Sheila's Guests and Reviews

I'm getting all these emails about resubscribing to blogs and GDPR regulations etc. I suspect I may end up with a much cleaner Inbox after this, and more time to read and write. Hurray! Though I do apologize to all those people I've failed to resubscribe to - those links that sent me nowhere or said I'd already been there or timed out on me... Who knows where I am or will be next week? On which existential note, I think I might post some serious book reviews of serious books for a change. I've read a number of really enjoyable novels recently, literary, dramatic, confusing, intriguing, or simply so deeply evocative I couldn't put them down. So pick up a coffee and see what you think. Please remember, the stars of for the coffee strength and nothing to do with quality. (Is all coffee good?) First is Annie’s Bones by Howard Owen , a literary mystery that alternates between past and present, evocatively recreating the world of a student who doesn't fit in and a...

Stephen Zimmer is always a very welcome guest on my blog, and I know today will be no exception, so pull up a chair, pour some coffee (or beverage of choice) and join him, right here, right now, with sunlight arising though his book the Depths of Night. Welcome Stephen!   And welcome to the Depths of Night blog tour,celebrating the debut of the Ragnar Stormbringer character. John Le Carre stopped writing about George Smiley after he saw him portrayed on TV, and I know there's a TV pilot starring him. So I had to ask Stephen, how do the TV Pilot and your writing influence each other. And what other influences come into the creation of these characters and their world. The Influences of Character Creation When Writing in Different Mediums By Stephen Zimmer I write both screenplays and prose, so I find it important to state first that visual mediums, like tv shows and movies, and books are as different as apples and oranges.  They are two very different mediums w...

Christine Amsden's Cassie Scot series starts with a cool premise and enjoyably mystery--think cozy crossed with paranormal--then morphs into a series, expands into a world, and quietly picks up the series storyline. The protagonist is married, a mother, the same person and she always was, but pleasingly, believably different. And the threat... well, the threats keep growing. Here's my review: The characters in Christine Amsden’s Cassie Scott series wouldn’t let her go when the story was done. They wouldn’t let her readers go either, and Frozen takes up the tale with mothers and children, mothers and grandmothers, and the awesome responsibility of parenthood. Of course, this isn’t just regular parenthood. This is knowing your child will have magical powers, knowing you’ll temporarily inherit those powers, and knowing how to define yourself—never an easy task for Cassie who “set aside most of my old insecurities about not having magic in a magical world” but still feels “less...

Today I get to invite one of my favorite authors of paranormal and science fiction, Christine Amsden. She's the author of lots of books that I've read and loved, but her latest is another in the Cassie Scot Paranormal Detective series - a continuation of a series that (almost) seemed finished. Since I'm working on one series and dreaming of another, it seemed like a good idea to ask her, over virtual coffee, how she ended up with Cassie Scot starring and co-starring so many times, and how do real series get written. So, pull up a chair, pour a coffee (tea, soda, juice, water... just as long as it doesn't spill on the computer) and see what she has to say. Over to you Christine: Writing a Series by Christine Amsden Cassie Scot was supposed to be a four-book series. Each book centered on a self-contained mystery, while the series dealt with some character growth and struggles. I wrote those four books together, even though they were released a few months apart, ...

It's the end of the day; it's the end of the week; I remind myself it's not, and it won't be the end of my dreams. But those dreams are keeping me seriously busy, planning, checking, opening pdf files with publisher to see how covers are made, more planning, more checking. I'm close to deciding to self-publish those Bible stories as my present publisher returns all the files to me--for anyone who's wondering, he's going far more than the extra mile, giving me covers and interior files, plus copies of all the files he worked with on the way, and returning my rights. I couldn't ask for more--Cape Arago's the best! But I wanted ... I dreamed ... an agent, a way into bookstores and churches and Christian schools and ... I wanted readers. So now I'm close to deciding to self-publish, after which I shall concentrate on writing more volumes and trying to find those readers on my own. Meanwhile, I loved a Christian children's book I read recently, ...

Today I'm pleased to welcome author Benjamin Mester, whose inviting us to travel from the wandering woods of Minnesota to the Banished Lands of fantasy. Welcome Benjamin, and please tell, with all those intricate maps and prophecies, what's the story behind those banished lands. The Story Behind The Banished Lands Series I've always loved that intoxicating feeling of adventure and mystery when embarking with a character into a brand new world.  My driving motivation with The Banished Lands series was to create a world with a rich lore and history, but not overburden the reader with backstory.  I've always loved the richness of poetry – the metaphorical language which speaks to a deeper meaning just beyond the edge of explanation.  In The Banished Lands series, we enter a fractured world with a forgotten history. But hints of it remain through a set of poems that speak of the old world and cryptic events which brought an end to that age.  ...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Stacy Mitchell to my blog. We're going to drink some virtual coffee while she answers real questions, so find a mug, read on and enjoy. After coffee you might even get the chance to read an excerpt from her novel, Saving Each Other. Or you might like to... Purchase  Saving Each Other   Here   Where did you grow up, and where do you live now? I was born and raised in Los Angeles, moved to the South Bay when I met my husband, and then relocated to the Conejo Valley when my oldest son, Jason, started middle school. Ah, hence the picture. So if Jason's your oldest, do you have other kids, or any pets? I have two sons. Jason graduated Rutgers, and stayed there, while my youngest, Brian, is about to start design school. I’ve never owned a cat but may get one. I lost my goldendoodle, Norman, last year, and my labradoodle, Maddie, is lonely. Look for my tribute to Norman in the back of my book. What a shame. We had a stan...