year, and the previous year's Kentucky Derby winner. Sadly, that fame faded as he failed to sire champions, and Noor was buried in an unmarked grave in the infield of a training track in Northern California.<br />
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<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", "Bitstream Charter", Times, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18.99px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Noor-front-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Noor-front-cover.jpg" width="211" /></a>In<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Noor: A Champion Thoroughbred's Unlikely Journey from California to Kentucky</em>, veteran turf writer Milt Toby recounts Noor's colorful career and the inspiring story of racing enthusiast Charlotte Farmer's personal mission to exhume the horse's remains for reburial in Central Kentucky.</div>
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Milt's previous book,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Dancer's Image: The Forgotten Story of the 1968 Kentucky Derby</em>, was honored with the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for the best book about Thoroughbred racing published in 2012 and an American Horse Publications Award for the Best Equine Book of the Year.</div>
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Learn more about Milt and the book at <a href="http://www.miltonctoby.com/">http://www.miltonctoby.com</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-73641473836812905272013-01-15T11:56:00.002-08:002013-01-15T11:56:56.050-08:00This Week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Jackie Anton<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This week on the </span><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> BlogTalkRadio show, Jennifer will interview Jackie Anton, author of the Backyard Horse Tales series. Listen Live on Wednesday, January 16 at 3:30 Pacific Time or hear the recording any time after the show at </span><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/16/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2013/01/16/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Backyard Horse Tales 2: Frosty and the Nightstalker <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">by Jackie Anton</span></div>
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<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Frosty is an Appaloosa colt who undergoes a life changing event the summer he turns two that triggers a strange out of body experience. Is he only having bad dreams or is his strange haunting a result of the collective memories of Appaloosas from a long ago past? Follow Frosty through the twilight between space and time where you will meet the Nightstalker.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Learn more about Ms. Anton at </span><a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.backyardhorsetales.com/" href="http://www.backyardhorsetales.com/" style="border: 0px currentColor; color: #336699; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18.75px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">http://www.backyardhorsetales.com</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-26492808424177010822012-12-01T19:31:00.004-08:002012-12-01T19:34:41.138-08:00Author Interview: John Riffice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fpnTh9YUhM/ULrLWfMhLSI/AAAAAAAAAfA/iyzmtcwGAVQ/s1600/johnriffice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1fpnTh9YUhM/ULrLWfMhLSI/AAAAAAAAAfA/iyzmtcwGAVQ/s320/johnriffice.jpg" width="257" /></a></div>
Today we have an interview with <span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John Riffice, author of <span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><em>Waiting for Pops. </em>Read to the end to find out how to win a copy!</span><br />
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<strong>Jennifer: Where can we find out more about you and buy your book?<br />
JPR:</strong> My book, <em>Waiting For Pops</em>, is available through Amazon or through a link
to Amazon at my website <a href="http://www.johnphilipriffice.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.johnphilipriffice.com</span></a>
for a mere $9.99 (paperback) or $3.99 (ebook). There at my website the
reader can find out a little more about me both professionally and personally.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
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<strong>Jennifer: Tell us about your book.<br />
JPR: </strong>Waiting For Pops, a mainstream biographical novel based on real-life
events, is a tale of a young boy’s appalling mistreatment at the hands of his
alcoholic mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a tale of
spousal secrets and parental lies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
a tale of love, friendship, and, above all else, betrayal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pops is seen through the eyes of an innocent
boy growing steadily into manhood in 1950s <u1:city u2:st="on"><u1:place u2:st="on">Chicago</u1:place></u1:city>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Johnny Ryba tells his story and transports
the reader into his small, blue-collar existence—his mother’s alcoholism, his
much-loved father’s sudden death in an auto accident, his beloved little
sister’s autism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later, as the reader
accompanies Johnny into his teen years, they experience as well the painful
heartbreak of his first love and loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The storyline rapidly evolves and ultimately centers on a mystery that
Johnny attempts to solve as a mature adult, resulting in a shocking revelation
that reverses almost everything he once believed about his mother and father,
as well as his own harrowing past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
inadvertently discovers his parents’ role as accomplices in a lifelong
conspiracy of silence, and also becomes aware of a misplaced affection for his
father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Johnny must finally come to
terms with the most important aspect of his life: the truth about his parents,
and about himself, too.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">This mystery centers around young Johnny
Ryba, who is used to his mother physically and verbally abusing him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He can’t turn to his father for help; Pops
died long ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But strangely enough,
finding help is not Johnny’s main concern: keeping his mother’s alcoholism a
secret is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To him, it is the only thing
that matters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mere thought that
neighbors and friends might learn of his family secret is more than the little
boy can bear. And in attempting to keep it all secret, Johnny discovers
the truth about his mother and father and their lifelong conspiracy of
silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Waiting For Pops </i>concerns itself with two subjects which have
plagued societies worldwide for decades: child abuse and alcoholism, both
uniquely portrayed in this mystery set in 1950s Chicago. Back then,
we spoke of it in whispers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today these
matters are open for discussion, but their solutions still elude us-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and their effects still linger on</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">And</i>
they linger for Johnny, too, until he finally discovers what may have been
better kept a secret.</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Jennifer: </strong></span><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong>Where did you get the idea for the story?<br />
JPR:</strong> The entire storyline is fundamentally autobiographical in nature, though
snippets here and there have been incorporated into the book's text as a result
of personal observations of the lives of two childhood friends.
Curiously, the three of us as adolescents <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">never
</span></em>discussed what we each were privately facing, under the misguided
belief that what we were experiencing was both 'a well-kept secret' as well as
a life unique to each of us individually. Neither assumption, of course,
was true. Over three decades passed before we individually came to terms
with the reality of our youth and were able to discuss our experiences honestly
and openly. It seemed that only with age and maturity we were capable of
letting go of the shame of 'covering' for an abusive, alcoholic parent and the
embarrassment they brought into our lives.<br />
<br />
What do you find most rewarding in writing a book?<br />
JPR: I think the most rewarding aspect of having written this book is the many
emails and comments I have received. Curiously, the theme of all these
communications tend to be similar in nature. "God, I swear you must
have lived my life!" or "I had a friend and the poor girl was going
through the same thing. But we never talked about
it...". Additionally, my description of life in a solidly blue
collar, middle class neighborhood was apparently right on the money, from
day-to-day life to the clickety-clack of passing trains to the more
sordid, tawdry details of infidelities and deceitful behavior on the part
of neighbors. All from a child's perspective, too! So, in short,
readers confirm that what I intended to do when I set out and first set pen to
paper was realized! Writing a book that <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">all </span></em>readers could relate to-because
most of us grew up middle class with either an abusive or substance
abusing adult somewhere in our lives-was very rewarding. Knowing I
touched so many people (which of course is the objective of most writers)
was rewarding and, after all , the whole point of starting such an
endeavor. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br />
<br />
<strong>Jennifer: What other projects do you have coming up?<br />
JPR: </strong>I just this week finished a novel entitled "Dog and Butterfly,"
a lovely story about a little boy and his relationship with his uncle, the
boy's deceased father's older brother. It is a beautiful tome revolving
around the power of Fate and how it shapes our lives and essentially, how one
life event (whether good or bad) just has to happen so the next thing
can. Life, after all, is just a series of events that when connected tell
a story.<br />
<br />
<br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o-xDWWYoufU/ULrLjw9LBkI/AAAAAAAAAfI/x_K7MBIRv4o/s1600/waitingforpops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o-xDWWYoufU/ULrLjw9LBkI/AAAAAAAAAfI/x_K7MBIRv4o/s320/waitingforpops.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<strong>Jennifer: Do you write full time? If so, tell us how you manage it. If not, what is your
day job?<br />
JPR:</strong> I do not write full-time (darn it!), though it usually feels like I
do! By day, I am a pipefitter in Chicago (yes, it's true... a
construction worker who writes books!) since 1982. Sometime in those
years I left the trade to pursue my dream of becoming an educator. For
nine years, before the economy took its most recent severe downturn, I taught
Spanish, Italian, Special Education, Vocational Education, Driver Education,
and Social Studies. Whew!!! It was a profession I loved (and still
do) and one I hope to some day return to.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Jennifer: What is your writing process like--do you outline first or just start writing,
etc.?<br />
JPR:</strong> I see creative writing as very similar to spring cleaning: hard to get
started, but once you do, you don't stop till the job is done! Typically,
and I suspect this is true for most writers, I start with a thought. That
thought makes its way to a sentence and then to a paragraph. And of
course that paragraph gives birth to another paragraph and then another
and another and... well, you get it. Over time, deletions are made and
additions are inserted. Unfortunately (and I suspect this is true for
most writers, too), after weeks of penning a chapter and reviewing and editing
it a million times, I read it over and say to myself, "This is
garbage!" So I put it down for a few days and come back to it
then. And guess what? Sometimes it<em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"> is </span></em>garbage! But more often than not,
it's pretty darn good stuff. I equate it to spending a few hours in the
kitchen making a nice pot of soup: after tasting it over and over it turns into
a big disappointment. But the next day? "Hey, this is <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">good!" </span></em>And
that's how writing is for me: writing, rewriting, reading, rereading until <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">Shazaam! </span></em>I've actually
got something exceptional on my hands.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Jennifer: What have you done to develop your writing craft?<br />
JPR:</strong> In all honesty, with respect to writing, I'd have to say that I'm a
natural. This I attribute to the fact that I have always been a gifted
storyteller, something that served me well particularly when I was in the
classroom. No way to better get your point across to a captive audience
(that is, kids who would much rather be elsewhere) than deliver your message in
storyform. And so, this gift enabled an easy transition from oral
storytelling to written storytelling. Add to that the fact that I am a
voracious reader and have enjoyed the various writing styles of countless
authors, it is little wonder that my writing is so good and so
entertaining. My wife tells me that few people have this talent.
