Sheila's Guests and Reviews

A little while ago I reviewing a futuristic novel, the Amazing Crystal, with implications that reach far into the past. You can read my review of the Amazing Crystal here. And today I'm delighted to welcome the author and translator to my blog with some more information about why they wrote the book. But first, I'll include their take on what the book's about, just to give you some context. ABOUT THE AMAZING CRYSTAL In the summer of 2025, Lydia’s grandfather sent her a strange diamond pendant admonishing her to handle it with utmost care. From the moment that she receives the small package, her life changes. She becomes engulfed in a series of life-threatening events that lead her to realize the incredible properties of the pendant. Slowly she learns that the diamond contains an alien intelligence able to communicate directly with the human brain. Rumors of its powers spread, the Mafia designs a Machiavellian plot to seize the extraterrestrial gem, whose v...

So there I was, feeling frustrated that I only had an epub version of a book - and why's that a problem since I can read it quite well on my kobo? - and complaining about big businesses plotting to tie us to their own devices (says she, so thoroughly untied that she uses a kindle, a kobo and a tablet, depending on book and the lighting, or the location). Then I got an email from a small local bookstore and thought how those small retailers tie us to buying the books they choose for us - um - not. They choose, and I choose to go the store because I like their choices, and because the world is full of so many books these days that veritable treasures get lost in stacks of hay. So why should I worry about kindle and kobo books sold on separate sites (in separate e-stores)? Perhaps it's the author or the publisher who chooses which readers will like the book best, but how is that so different from the bookstore owner? Of course, if I buy a book in a store I can take it home and rea...

I'm just waiting for one more box of paperback books, then I'll have them all ready and stacked by the wall to be taken to the Christmas sales. Of course, I'm beginning to panic now - will I make back anything close to what I've spent from all this effort? The answer's probably no, and it's just as well I read something this week that reminds us garret artists: as hobbies go, writing's relatively cheap as businesses go, writing's pretty unlikely to be successful but as vocations go, you're doing what you love, what you were made to do, so what are you complaining about. Okay, I'll not complain (and I'll hope my generous spouse who earned all the money I spent doesn't say too much either). Of course, it's hard to sell ebooks at a Christmas bazaar, so those boxes all contain real paper paperbacks, hence my heading. And I've been reading real paper books too, so here are some reviews: Darkness Brewing, by The Coffee House W...

Today I'm welcoming Dana Leipold to my blog. She's the author of Burnt Edges, a novel set in Southern California in the late 60s, where an 18-year-old girl tries to break the cycle of abuse. I asked the author, what message does she think the 60s still have for today, and here is her answer. Thank you for visiting my blog Dana. What message do the 1960s still have for today? The 1960s was a tumultuous era in the United States. Young people questioned the older generation’s way of doing things, the civil rights movement was front and center, women were also stepping out of traditional roles so it was a time of exploration. Sometimes that caused conflict because the status quo felt threatened. Tensions were high, attitudes were strong and definite, people were divided about what they believed was right and wrong. On subjects as diverse as the war in Vietnam, women's rights, civil rights, the environment, music, and the way people wore their hair, everyone had an ...

I'm delighted to welcome Lea Rachel to my blog today. She's the author of a new novel about Shakespeare's little-known older sister, The Other Shakespeare. Just the title has me intrigued, so I jumped at the chance when the Cadence group said she might be willing to visit my blog. Welcome Lea, and please tell me how someone from US manages to write so convincingly about the UK. Guest Post by Lea Rachel: Traveling for your Writing When I first read about the character of Judith Shakespeare – older sister to William, born with as much talent and ambition as the Shakespeare we now revere, invented by Virginia Woolf in her novella A Room of One’s Own – I was enthralled.   I simply had to write a fiction novel around the character of Judith Shakespeare, and the path her life might have taken. But I live in St. Louis, Missouri, heartland of the United States.   Some would say it is in the Midwest, some would locate it firmly in the South (please let’s not ...