Sheila's Guests and Reviews

I write books. I dream characters who really don't exist. I get inside their minds, or they in mine. I mold their mysteries like clay until the story's done. Then I look for a publisher, the books comes out, and I dream of readers who also don't exist. Even unread, those characters remain quite real to me, as if I really know their worlds, their struggles and pains and rewards. Which kind of begs the question, do I know real people as well as I know them? And how well does anyone know anyone else? Or themself? Mindwise by Nicholas Epley suggests we all have a sixth sense which we employ in predicting other people's thoughts and behavior. It's an interesting book, though I don't always agree with the experimental results - I found myself coming up with other reasons for behavior, rather than the one being postulated. But that's just me. All the same, it's  full of fascinating, often amusing experiments, and some seriously disturbing statistics. Enjoy...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Evy Journey to my blog as she tours the internet with her novel, Welcome Reluctant Stranger. I trust she won't feel like a reluctant stranger visiting here. Welcome, Evy. Please find a drink and pull up a chair, and guests, please join our conversation. First of all, Evy, I know you've visited France several times and would like to live there. Why do you like France? ·          Because it has Paris which has or does many of my favorite things. It’s a vibrant city where la joie de vivre is often evident in so many ways; and ·          You needn’t go beyond your block (or two) to find a boulangerie where you can get a warm crusty baguette in late afternoon, great macarons or tasty tarts—fresh, everyday. And cheap, compared to pastries you buy in fancy bakeries in the US. ·          France is a veritable tableau where a gat...

Today I'm delighted to welcome Harley Masuk, author of Last Puffs to my blog as he tours the internet with Pump Up Your Book. He's offered to tell us something about his writing style, and to offer some invaluable writing advice for me and any other authors reading this page. Thank you Harley, and over to you! Outlines? I Don't Got to Show You No Steenking Outlines! Or Writing by the Seat of the Pants By Harley Mazuk Last Puffs , my latest novel, is a product of “seat of the pants” writing. I had no plan when I sat down to write, no outline, no clear idea of where the story was going, or even what the story would be. I did have my series private eye, Frank Swiver, and I had an idea for a scene I wanted to write. That may not seem like much to go on. But having an idea for a scene in my head gave me one of the key elements of fiction— setting , a description of the surroundings for my story. In the case of Last Puffs , the scene was in an old-fashion...