Maybe she's right; I don't know. All I can say is that for me it comes
relatively easy. Now that's not to say that I don't get stuck or suffer from
writer's block from time to time. I do! But that passes too, and
before I know it I'm back in the saddle and writing like Hemingway! Well,
okay, perhaps I exaggerate a little...<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Jennifer: Tell us a little about your non-writing life. Family? Pets? Hobbies?<br />
JPR:</strong> Pets? Skippy, Atticus, and Ted, two miniature dachshunds and a
shepherd-mutt, respectively. And may God rest their souls... I
never had dogs as a boy (my mom <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">knew
</span></em>she'd get the brunt of the work laid at her doorstep-she was right
about that, too, I think), but as a little girl my daughter wanted a dog.
I fought that notion for as long as I could, but being weak of heart and not
wanting to disappoint my daughter, I gave in. It didn't take long
before I was in love with ol' Ted, and before I knew it I had a managerie of pets:
three dogs, a cat, and a canary. Despite the sadness (and I do mean <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">sadness</span></em>) of
eventually losing them all, my daughter is now a veterinarian (University
of Iowa, Class of 2012), having them around enhanced my life
tenfold. Now, however, the sadness of losing them precludes me from
getting another pet, but in time I hope that will pass. But when?
It's been four years and my heart is still broken!<br />
<br />
My hobbies are (of course) writing and golf. And
that's another reason I'm delighted to be done with my latest venture, 'Dog And
Butterfly'. Now I can take a break and get back on the golf course!
And family? Well, I told you about Dr. Riffice (my daughter), of whom I
am oh-so-proud! But then there's my better half, Karen (and I do mean <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">better), </span></em>my wife and
life companion for the last 28 years. How she puts up with me I'll never
know. All I can say is that she's a better man than I! <br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Jennifer: When and why did you decide to become a writer?<br />
JPR:</strong> It's all my wife's fault! Several years back I became friends with
an immigrant from Sicily, a restaurateur, with whom I opened a little <em><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">trattoria </span></em>(forgot to
mention that cooking Italian is my passion, an art I acquired after living in
Italy several years after college). The whole sordid affair is far too
long to go into here (but it is the subject of a yet-to-be-released book called
'Divided By One'), but suffice it to say that my partner's association with
certain underworld characters (unbeknownst to me when we became partners)
caused the whole situation to go south in a hurry. The bullet to his head
didn't help any, either. At any rate, over dinner with friends, I would
tell the whole story, detail by delicious detail. Our companions'
response was always the same: "You should write a book!", a refrain
my wife uttered a million times previously. So I did. It was then
that I decided to pursue writing a bit more seriously.<br />
<br />
To be honest, it may have started a little earlier, my
desire to write. When I was a sophmore in high school, I met a girl and
just flipped out over her. Needless to say, she dumped me not long after,
leaving my heart shattered in a zillion pieces. The following year, I
wrote a ten page love story, based on our so-called relationship, and
lo-and-behold I won her back! A few years later, Fate interceded and
snatched her away from me again. But I thank the Lord it did. I
wouldn't have ever had Skippy and Atticus and Ted et al., not to mention my
good wife and my daughter the doctor!<br />
<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
Want to win a copy of <em>Waiting for Pops</em>? Leave a comment on this blog and you could win! Winner will be announced on Monday, December 10, 2012.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-69916774352491049582012-11-12T13:56:00.001-08:002012-11-12T13:56:43.972-08:00This Week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book Radio Program: Greg Interviews Kimberly Morrow-Stephens, Author of Family Secrets<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Markus Randolph and his wife Angel have found themselves plunged
into a world of drugs, crime, murder, and undercover Federal agents. Markus has
also made a grim discovery: his biological father is a member of New York's
most lethal drug cartel, and he must travel from New York to North Carolina to
convince the man that he's on his side - with both their lives dependent upon
his success...<br />
<br />
J.D. and Rico Smalls have the drug trade sown up in Reidsville, North Carolina;
however, J. D.'s affiliations are about to change life in "small town
America" as they know it. When visitors from out of state come calling,
can the two survive the outcome...?<br />
<br />
Eva Miller has come home to North Carolina after spending most her life in the
big city, but when she meets the love of her life, his family's business
threatens everything. Can her love save him when the bullets start flying...?<br />
<br />
For nearly thirty years, the Colonel and J. D. have been friends, and their
sons have grown to become major players in family business and family ties -
but when the devil comes to collect his due, only one family can survive when
the Family Secrets are finally revealed...</span></div>
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Be sure to join us for a fun and informative afternoon with Kimberly
Morrow-Stephens and learn about her latest novel, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Family Secrets</i>, on <b><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/11/07/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">BlogTalkRadio</span></a></b> on
Wednesday, November 14, from 3:30 to 4:00 Pacific Time. And join us each week
at the same time to meet exciting new authors and hear about their latest books
and their creative processes.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-76738623425839412662012-11-05T00:01:00.000-08:002012-11-05T00:01:00.713-08:00This Week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book Radio Program: Greg Interviews Deanna Proach, Author of To Be Maria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfDMiu9TXiY/UJAoXqv2BmI/AAAAAAAAAcg/cRcR1GVfoMw/s1600/97621516992c320a1f862ff2ef7efb37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfDMiu9TXiY/UJAoXqv2BmI/AAAAAAAAAcg/cRcR1GVfoMw/s1600/97621516992c320a1f862ff2ef7efb37.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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</span>Seventeen-year-old Anya Preschnikov dreams of one day becoming a famous
actor, but she's faced with two problems: her one-parent, dysfunctional family
neglects her and has no money to support her, and at school, she's the target
of her peers' contempt. Anya believes that in order to secure her stepping
stone to stardom, she must dress like the rich girls and be surrounded by a
large network of friends. All of this changes, though, when Maria Hernandez
comes to Peach Valley Senior High. Rebellious and headstrong, Maria instantly
gains the acceptance of her peers - yet she sees in Anya what everyone else
does not: her physical beauty and immense talent. So when Maria extends her
hand of friendship, Anya is elated. Her lifelong dream seems like it's about to
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rude comment sends her into a rage.<br /><br />
Desperate to belong somewhere, Anya and Maria set out to find new friends
outside of school. They soon meet Alex and Marissa, a young couple who eagerly
welcomes them into their world of parties and drugs. Anya and Maria soon learn
that Alex is a drug dealer, but they're so lured by his wealth and aggressive
confidence that they can't resist his friendship. What they don't know is that
Alex's gang is at war with a rival gang - one run by Anya's older brother,
Adrik - until a deadly incident puts their lives in danger's path. To make
matters worse, Alex refuses to let Anya and Maria out of his sight. </span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />
The two young women soon find themselves forced into a situation that could
have very tragic consequences if they don't escape it soon...</span></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">If
you are interested in picking up her book before the show, it is currently
available in a Kindle edition at <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/To-be-Maria-ebook/dp/B008R1SF7O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351623684&sr=8-1&keywords=To+Be+Maria">Amazon</a></b>.
