Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Want some really intriguing and different to read at summer's end?I'm delighted to welcome author C. J. Underwood to my blog today with the story of how a visit to a Dutch university prompted her to write her novel, An Army of Judiths. But first, a quick look at the novel, released today by Knox Robinson and available from http://www.amazon.com/An-Army-Judiths-C-J-Underwood/dp/1908483792/   Netherlands, 1572 Across the Low Countries, towns and cities have barricaded their gates against Phillip II’s invading army led by the bloodthirsty Duke of Alva and his tyrannical son, Toledo. With Amsterdam subjugated, and the ongoing merciless conquest of smaller towns, Spain’s mighty foothold in the Netherlands is gaining strength. Discharged as governor of the Netherlands by Spain, Prince William of Orange has amassed a fleet of ‘Seabeggars’, his unofficial navy of furious and vengeful noblemen, bent on defending their faith, land and fortunes. But they are losing. Holland is in th...

Ah, I wish I could travel the world for free... or maybe not. I'd love to take a trip back to England sometime this summer, if we can manage to plan something that works. But reading How to Travel the World for Free by Michael Wigge, has convinced me I'd rather pay than try to travel free. I've reviewed How to Travel the World for Free here but I didn't include any pictures, so here, for anyone wishing to see how free world-travelling might look, are just a few... Eating flowers looks kind of odd, but I assure it's not the oddest thing this author ate on his travels... Antarctic penguins look great--his aim was to reach the end of the world, otherwise known as Antarctica. I would certainly like to get there somehow, but I'd rather be a tourist than a guide. Wigge is a well-known media personality in Germany—a journalist, award-winning documentarian, comedian and world traveler. Wigge traveled 25,000 miles from Europe to  Antarctica-- without any ...

I signed my contract for Gypsy Shadow Publishing , filled in my tax form and put them both in the mail. It's scary stuff. I worked on writing a new author bio for them too - one where I finally admit I might really be an author. I have to do a book blurb and one-sentence summary next. I'm not sure which part of it all is scariest. Writing the blurb is an interesting exercise. Once upon a time I always wanted to write blurbs for my stories. I imagined how the back of the book would read, a cleverly catchy paragraph perhaps, giving nothing away except for the subtlest hint. Then I started submitting to publishers and agents and learned that a real synopsis has to tell the whole tale. I struggled and groaned and trained myself not to keep secrets. But now I'm writing a real book blurb and I mustn't tell it all or why would anyone buy it. Even naming the genre's got me asking my son for help. I can't say this, or that, or the other, or... well, never mind. I'm s...