Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Abby Bardi to my blog. She's touring the internet with her novel Double Take. But Abby wasn't always an author... Read on to find out more, and read to the end of the post to read an excerpt from her book. Over to you Abby, and thank you for visiting my blog! Six Things Waitressing Taught Me about Writing In my latest novel Double Take , recent college graduate Rachel Cochrane is a waitress at a restaurant where she runs into an old friend who forces her to confront their shared mysterious past. You may be wondering, why would someone work as a waitress after earning a college degree? Two reasons: (1) Rachel has no common sense, and (2) Rachel is a lot like I was at her age, and that’s what I did. It seems obvious that waiting tables is not the career goal for most college grads, even those in the liberal arts, but like Rachel, I loved being a waitress. I loved working in a clean (mostly), well-lighted place, serving food to...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Pamela Samuels Young to my blog. She's touring the internet with her addictive courtroom drama, Abuse of Discretion, and she's here to talk about writing, writing with passion, and how to find and use your passion... for good! Thank you so much for stopping by, and over to you Pamela It’s Time to Pursue Your Passion By Pamela Samuels Young During the years that I moonlighted as a mystery writer while practicing law, people often marveled at my drive. Many of them also had a passion, but had ready excuses for not pursuing it: I just don’t have the time. I’m not as disciplined as you are. I’ll do it after my kids graduate. Whatever your excuses are, put them aside and just get started. To my surprise, trying to write a novel turned out to be far more challenging than practicing law. But I stuck with it and published my first novel a month before my 48 th birthday.  It meant years of getting up at 4 a.m. to ...

I've taken down the Christmas decorations, tidied away (most of) the cards, used up (most of) the leftovers, and hidden the extra chocolate on a top shelf. Now all that's left is to find my way back into real life--reading, writing and book reviews--catch up on cleaning and shopping (I've almost done that), and struggle to remember it's 2018. I read a lot of children's books over Christmas--even got quite a few as presents--so I thought I'd start my reviewing year by posting reviews of them. Some, of course, should really have been reviewed before Christmas. But flying frogs won't mind... so perhaps I'll start with them. Find a suitable mug of coffee, wait a moment while I pour my own, then make your reading choice. The Flying Frog and the Alzheimer Patient by David Yair is fifth in a series but stands alone well, and would be a perfect gift for a child whose grandparent is learning to forget. It's a sweet fun chapter book, simply illustrated, bl...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Jane Goodman to my blog. She's touring the internet with her romantic suspense novel, Secret Baby, Second Chance. And today she's inviting us into the world of Pinterest... Pinterest? Find out more about Jane and her novel at the end of this post, but first... Over to you Jane, and thank you for visiting my blog. My Life. One Story at a Time. Pinterest as Inspiration for my Writing I have to confess my love of Pinterest. You might call it an obsession. I have boards for just about everything. Recipes, planning my new kitchen, games to play with my two-year-old grandson, artwork I like. You name it, I’ll pin it. So, naturally, I also use Pinterest to support my writing. I’m not a natural planner, so my writing boards are definitely about inspiration rather than a blueprint for each book. There is something special about starting a new Pinterest board for a new book. I may have an idea for what the characters will look like...

Today I get to find out the secret which inspired that fun children's book,  Mamá Graciela’s Secret by Mayra Calvani. Hurray! It's a lovely picture book with mouthwatering foods, gorgeous scenery, and cats! You can find my review of  Mamá Graciela’s Secret here , and learn more about  Mamá Graciela’s Secret  at my earlier blogpost. But now, meet the author, and learn her real secret... The Inspiration behind ‘Mamá Graciela’s Secret’ By Mayra Calvani All my books have a special place in my heart, but my latest children’s picture book, Mamá Graciela’s Secret, has an even more special place. This is because it was inspired by my paternal grandmother, also named Graciela. Mamá Graciela was a very sweet, generous, selfless person. And a passionate dog lover. She rescued many dogs not from shelters but right from the streets and at one point had like 30 dogs living under her roof. She just couldn’t stand the idea of an animal suffering the harsh life of ...

I've read lots of Christopher McPherson's novels: https://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Geoffrey-McPherson/e/B007BQ2428/ https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2039269-sheila?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search%5Bquery%5D=christopher+mcpherson And I've enjoyed them all. So today I'm delighted to welcome him to my blog, where we can sit chatting over virtual coffee and virtual gluten-free cookies. Find a mug and a plate and sit with us. Welcome Christopher! Thank you for inviting me to participate in an interview for your blog! My pleasure.  When did you start writing stories? When I was a child, I was sick with allergies and asthma. I spent a lot of time home by myself because my parents both worked. I read, and created make-believe worlds with various animal friends. Later, I started writing for my high-school newspaper. That led to a career as a journalist, writing for newspapers, magazines, radio and a little television. The natural progression from there was wri...