And be sure to visit check out her witty and wise weblog at <b><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4388748.Deanna_Proach/blog?auto_login_attempted=true">Goodreads</a></b>!</span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-attachment: scroll;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Be sure to join us for a fun and informative afternoon with Deanna Proach on <b><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/11/07/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book" target="_blank">BlogTalkRadio</a></b> on Wednesday, November 7, from 3:30 to 4:00 Pacific Time. And join us each week at the same time to meet exciting new authors and hear about their latest books and their creative processes.</span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-72195727565283843182012-10-29T15:31:00.000-07:002012-10-29T15:32:38.180-07:00This Week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Greg Interviews Quantu Amaru, Award-winning Author of One Blood<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-46oPqPna_RQ/UI8C_CukxjI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/iC1YZFeE-V8/s1600/eBookcoverimage+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-46oPqPna_RQ/UI8C_CukxjI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/iC1YZFeE-V8/s320/eBookcoverimage+(2).jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This week on special Halloween Edition of <b><a href="http://tobtr.com/s/3836339" target="_blank">A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book</a></b>, Greg interviews Qwantu Amaru, author of the award-winning supernatural
thriller, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One Blood</i>.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
From Kirkus Book Reviews:<br />
<br />
"A governor and his sordid past are at the heart of a tale of retribution
in Amaru's stunning debut novel. Amaru's greatest achievement is a nonlinear
story that still manages to be clean-cut and precise. The plot bounces readers
from one time period to another--flashbacks sometimes occur during other
flashbacks, and dream sequences meld into memories and back into real time.
Despite this narrative style, the story is, surprisingly, never perplexing. Amaru
skillfully manages this feat by presenting uncertainty--such as Lincoln's
relationship with a man named Amir--but immediately clarifying it with prior
events, complete with a time stamp. Similarly, voodoo and many appearances of
loa (spirits) are treated sincerely, not merely as wacky, otherworldly
manifestations. The thorough examination of peoples' pasts allows for sharp,
distinct characters. This heightens the tension between characters engaged in
high-pressure situations, of which the author has ample supply. For deep-rooted
characters immersed in violence, the novel's defining moment may be a wounded
man reciting the Lord's Prayer aloud while dodging bullets in a blistering gun
battle. <br />
<br />
(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">One Blood</i>) is a gutsy book that
blazes trails, plotted at breakneck speed that won't let up."</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Join us on a spooky edition of <b><a href="http://tobtr.com/s/3836339" target="_blank">A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book</a></b> as we interview Qwantu Amaru about this eerie new book. The show is this Wednesday,
Halloween, at 3:30 pm PDT.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This episode of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book promises
to be a great kick-off to a “BOO!” filled Halloween! Join us, if you dare!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-50259525933532446992012-10-22T21:17:00.000-07:002012-10-22T21:17:28.558-07:00This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Greg interviews Michael Crisp, author of Murder in the Mountains: The Muriel Baldridge Story<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmqY2uv8oy4/UIYaCOWHAkI/AAAAAAAAAcA/zAc4zkPaB3A/s1600/MitM-FrontCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmqY2uv8oy4/UIYaCOWHAkI/AAAAAAAAAcA/zAc4zkPaB3A/s320/MitM-FrontCover.jpg" width="185" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">On a warm 1949
summer’s night in Eastern Kentucky, Muriel Baldridge and three girlfriends did
what most 17-year-old girls do in a small town on a Tuesday night: they
attended a local softball game and a visited a traveling carnival that had set
up camp nearby.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Later that evening, as
she made her way home alone across the historic West Prestonsburg Bridge,
Muriel was abducted and assaulted, meeting her untimely death along the
riverbank.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Though her screams
were heard throughout the community, the crime went unseen and her killer
vanished into the night.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Once Muriel’s body was
discovered, an investigation was triggered involving the newly formed Kentucky
State Police, the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, and the FBI. Despite only
rudimentary forensics, there was no shortage of evidence: an eight-inch pipe
believed to be the murder weapon was found near the body, along with several
sets of footprints and an empty whiskey bottle.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">Among the eyewitness
testimony was a 15-year-old carnival worker who claimed he saw the murder
occur. However, like all of the confessions heard in the case, it would be
retracted several days after its admission.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">The investigation was
anything but conventional and included a jailbreak, a manhunt that stretched
across the eastern United States, and the administration of a “truth serum” to
several local citizens. The local grand jury would eventually indict two
Prestonsburg men: one who worked with Muriel’s father, and one who was the Baldridge’s
neighbor.</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">The trial would prove
to have as many twists and turns as the investigation, and it is easy to see
why the Floyd County Times called the case “probably the most bizarre and
confusing in the annuals of Eastern Kentucky crime.”</span><span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><span style="color: #222222;">Award
winning documentary filmmaker <span class="il">Michael</span> <span class="il">Crisp</span>
has over 20 years in the entertainment business as a singer, guitarist and disc
jockey. His first feature film, <i>The Very Worst Thing</i>, revisited the
1958 Floyd County (Ky.) school bus disaster and won critical acclaim at film
festivals across the country. <span class="il">Michael</span>’s recent film
projects include <i>Legendary: When Baseball Came to the Bluegrass</i>, <i>When
Happy Met Froggy</i>, <i>Polterguys</i>, and the upcoming <i>A Cut
Above: The Legend of Larry Roberts</i>. He lives in Kentucky with his son
Conner.</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /><br />
Find out more about and purchase this exciting novel at </span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.kentuckycoldcases.com/">Michael Crisp’s website</a></b> and also
at <b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mountains-Muriel-Baldridge-Story/dp/1450782264">Amazon</a></b>.<br /><br />
This promises to be an exciting and educational interview with an intriguing
new author. Please join us on </span><b>
</b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/10/24/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">BlogTalkRadio</a></b>
on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:00 pm Pacific Time for a visit with Michael Crisp
and to hear about <i>Murder in the Mountains: The Muriel Baldridge Story</i> and
his creative process and publishing experiences.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-10271402886346985872012-10-05T04:00:00.000-07:002012-10-05T04:00:12.392-07:00Author Interview: G.W. EcclesToday we have an interview with G.W. Eccles, <span lang="EN-GB">author of <em>The Oligarch: A Thriller</em>. Mr. Eccles is currently on tour with the book--best of luck to him!</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=jensboorev00-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B007T48YV2" style="height: 247px; width: 142px;"></iframe>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Tell us about your book<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">The Oligarch is unashamedly a thriller.
