Sheila's Guests and Reviews

It's been a really long week. Now, not only am I losing one publisher to illness, but I may well lose another to market forces. I feel somewhat "Earnest" with lines like "to lose one [publisher] might be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness" echoing in my brain. But am I really careless or just careworn? Either way, reading children's picture books is a great prescription. Even without kids to share them with, picture books still lift the spirits, inspire a smile, and remind me there are more important things in life than being a published author. Being a reader for example -- what could be better? So let's use books and teach our kids to read. Then maybe they'll read my books as well. Let's also drink coffee of course. Please find an appropriate brew and choose your story: First is Cedric the Shark gets Toothache by Kay Carter , a smoothly rhyming tale with clear cartoon pictures of a shark who eats too much candy...

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Carrie Morgridge to my blog. She's touring the internet with her book, Spirit of the Trail. And she's toured the trails with her bike. So, welcome Carrie. I have virtual tea, coffee, juice and even water... I guess I should start by asking where you live and where you grew up. Born in Santa Barbara, California.  Moved to Aspen CO from CA, and then split time between CO and FL.  Warm cold thing.  Now live in Stuart FL on Hutchinson Island and Steamboat Springs CO. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? My mom said I could be anything I wanted to be – every night as a child.   I met prince charming in San Francisco and lived happily ever after. What is your education/career background? I graduated HS by one point.   I was totally disengaged, but my parents always told me I was smart.   Went to college at 36 and graduated ...

Today I'm delighted to feature an introduction to author Kari Trumbo's new book, An Imperfect Promise. Here's a brief excerpt to entice you... Esther’s harsh words cut right to the heart of her own fears. Hearing them from someone else magnified them. “What are you saying, Esther Greening?” Gini stepped closer, her shoulders shuddering under the weight of Esther’s words, hurt from a thousand rejections stabbing at her heart. A sob caught in her throat. How could Esther always read her fears and pierce her with them? Esther stopped her frantic scrubbing and stood perfectly still, her words slow and exact. “I’m saying that in the two or so weeks that he’s been here, he’s only come  here  once. You’re the one going over there, acting like a lovesick bird, batting your lashes and throwing yourself at him at every turn. He doesn’t return your feelings. You’re going to get hurt, just like when we were growing up.” Shock stopped her dead, and she quickly glanced around t...

When I was offered the loan of a copy of Philip Dick's A Scanner Darkly I couldn't resist. I love the movies based on Dick's stories. And I've loved every one of his stories I've had the chance to read. It kind of annoyed me that I'd not read this one yet. But what I didn't expect was to find myself in doctor's and dentist's waiting rooms, glued to my phone, frantically reading the next chapter. One my phone! I suppose it's appropriate. After all, Dick was writing of a future world with future technology (and modern-day problems), so my not read on a phone. But my phone...! I'm going to load it up with more books now. I think I'm hooked. It's the one item I'm guaranteed to always have with me, so now I'll always have a book to read. Meanwhile, in paperback, on my tablet, kindle and y computer, and in every spare moment, I read other books. They're all kind of dark. They all scan kind of strange places. And here are my re...

In the 60s I was a kid in school. In the 70s I went to college. In the 80s I started a family. In the 90s I changed countries. In the 00s I gained a new citizenship. In the 10s I tried to be an author. And I sometimes feel old. But it's fun to read novels set in my younger days, to remember how things were, and to learn how different they might have been somewhere else. It's fun to read of earlier times too, my parents' days, my parents' world. And it's intriguing to read my way into different versions of my own present world--the lives of strangers who just might one day be my neighbors perhaps. I guess I'd classify the books I've been reading recently as "drama," though I'm not sure that's a shelf in the library. Some of them are historical, others contemporary; but all them take to me to almost-places where I've almost been, and they're all highly recommended. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is set in the years of my grandpa...

Today I welcome Evy Journey back to my blog with another novel, Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies. She visited recently with Welcome Reluctant Stranger , and I'm happy to welcome her return today. She's going to talk about... The Importance of Being Inner-Directed By Evy Journey I once did research to expand and improve the Wikipedia entry on the novel North and South by Victorian writer Elizabeth Gaskell. Why am I telling you this? Because in my research, I learned from Jill Matus in The Cambridge Companion to Elizabeth Gaskell that Gaskell focused on the “interiority” of her female protagonist, Margaret Hale. That piqued my interest. I am a big fan of interiority. All my heroines from Margaret (in a N&S sequel I wrote) to Gina in Sugar and Spice and All Those Lies are high on interiority. They have rich inner lives. But what’s “interiority”?  You have it; I have it. Some people prefer to ignore it. Some like to wallow in it. I know I do. A few even live ins...

Today I get to welcome author Donna Fletcher Crow to my blog. I'm thrilled to be able to announce the release of her most recent novel, A Lethal Spectre. It's the latest in a series of mysteries set in Victorian times, all centering on Lord Danvers and his wife Antonia. Think Lord Peter Wimsey in an earlier generation perhaps. The stories evoke Victorian England in its complicated dust and glory, portraying all sides of fascinating stories, and always including real history and real events. A Lethal Spectre FIND IT HERE  https://www.amazon.com/dp/198765613X/ IN PAPERBACK OR HERE  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C2MD17S/ ON KINDLE is particularly close to my heart for it's portrayal of social and political follies, not so different from those we know today. So, find a chair, pour a coffee or your favorite beverage, and meet Donna Fletcher Crow. Hello Donna! Sheila, thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your blog today. And thank you so much for yo...