At its start, the Russian President is determined to destroy the oligarchs. He
not only resents the fact that they own most of the country's natural resource
wealth which should be available to benefit the whole population, but also sees
them as a threat to his power base. When the global economic meltdown decimates
their wealth, the President seizes this chance. His greatest opponent - Anton
Blok, owner of the mighty Tyndersk Kombinat - has a secret agenda: he wants to
fund a separatist rebellion in Southern Russia and therefore faces far more
than just financial ruin as his empire threatens to fall apart. The President
knows that his old enemy will stop at nothing to avoid such a catastrophe, so
with battlelines clearly drawn, he turns to Alex Leksin, a British
troubleshooter of Russian descent, to thwart Blok's plans. Against the
challenge of hostile Arctic conditions, Leksin has to tread a dangerous path
through a labyrinth of corruption, terrorism and FSB intrigue until the final
showdown in Russia’s northernmost seaport.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<strong>The story starts immediately after the controversial election of a Russian President for a third term amid protests and accusations of vote rigging. Are you referring to Putin?</strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span>Not really. For most of the time the book
was being written, the Russian Presidential election had not taken place. Of
course, it wasn't rocket science to guess that Putin would be re-elected, that
this would be controversial, that there would be protests and that the election
would involve a fair degree of vote rigging. Additionally, Putin has gone on
record many times since he first came upon the political scene to say that he
disapproves of the way that the oligarchs obtained their stranglehold over his country's
assets and would like them returned to State control.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">However, there the similarities really end.
In fact, you never actually meet the President in the book. You only learn
about him through references by other characters, who see him, if anything, as a
tough, but more or less benign, figure determined to destroy the shady
oligarchs. In reality, though, who would portray Putin and his thuggish,
bullying cronies as benign? His former position as head of the FSB tells you a
lot about the real man, I suspect. In any sequel, you'll most likely learn much
more of what is really going on in the President's mind, and that might well
make him more like Putin.</span></div>
<br />
<strong>The hero of the story is Leksin, a British former investigator of Russian descent and now living in Russia. In many ways, he's not the usual clean-cut charmer that one's used to seeing as hero. Was this your aim?</strong><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span></span>Absolutely. I wanted a hero who was every
bit as manipulative as the oligarch he would confront in the story. Russian
oligarchs are generally not nice guys - while there may be exceptions to the
rule, many of them are more akin to gangsters than businessmen, and they react
very badly to anyone or anything who gets in their way. For evidence of this,
just look at the number of company directors and owners who were murdered
during the turf war that went on while the oligarchs were amassing their fortunes
. If Leksin is to take on such people, then he needs to share many of the same
qualities - a wallflower wouldn't survive a minute.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-GB">As a human being, Leksin is flawed. Like
the oligarchs, he is driven to succeed. This amounts to an obsession: he cannot
tolerate failure either in himself or other people. In his personal life, this means
he is unable to sympathise with his dependent and unstable sister. To him, she
is a chore. He pushes himself so hard in his work that he has to resort to
cocaine in order to cope with this self-imposed pressure. Moreover, although
attractive to women, his personal relationships always come unstuck because he regards
them as an unacceptable distraction from his assignments. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">In one sense, Leksin is amoral. He tends
not to pass judgement. If the President had been portrayed as a much more
sinister, Putin-esque character, that would not have stopped Leksin working for
him. Similarly, Leksin might not like Blok, the oligarch, but he has an
underlying admiration of the way the man had played the system to build up his
vast business empire. Such disapproval as he expresses reflects how third parties
feel about Blok rather than his own views.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">So why do we empathise with Leksin? Well,
partly because we like the people who like Leksin: their fondness for, and
loyalty to, Leksin indicates that he must have things going for him. We learn
how Leksin took Nikolai, now part of the government and his closest friend,
under his wing when Nikolai first arrived in Cambridge out of place and an outsider.
We approve of the way that he takes great pains to care for his mentally-ill
sister despite his disappointment with her. His love of art and the meticulous
manner in which he is gradually buying back the paintings that were
appropriated from his grandfather during the revolution also gives us an
insight into a different side of Leksin's character. And we like Anya, the
oligarch's daughter, who falls in love with Leksin.</span><br />
<br />
<strong>You paint a very bleak picture of Tyndersk, the Arctic mining town owned by the oligarch. Did you base this on experience?</strong><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span>Yes. Some people's image of Siberia is the glossy postcard image
portrayed in the film of Dr Zhivago. Indeed, when you are in the depths of the
Siberian countryside and the landscape is covered with snow, it can look very
pretty. But in reality the working towns in Siberia, many of them ex-gulags,
are nothing like this.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB">I spent a considerable amount of time in Siberia when I was working
in Russia, and many of the towns there are just like Tyndersk: polluted, dirty,
one-company towns built around giant mining or oil operations. Some of them are
so geographically cut off from the rest of Russia by the lack of transport in
and out of the region that locals refer as a trip to (say) Moscow as 'going to
the mainland'. In winter, these places are staggeringly cold: while the average
winter temperature might be -30C, it will regularly fall below -60C. Spending
any length of time in these dehumanised places is a depressing and
disheartening experience.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">How much of the rest of the story is based upon your experience?<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB"></span><span lang="EN-GB">Let me say first that the novel is a work
of fiction. Although I think the plot is entirely possible in today's Russia, it
isn't in any way based on real events - at least, so far as I know.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">However, the depictions of life in Russia -
shopping in open air markets, the food the Russians eat, the way they dress in
freezing Siberia, the nightmare of its airports, hotels and restaurants, and so
on - are all based on what I observed when living there. </span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">Many of the anecdotes are also based on
something that happened to me also. For example, like Leksin I once arrived at
a Siberian airport where the snowfall was so thick that during the walk to the
terminal I could only see a few metres ahead. If I'd lost sight of the person
ahead of me, I wouldn't have made it to the terminal or, indeed, at all. </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>With the action moving a breakneck speed alternating between Moscow, Ingushetia (Chechnya’s neighbour), and Tyndersk, a Siberian mining town inside the Arctic Circle, your book has all the ingredients of a good movie? Who would you cast as the main characters and why?</strong><br />
<span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB">Interestingly one of the most consistent
comments I have received from people who have read the book so far is that it
is almost tailor-made to be a film. I have to admit that I felt this myself as
I was writing the book, though it was not at any time an influencing factor.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">Who would I cast? I can see Damian Lewis as
Leksin. In Homeland he plays another complex character struggling to relate to
people and to cope with the pressure, just as Leksin does. Dustin Hoffman's
portrayals often have similar characteristics.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">Blok, the oligarch, is slightly more
difficult. He is not a very nice man, yet notwithstanding his outrageous
behaviour, we can't help having some sympathy for him. Thinking a little out of
the box perhaps, I have in mind Hugh Laurie for the role since we all have a
similarly ambivalent attitude towards House.</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB">Anya, his daughter, is easier, so far as
I'm concerned. Rooney Mara. Anya starts off as a spoilt, bored, rich girl, but
once the man she loves is under threat she really shows her mettlel. When this
happens, I see Anya in many ways as a somewhat better-adjusted version of Lisbeth
in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.</span><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">What was the hardest part: writing the book, getting it published or
marketing it? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB">Although writing the book seemed hard at the time, it turned out to
the easiest part of the process. Finding a publisher to take a chance with a
new thriller writer nowadays, even if they like a project, seems nigh on
impossible. These publishing conglomerates have their portfolio of established
writers whose works automatically sell the day they are released. To the
publishers, these writers are a sort of herd of cash cows, as a result of which
they don't see the need to risk a debut author. It's the same in any industry
that has consolidated as publishing has done: choice is one of the first things
to disappear. Where twenty or so years ago an aspiring author could find forty
or fifty publishers to consider his or her book, the options are much more
limited nowadays.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB">As for marketing, it's early days for me. The jury's out at this
stage, so far as I'm concerned.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">What other projects do you have coming up?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span><span lang="EN-GB">I have the manuscript of a second 'Leksin
thriller' in my drawer, although it pretty much needs a complete rewrite if it
is to be published. Will I get around to doing this? Probably, though I need
something to spur me into action. Some good sales figures for The Oligarch
would go along way towards providing the necessary impetus!</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Is your family supportive of your writing?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong></span>I definitely could not have written The
Oligarch without my wife's help. While she might describe her role as that of
editor, she was in fact much more than this. Having lived in Russia herself
throughout the time I was there, she had a unique insight into the way things
work in Russia which she was able to add as she worked her way through the
drafts. She was the one who brought the conversations and scene descriptions
alive.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">My two 'children' (they have both recently
graduated from Cambridge helped in different ways. My son read the various
drafts of the manuscript and was pretty ruthless in persuading me to cut any
scene that didn't really progress the action. My daughter designed the cover,
which I love. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 14.2pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: 14.2pt 28.35pt; text-indent: -14.2pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Where can we find out more about you and buy your book<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<span lang="EN-GB"><strong>G.W. Eccles: </strong>The novel's website contains more
information about both me and the book. The address for this is <a href="http://www.theoligarchthriller.com/">http://www.theoligarchthriller.com</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-GB">You can buy THE OLIGARCH: A THRILLER from
all major online bookstores, including Foyles, Amazon, iTunes, Barnes &
Noble and Kobo. A full list (with links) can be found on the 'where to buy'
page of the website.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-34714136712267309112012-10-02T08:50:00.000-07:002012-10-02T08:50:00.198-07:00Author Interview and Book Giveaway: M.R. CorneliusToday we have an interview with author M.R. Cornelius about her book, <em>The Ups and Downs of Being Dead</em>. Read to the end of the interview to find out how you can win a copy of the book.<br />
<br />
Enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IzBVFVr_Mds/UGm7gI1LulI/AAAAAAAAAeY/i1ho42Ce80Q/s1600/mrcornelius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IzBVFVr_Mds/UGm7gI1LulI/AAAAAAAAAeY/i1ho42Ce80Q/s320/mrcornelius.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: 11.5pt;">Tell us about your book.</span></b></div>
<strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> <em>The Ups and Downs of Being Dead</em> is about 57-year-old Robert, who finds out he is dying, but he can't accept his fate. He has heard about cryonics, and he decides to take the gamble and have his body frozen in the hopes that he will be revived sometime in the future. He thinks he'll go to sleep, like during surgery, and just wake up in the future.<br />
<br />
That doesn't happen. He finds that he's a ghost, able to come and go as he pleases, along with the others who were frozen before him. But what's a workaholic like Robert supposed to do with his time for the next 100 years? There's no eating or drinking. he can't hold a golf club. He doesn't even need to sleep. And he certainly can't communicate with the living.<br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Where can we find out more about you and your books?</strong><br />
<strong>
</strong><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> I have a
website: </span><a href="http://www.mrcornelius.com/"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.mrcornelius.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 11pt;">.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The book is available on Amazon
(<a href="http://amzn.to/LvCEf7"><span style="color: blue;">http://amzn.to/LvCEf7</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><u>) and Amazon UK. (<b><a href="http://amzn.to/O2Adjk"><span style="color: blue;">http://amzn.to/O2Adjk</span></a>)</b></u></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Where did you get the idea
for the story? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> I heard about
Ted Williams being cryonically preserved a few years ago. It got me thinking
about the whole dead/not dead question. Sure, a person has to die before they
can be preserved, but it doesn’t seem like their soul would go to heaven or
wherever, because when they get thawed out, they’ll need that soul back.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Don’t a lot of us believe there
are ghosts out there roaming around? It just seemed logical that Robert would
be stuck in some kind of limbo. <u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What do you find most
rewarding in writing a book? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> Nothing
compares to having someone, especially a stranger, tell you that they read your
book and loved it. Writing is such a solitary endeavor, that when you finally
put your book out there for everyone to see, you’re hesitant. Is the story
interesting? Are the characters believable? Will people like it? So that
affirmation from readers is everything. <u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />And seeing your book cover on
Amazon for the first time? That’s quite a rush.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Tell us about your previous
work. <u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> My first book
is called H10 N1. It’s about a flu pandemic that gets way out of control. It’s
a play on the term H1N1. H10 is much worse. The book is not about how a
pandemic gets started, and it certainly isn’t about a miraculous cure; it’s
about people dying, and how survivors adapt to the new world they find
themselves in. There are still rotting corpses out there. And looters who’ll
shoot you for a can of beans. Finding a safe haven is a top priority for my two
main characters, Rick and Taeya. That, and not killing each other.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="default" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What other projects do you
have coming up? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> My editor has
my next project. It’s the story of a homeless man who helps a woman and her two
small children get off the streets of Atlanta. I set the story in 1984 because
Frank, my 34 year-old protagonist, has been drifting ever since he came back
from Vietnam in 1972. I needed a character who felt pretty hopeless and
bewildered about his life, and I think a lot of men came back from Vietnam that
way.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />Don’t get me wrong, this is NOT
a book about the Vietnam War; it’s about two lost souls who happen to meet, and
help one another get their lives turned around.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />The title of the book is still
up in the air. I’ll have to let you know once my editor and I decide on one.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You mention your editor, but
you don’t have a traditional publisher.<u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> That’s right,
I’m an indie author. But that doesn’t mean I don’t understand how important an
editor is. I think some writers believe that they can just write a book and get
it published without that crucial editing step. Maybe their friends read their
book and said it was great, but no one can do the job an editor does. It’s his
or her job to point out the flaws. <br /><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Yes, I pay an editor to review
my work, so when she tells he what is wrong with my books, I listen, and I
rewrite. Every good author has an editor: Stephen King, Karin Slaughter, James
Patterson. I don’t think anyone’s work is so flawless that they couldn’t use
some objective help.<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="default" style="margin: 1em 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What was the hardest part:
writing the book, getting it published, or marketing it? Why? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> The hardest
part for me is the marketing. I’m really not a salesperson. And self-promotion
must be the hardest kind of sales. Sure, if you believe in a product, it’s easy
to encourage others to buy it. But when you’re basically selling yourself, it’s
tough. <br /><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Another part of writing that’s
hard is getting a bad review for a book. Especially if it’s a mean-spirited
review that attacks the author. <u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br />What have been your most
successful marketing techniques? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> By far, Kindle
Direct Publishing’s Select program has worked the best for me. After I offer a
free download of a book, my numbers jump way up on Amazon. Then when the book
is on sale again, I get the advantage of that exposure. Both my books have been
in the Top Ten paid for drama on Amazon, and the sales really soar. <br /><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Now if I could just figure out
how to stay in the Top Ten!<u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">If you could travel to
anywhere in the world, where would it be, and with whom? <u1:p></u1:p></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><strong>M. R. Cornelius:</strong> I’d like to be
a professional cruiser. I’ve heard of people who sell their homes when they
retire, and they just go from cruise ship to cruise ship, seeing the world. I’d
love to do that, at least for a few years. <br /><u1:p></u1:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">And I guess I should say that
I’d like to do that with my husband. (But if Johnny Depp is interested, I’m
game.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><em>Want to win a copy of </em>The Ups and Downs of Being Dead<em>? Leave a comment on this blog post by midnight on October 8, and a random commenter will be selected. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, October 9.</em></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-53539947882029730322012-10-01T21:19:00.000-07:002012-10-01T21:20:45.977-07:00This Week on the BlogTalkRadio Edition of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Psychic Talk<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This
week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Greg interviews Mary Barrett, author
of <i>Psychic
Talk</i> and <i>Psychic Talk 2</i>.<br />
<br />
Her first book, <i>Psychic
Talk</i>, addresses whether psychics are prophets, from where they get
their information, and why many people feel that there is a conflict between
God and psychics. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Her second book, <i>Psychic Talk 2</i>, discusses what it is like to be a psychic
and if you have ever wondered if you are one. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mary
Barrett is a spiritual advisor and medium, a certified hypnotist, a certified
reiki master, a motivational and inspirational speaker, and a radio and
television show host.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She
hosts her own program on BlogTalkRadio titled <i>Psychic Talk with Mary Barrett</i>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you
are interested in picking up her book before the show, it is currently
available in a Kindle edition at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Psychic-Talk-ebook/dp/B005TXEP54/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348872643&sr=8-3&keywords=psychic+talk">Amazon</a>.
And be sure to visit her website at <a href="http://www.marybarrett.org/">http://www.marybarrett.org/</a>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This promises to be an unusual and other-worldly edition
of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, perfect for starting our spooktacular month
of October! So bundle against the unnaturally cool air, think about what is
really rustling in those leaves, get yourself a cup of hot coffee, and join us
for some really good books!</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-693818172723875732012-09-24T00:00:00.000-07:002012-09-25T09:21:50.772-07:00This Week on the BlogTalkRadio Edition of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: The Rose Hotel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcHw3X8-0l4/UFepu0xRYTI/AAAAAAAAAbw/Yq6N8Oelaew/s1600/Rose+Hotel-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lcHw3X8-0l4/UFepu0xRYTI/AAAAAAAAAbw/Yq6N8Oelaew/s320/Rose+Hotel-sm.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Greg interviews Dr. Rahimeh Andalibian, author of <i>The Rose Hotel</i>.<br />
<br />
In a time when trauma and mistrust guide our understanding of the Middle East, and Iran, <i>The Rose Hotel</i> tells the true-life story of Rahimeh Andalibian's Iranian Muslim family and their struggle to strive after a tragedy that occurs in the bloody chaos of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Uprooted first to London, and finally to California, the family suffers a different kind of revolution. Struggling to adjust to a new host culture in America, they soon discover that on the road to healing and redemption they must first face a past of lies and hidden truths.<br />
<br />
A clinical psychologist and intergenerational family therapist based in Laguna Beach and NYC, Dr. Rahimeh Andalibian specializes in the use of storytelling and creative performance to empower individuals and families to release themselves from the bondage of their old jointly-created stories and entrenched communication patterns to lead fulfilled lives.<br />
<br />
Find out more about and purchase this exciting novel at <a href="http://www.draconnect.org/" target="_blank">Dr. Andalibian's website</a> and also at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Hotel-True-Life-Novel/dp/061567223X/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347922623&sr=1-8&keywords=The+Rose+Hotel" target="_blank">Amazon </a>.<br />
<br />
This promises to be an exciting and educational interview with an intriguing new author. Please join us on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/09/26/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book" target="_blank">BlogTalkRadio</a> on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:00 pm Pacific Time for a visit with Dr. Rahimeh Andalibian and to hear about <i>The Rose Hotel</i> and her creative process and publishing experiences. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-61791974946691804432012-09-18T09:58:00.001-07:002012-09-18T09:58:33.054-07:00Guest blog, giveaway, and podcast: Sam MoffieIt's Sam Moffie week here at A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book! Below please find a guest post by Sam. On the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show, Greg will interview Sam about his latest book, <em>To Kill the Duke</em>. Listen live at 3:30 Pacific time on Wednesday, September 19, or hear the recording any time after the show at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/09/19/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/09/19/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</a>.<br />
<br />
Want to win one of two copies of To <em>Kill the Duke</em>? Leave a comment before midnight on September 23 on this blog post or on the BTR episode page, and two winners will be randomly selected. Winners will be announced on September 24.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=jensboorev00-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1461147069" style="height: 257px; width: 167px;"></iframe>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;">A
nation of bellyachers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center">
by Sam Moffie<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9B9-ThC7n0/UFin9k_zMaI/AAAAAAAAAd0/cmr9XulFK-M/s1600/SamMoffie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q9B9-ThC7n0/UFin9k_zMaI/AAAAAAAAAd0/cmr9XulFK-M/s320/SamMoffie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">So
far, it has been a summer that’s made me long to be a child again, back at the YMCA
Camp in Sloane in Lakeville, Conn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">One
summer, when I was a boy more than 10,000 bottles of Pinot Noir ago, it was a
very hot and humid summer. I’m 52, so it had to be whe<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>n I
was 14… so, 38 summers ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Thirty-eight
years ago 100 degrees was still 100 degrees AND we didn’t have the technology
and knowledge of today, which is far better than it was way back then when it
came to dealing with the heat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">But
38 years ago we didn’t whine and bellyache like people in 2012. We just dealt
with it. Played in the water as long as we could, drank lots and lots of cold
water and lemonade, stayed in places inside, or outside, that were cool and
offered lots of shade; we wore light-colored and loose-fitting clothes, and
most importantly, we didn’t bitch about ‘how hot it is’ to everyone in earshot.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Maybe
it was because we didn’t have The Weather Channel and other media outlets
constantly reminding us<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of ‘how extreme
the heat is’ or how it’s the ‘hottest day in years, with no relief soon’ and so
on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Maybe
it’s because we focused on the fact that summer is hot and winter is cold, and we
dealt with it accordingly. Maybe we wanted to enjoy our summer knowing school
was around the corner and damn the temperature—let’s enjoy our days off while
they last! That was very important. Maybe it’s because we were kids and what
did we know?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Plenty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">We
knew that we better seize the day, as they say (carpe diem), because who knew
what tomorrow would bring?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xyToELVZTk0/UFioILdNXzI/AAAAAAAAAd8/Z1-hiolFJyM/s1600/ToKilltheDuke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xyToELVZTk0/UFioILdNXzI/AAAAAAAAAd8/Z1-hiolFJyM/s320/ToKilltheDuke.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">I
still live that way today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Be
positive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Think
positive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Make
a thick skin thicker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Try
to leave the day better off for everyone around me, and dependent upon me;
leave it better than when it started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">And
that helps big time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">Because
I’m proud to be a self-published author.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">And
do you want to talk about bellyaching?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Being a self-published author in 2012 is a lot better than being a bar
owner (which I am, too) in the hot summer of 2012 listening to patrons bitch
and moan and whine about how hot it is out while they drink alcohol that only
raises their body temperature, not cooling it down. (When I point this out, the
patron almost always responds by saying “I don’t like beer.”)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">I
don’t like beer either (my taste buds are shot), so I drink wine… a lot of
wine. But as every lover of red wine knows—DON’T DRINK RED WINE IN THE HOT SUN
OR YOU’RE IN TROUBLE!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, I drink white
wine on the rocks and my body stays cool.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">What
does this have to do with writing? Nothing, but it makes me feel better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";">And
as all self-published authors should note… it could always be worse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><o:p><em>Thanks to Sam for stopping by! Don't forget to leave a comment to get in on the drawing.</em></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; tab-stops: 1.0in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-20833864908790941792012-09-17T00:00:00.000-07:002012-09-18T09:54:53.284-07:00This Week on the BlogTalkRadio Edition of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: To Kill the Duke<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Y9CB9fevJM/UFITfC8qcqI/AAAAAAAAAbY/RqK_h6RBXok/s1600/Front+Cover+To+Kill+the+Duke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6Y9CB9fevJM/UFITfC8qcqI/AAAAAAAAAbY/RqK_h6RBXok/s320/Front+Cover+To+Kill+the+Duke.jpg" width="235" /></a> This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Greg interviews Sam Moffie, author of <i>To Kill the Duke</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>To Kill the Duke</i>
is an exciting thriller set in the golden age of the silver screen.
There is a Russian plot against the crown prince of the wild west, John
Wayne himself! In the course of the story, readers will encounter
Hollywood legends and media icons from the 1950s. This is a fun and
exciting book that may have a couple of messages hidden within. Be sure
to join us for what promises to be an entertaining romp through
Hollywood in its heyday.<br />
<br />
Find out more about and purchase this exciting novel at <a href="http://www.tokilltheduke.com/" target="_blank">Sam's website</a> and also at <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3Ato+kill+the+duke&keywords=to+kill+the+duke&ie=UTF8&qid=1347553437" target="_blank">Amazon </a>in multiple formats.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2zenvirf4Bs/UFITgoIlVTI/AAAAAAAAAbg/FBtYG_xy6b4/s1600/Sam+Moffie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2zenvirf4Bs/UFITgoIlVTI/AAAAAAAAAbg/FBtYG_xy6b4/s320/Sam+Moffie.jpg" width="320" /></a> This is going to be an exceptional, fun, and exciting interview with an intriguing new author. Please join us on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/09/19/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book" target="_blank">BlogTalkRadio</a> on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:00 pm Pacific Time for a visit with Sam Moffie and to hear about <i>To Kill the Duke</i> and his creative process and publishing experiences. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-51075841437858881192012-09-16T23:04:00.001-07:002012-09-16T23:04:28.511-07:00Book Review: Dying for a Date <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1603182489/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1603182489&linkCode=as2&tag=jensboorev00-20"><em>Dying for a Date</em></a>, by Cindy Sample<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=jensboorev00-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1603182489" style="border: currentColor !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: small/normal verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing: normal; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Paperback:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>272 pages</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>Publisher:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>L & L Dreamspell (June 10, 2010)</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><b>ISBN-10:</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>1603182489</li>
<li style="margin: 0.5em 0em;"><strong>Rating (1 to 5 *): *****</strong></li>
</ul>
<br />
<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=jensboorev00-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1603182489" style="height: 257px; width: 143px;"></iframe>
<br />
Book Review: <em>Dying for a Date</em>, by Cindy Sample<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Laurel McKay isn't exactly what many men consider an ideal
date. She's divorced, the mother of two kids, and her dates keep showing up
dead. When she is, quite naturally, considered to be the only suspect in the
two cases that otherwise seem to have no connection, Laurel decides that she is
her own best shot at proving her innocence by solving the murders herself. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BwJiyf2wb5c/UFa9GX5El4I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Yc0vSJhUKOM/s1600/cindysample.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BwJiyf2wb5c/UFa9GX5El4I/AAAAAAAAAdY/Yc0vSJhUKOM/s320/cindysample.png" width="227" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cindy Sample's debut novel is a hilarious romp, dragging the
reader along with Laurel from humiliation at her kid's soccer game to a wake
where she shouldn't be, and all over the gold country in the Sierra Nevada
foothills in her pursuit of the truth. All the while, she is trying not to get
fired from her job at the mortgage company and trying to keep her mother, who
is trying to fix her up with a co-worker, off her back. Can Laurel find the
murderer before she becomes the next victim--or before her mother drives her
crazy?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dy<em>ing for a Date</em> had me literally laughing out loud and
guessing at the murderer, then changing my guess, then changing it again
throughout the whole book. Although I thought the pacing dragged a bit through
the middle of the story, it picked right up again toward the very exciting--and
hilarious--conclusion. I found the characters charmingly approachable, the kind
of people I would like to get to know better. I can't wait to read Sample's
next book, <em>Dying for a Dance</em>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Find out more about Cindy at <a href="http://cindysamplebooks.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">http://cindysamplebooks.com/</span></a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-17255717470214130302012-09-09T23:02:00.002-07:002012-09-09T23:08:53.830-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vv0WKi_Q-Q/UE2B9E0mlMI/AAAAAAAAAbI/e0W_D4fhkfk/s1600/Five+Little+Duckies+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1vv0WKi_Q-Q/UE2B9E0mlMI/AAAAAAAAAbI/e0W_D4fhkfk/s320/Five+Little+Duckies+Cover.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
This week on the BlogTalkRadio edition of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Greg interviews Sarah Richard, author of <i>Five Little Duckies</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Five Little Duckies</i> is a delightful and educational book for the
youngest readers. This is a wonderful book to read to infants through
toddler-aged kids as well as a wonderful first reading book--it is stimulating to young minds and will be beloved
for years to come.<br />
<br />
This promises to be a lighthearted and entertaining interview! Please join us on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/09/12/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book" target="_blank">BlogTalkRadio</a> on Wednesday from 3:30 to 4:00 pm Pacific Time for a visit with Sara Richard and to hear about <i>Five Little Duckies</i> and her creative process and publishing experiences. <br />
<br />
Learn more about <i>Five Little Duckies</i> and Sarah Richard's other works at <a href="http://www.sarahvrichard.zoomshare.com/">http://www.sarahvrichard.zoomshare.com/</a>. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-2343246194526995172012-09-09T19:47:00.001-07:002012-09-09T19:47:21.540-07:00Special Edition of A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Michelle Devon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAdQbQTGtLM/UE1UUTnSz_I/AAAAAAAAAdA/4ads4zCxg1Q/s1600/celeste.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pAdQbQTGtLM/UE1UUTnSz_I/AAAAAAAAAdA/4ads4zCxg1Q/s320/celeste.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
This week on a Special Edition of the A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book BlogTalkRadio show, Jennifer interviews Michelle Devon, author of CELESTE--which is currently on tour with Walker Author Tours. Listen live on Wednesday, September 12 at 3:30 Pacific Time or hear the recording any time after the show at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/09/13/special-edition-of-a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coffeeandbooks/2012/09/13/special-edition-of-a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</a><br />
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Kyle McRoy doesn’t know who to trust. He became a wealthy man after his parents died in a freak accident, but Kyle lost control. A mental breakdown led to hospitalization in what his brother called a Behavior Therapy Center, but something about his brother tugs at the back of his fragile psyche. While at the center, Kyle meets the lovely Celestebut soon discovers there are things about her he doesn’t know. Things, perhaps, no one can ever know.<br />
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No, Kyle McRoy doesn’t know who to trust… least of all, himself. After all, it’s hard to know who to trust when you’re not even sure what’s real.<br />
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<a href="http://services.authorjennwalker.com/celeste-virtual-book-tour/" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find out more about the CELESTE virtual book tour.<br />
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Find out more about "Michy" at <a href="http://www.michelledevon.com/">www.michelledevon.com</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-56153090222745485822012-09-03T14:30:00.001-07:002012-09-05T11:31:44.240-07:00This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Robert Bonville<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FdaaBPTLYS0/UEUhUyxShaI/AAAAAAAAAco/AR_V9rDmHQE/s1600/malolo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FdaaBPTLYS0/UEUhUyxShaI/AAAAAAAAAco/AR_V9rDmHQE/s320/malolo.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week on the </span><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> BlogTalkRadio show, Greg interviews Robert Bonville, author of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Voyages of Malolo: Secret of the Rongo</em>. Listen live on Wednesday, September 5 at 3:30 Pacific Time or hear the recording any time after the show at </span><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/09/05/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/09/05/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Voyages of Malolo: Secret of the Rongo: </em>Ancient Polynesian mariners circumnavigate the Pacific Ocean on spiritually inspired quest, over 500 years before Columbus discovers the new world, in exciting new novel by Robert Bonville.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn more about author Robert Bonville at <span style="color: black; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.authorrobertbonville.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.authorrobertbonville.com/</span></a>.</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-38480100004443517132012-08-28T13:12:00.003-07:002012-08-28T13:12:25.850-07:00Author Interview: Juli D. Revezzo<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today we learn a little about author Juli D. Revezzo, who just released her debut novel, <em>The Artist's Inheritance</em>, a paranormal fantasy. Enjoy!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: Where can we find out more about you and buy your
book?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">Juli</span>:</strong> Your
readers can find out more about me at my site: </span><a href="http://julidrevezzo.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://julidrevezzo.com</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and
at Goodreads:<br />
</span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo</span></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
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</span><span style="color: #660000;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> They can find out more about <b><em>The Artist's Inheritance</em></b> at
Amazon.com:<br />
</span><a href="http://t.co/jnAo9bE1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://t.co/jnAo9bE1</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j9FPl6ZIBGA/UD0g394fn-I/AAAAAAAAAb4/BwMAgL11rW0/s1600/JuliDRevezzob.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j9FPl6ZIBGA/UD0g394fn-I/AAAAAAAAAb4/BwMAgL11rW0/s200/JuliDRevezzob.jpg" width="160" /></span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Smashwords:</span><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220457"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220457</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">coming soon to Createspace</span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer:
Tell us about your book.<br />
</strong></span><span style="color: #222222;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>
</strong></span></span><span style="color: #990000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Juli:</strong> </span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My novel is a paranormal fantasy novel entitled <b>The Artist's
Inheritance</b>, and the story goes as follows:<br />
<br />
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><u><em>The Artist's Inheritance</em></u></strong>
Antique Magic, Book #1</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Settling into their new home in Gulf Breeze, Florida,
Caitlin finds strange changes coming over her husband Trevor. He seems obsessed
with a beautiful chair he’s carving.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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When the nightmares deepen and ghosts begin lurking—she knows something’s not
right, and not just her newfound precognitive abilities. It’s the damned chair,
she’s sure. Could it be just what it seems: a mundane piece of furniture? If
so, why is it attracting dark forces—the forces she suspects drove Trevor’s
siblings to insanity and suicide?<br />
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Before the same happens to Trevor, Caitlin must convince him to sell his art.
But armed with only a handful of allies, and little experience of the
supernatural, she must proceed with caution against the hellish forces
besieging her family. If she succeeds, she will break the ancestral curse. If
she fails, she may lose forever the one thing she cares about most: her beloved
Trevor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></o:p> </div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: Where did you get the idea for the story?</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>
</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong></span><span style="color: #333333;"> A few years back
I was contemplating a Christmas present for a special friend (fellow author <a href="http://thesaturatedpage.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Jolene Dawe</span></a>)
and didn't want to just give her any ole normal store bought thing. She and I
challenged each other to write a small collection of stories for one another.
The stories stemmed around differing mythologies, mine most notably Celtic,
and <em>The Artist's Inheritance</em> sprang from that challenge--which in
intervening years has been severely updated and expanded to what readers will
see now. What would happen to an artist if he let his work get the best of him,
I wondered. What if the artist--or his family--had no say in the matter? What
if his wife didn't like that? What if his ancestor's didn't? Once I asked
Caitlin that question, I found she had <i>a lot </i>to say on the
matter. So, I let her go--and what was supposed to be a one-off, short Christmas
present became a novel. ;)</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fT7Ei41YOhI/UD0lChln9UI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/XmPHDLUlXqk/s1600/ARTIST's_INHERIT_JPG700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fT7Ei41YOhI/UD0lChln9UI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/XmPHDLUlXqk/s320/ARTIST's_INHERIT_JPG700.jpg" width="209" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: What other projects do you have coming up?</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>
</strong></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong></span><span style="color: #333333;"> I'm working on a second and third volume in the <i>Antique
Magic</i> series, following Caitlin and Friends' continuing life and
interactions with the Otherworld. I hope to have book two ready to go sometime
next year--before summer, if all goes well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: What is your writing process like--do you outline first or just
start writing, etc.?</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong></span><span style="color: #333333;"> A little of
both. The word "outline" scares me. *laughs* Usually I'll get
an inkling of the character, and where he or she might end up. Once I have that
picture, I let the character just start talking. The story's
kernels then begin to drop, though from time to time, a bit of research and
thinking may be needed to bring the tale to fruition. Any suggested mythology
within the story may lead me to the library (or to the internet) or a
character's occupation may lead me to research or ask around about things, that
sort of thing. So I guess I'm a plantser, in writer vernacular. A little bit of
plotting, a little bit of just pantsing--or winging--it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: Do you work with a writing
group or mentor? Why or why not? If you do, what do you get out of it?</strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli</strong></span><span style="color: #333333;"><strong>:</strong> Yes and no. I do have a group of mentors I work with, but for
many years I did most of my writing on my own. For the last twelve years or so
I've had a good pal I "bounce" ideas off, which really tends to help
gel the story. I've also, these last few years, involved myself in the FF&P
chapter of the RWA [<a href="http://www.rwa.org/" target="_blank">Romance Writers of America</a>] and they've helped me hone in on some of the stuff I've
sprinkled into my manuscripts. I also have a friend who's a Civil War buff, and
she allowed me to pick her brain for certain scenes in <em>The Artist's Inheritance</em>.
:)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: What have you done to develop your writing craft?</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong></span><span style="color: #333333;"> Just writing, writing and writing some more. I also read
everything I can from craft books, to history, to fiction, and books on
whatever subject fits the character at the moment, even the internet can help
with this, what with online writing articles and classes (a plus of the RWA, if
it's a mite expensive). But the best of these is just sitting down and writing.
That's really the best way to learn. If you fail at it, start a new project
until you get from Once Upon A Time, to The End. You can pick up the little
technical things from reading.</span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Jennifer: What have been your most
successful marketing techniques?</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong> </span><span style="color: black;">So far, I'd have to say the use of Twitter, blogging, and word of
mouth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;">Jennifer: </span><span style="color: #333333;">Is your family supportive of your writing?</span></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #990000;">Juli</span>:</strong> Definitely. My parents were always
been behind me, one hundred percent. Dad thought I'd be famous, (well, never
say never!) and Mom turned me on to Nora Roberts a few years back which in turn
brought the Romance Writers of America and and the fantasy romance genre to my
attention, which ended up being the new home of the type of fantasy novels I
loved. But I digress, Mom's also been very supportive of my work, regardless of
the venue it shows up in. :) My hubby's always encouraged me to keep writing
and even goes so far as to let me talk out my stories to him when I'm stuck.
He's my logic-meter. If something doesn't sound right to him, it's wrong for
the story.</span></div>
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<strong>Jennifer: <span style="color: #333333;">When and why did you decide to become a writer?</span></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><strong>Juli:</strong> </span>This might sound like your typical
answer, but I've been making up stories my whole life. As a teen, though, I
wrote poetry and song lyrics based on stories I loved (filk, as it's known as
in most circles), but the year I graduated high school, I read Isaac Asimov's <i>Robot's
of Dawn</i> and Michael Moorcock's <i>Elric</i> series and between them (and my
love of Arthurian legends) I finally got away from trying to write my stories
in Iambic pentameter. ;)</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<strong>Jennifer: Who is your favorite author of all time, and why?</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong></strong></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;"><strong>Juli:</strong></span> Without doubt, Michael
Moorcock. His work is lush and imaginative, but intelligent, funny and
sometimes, it can be dark and profound. He can set a story anywhere from a
made-up world to our present day America and pull it all off in style. He's a
writer I discovered in high school and no matter how many of his books I read
they never fail to disappoint me.</span></div>
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<strong>Jennifer: </strong></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;">If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be,
and with whom?<br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #990000;">Juli:</span></strong><span style="color: #333333;"> I would love to see Florence, Italy and of course, to go with
my beloved husband. :)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><strong>Jennifer: Thanks to Juli for stopping by, and best of luck with the book!</strong></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9165759398132474750.post-7490496293175407082012-08-26T19:09:00.001-07:002012-08-26T19:09:42.337-07:00This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book: Shirley Parenteau<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">This week on A Cup of Coffee and a Good Book, Jennifer will interview Shirley Parenteau about her book, Bears on Chairs. Listen live Wednesday, August 29 at 3:30 Pacific or hear the recording any time after the show at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/08/29/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jennifer-walker/2012/08/29/a-cup-of-coffee-and-a-good-book</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Bears on Chairs -- Sharing and problem solving are irresistible in a picture book of which one reviewer said, "Move over, Pat the Bunny and make room for Bears on Chairs."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Learn more about Shirley by visiting her website at <a href="http://www.shirleyparenteau.com/"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">http://www.shirleyparenteau.com/</span></a>.</span></span></div>
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