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Let's Meet Author Sara Jayne Townsend!

10/25/2015

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​In the spirit of Halloween, I would like to introduce author Sara Jayne Townsend on the blog today! Sara writes super spooky stories, including her latest horror novel, The Whispering Death. Welcome, Sara! 
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Sara’s Bio:
 
Sara Jayne Townsend is a UK-based writer of crime and horror, and someone tends to die a horrible death in all of her stories.  She was born in Cheshire in 1969, but spent most of the 1980s living in Canada after her family emigrated there.  She now lives in Surrey with two cats and her guitarist husband Chris.  She co-founded the T Party Writers’ Group in 1994, and remains Chair Person.
 
She decided she was going to be a published novelist when she was 10 years old and finished her first novel a year later.  It took 30 years of submitting, however, to fulfil that dream.
 
Her latest horror novel, THE WHISPERING DEATH, about a group of live action roleplayers who unwittingly release an ancient evil during a game, has recently been released by Kensington Gore Publishing.
 
Learn more about Sara and her writing at her website (http://sarajaynetownsend.weebly.com) and her blog (http://sayssara.wordpress.com). You can also follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/sarajtownsend) and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3500282.Sara_Jayne_Townsend) or join her Facebook Group, “Imaginary Friends” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/301037281383). 
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​THE WHISPERING DEATH BLURB
 
When a group of live action role-players perform a ritual as part of a game, they unwittingly unleash an ancient evil that tears their world apart.  The reanimated corpse of a long-dead magic user, corrupted by powerful dark magic, offers a promise of unlimited power, but at a terrible price.  Having helped open this Pandora’s box, Mark and Elizabeth must race against time to close it again – before it’s too late.
​A LIFELONG LOVE AFFAIR
By Sara Jayne Townsend
 
Like many writers, I have always loved reading. I don’t remember a time I wasn’t reading, like I don’t remember a time I wasn’t making up stories. Growing up in the North of England in the 1970s, our family did not buy many books, but we took frequent trips to the local library. I remember the children’s library being a smaller room off the main library. My mother used to park us in that room and go off to choose her own books, returning for us later when it was time to check out our choices.
 
Books were not categorised by age back then quite as rigidly as they are now. I have a memory that the picture books, for very young children, were in a bin at the front of the room. The other books may have been vaguely ordered in age, with the books for older children at the back of the room. But I’m trying to reach back nearly 40 years for that memory, and if they were I didn’t pay much attention, because I used to browse all the books and pick out anything that looked interesting.
 
As a child having a story read to me before bed was part of the nightly ritual, and my mother used to read my library choices to me. If I’d picked a book that was rather too old for me, and she decided the content was rather violent, she used to skip sections. But I was following along, and if she did that I’d pick up on it and point out that she’d missed a bit. Eventually we agreed that if the section of the book was so nasty she refused to read it aloud, I’d read it silently to myself and when I was done she could pick up the story again.
 
We’d be at the library every two or three weeks, returning the books we’d read and checking out new ones. It was always a thrill for me to discover new books, but for the first twenty or so years of my life my reading experience was generally library books – both through my school and through the local library. I was happy with that, because I could devour far more books that way than I could ever afford to buy.
 
The situation changed when I got a full time job in a book shop. Suddenly buying books became far more appealing – not only was I surrounded by books all day, but I was earning money with which to buy them, and on top of that, I got a staff discount.
 
That was the point at which I started buying books instead of borrowing them. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to give them back, I could keep these treasures and surround myself with them at home. Second hand books have also always had an appeal – not only are they cheaper than new books, there’s a mystery about their history that is attractive. Who else has read this book other than you? Did they enjoy it just as much?
 
For the last 30 years or so, I have been collecting books. So has my husband, which for much of our life together has caused a storage problem. In every home we’ve owned together, we’ve had to build book shelves, double stack our books on them and still stow quite a lot of them in the attic because there’s not enough space and neither of us can bear letting books go. When we moved into our current home – a four bedroomed house – three years ago, for the first time we had enough space to create a library and we had enough room to display all of our books. Well, mostly. They are still double stacked.
 
The advent of the e-reader changed my reading habits again. Since I do most of my reading on the train to and from work, I find that my Kindle is invaluable. It saves space, and if I finish a book on the journey to work, I can start the next one without having to lug an extra book around with me. And buying Kindle books is so easy. I browse the Kindle store as I used to browse book stores, often giving new authors a try because I like the sound of the blurb, or the cover catches my eye. And the big bonus is that no storage space is necessary, since all of my books are in cyber-space.
 
This doesn’t mean that I’ve stopped buying paper books. But generally I buy them at conventions and launches these days, and I find I browse book stores a lot less than I used to, which in some ways makes me sad. On the other hand, the books I do buy are often from small presses, which are often not available in chain book stores and reflect another way in which the publishing world is changing.
 
Throughout the evolution of my reading habits, one thing has not changed – I still devour books and get through at least one a week. As a child I was never bored as long as I had a book to read, and that’s still the same as an adult. Wherever I go, I always have a book or my Kindle with me. You never know when you might have five minutes’ spare to bury your nose in a book.
 
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Author Mindy Mymudes and The Magical Drool Mysteries

9/21/2015

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Oh, happy day on the blog! Today my guests are Mindy Mymudes and the magical basset hound, George. Mindy is the author of the middle grade Magical Drool Mysteries. Welcome, Mindy and George!

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Iva: Mindy, I hear that you run with the Muddy Paws Pack up north. What’s it like being a packmate?

Mindy: It means I get to hunt for food while the rest of the pack naps. Actually, I am a top ranked obedience trainer, owner, handler, and a rally judge. The dogs keep me on my toes and we have a lot of fun together.

Iva: That is most excellent! I bet your packmates just love you! What gave you the idea for the Magical Drool Mysteries? Can you tell us about the books and characters?

Mindy: The Magical Drool Mysteries are based on real events of a real dog and his boy. George is an egotistical magical basset hound familiar. Between him, his Girlpup, a 12-year-old witch in training, Karly, and their Auntie Heather, they solve mysteries. Along the way they show the importance of taking care of the Earth.

Iva: Are the books similar to Nancy Drool books?

Mindy: I don’t think so. This isn’t gender specific, and the mysteries are paranormal. Not too many dragons in the Nancy Drew mysteries. It is a nice play on words.

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Iva: Please tell us a bit about Tillie’s Tale, your most recent mystery.

Mindy: Once again, George has to find an answer. Tillie, the puppygirl his packsibling Joey was given in “George Knows” attracts a ghost who haunts her. George has to find a way to make the ghost disappear. During his hunt for the answer, Auntie Heather and Karly, his Girlpup, witch-in-training, learn about some forgotten American History.

Iva: What do you like to do for fun when you’re not writing?

Mindy: I’m basically a soccer mom for dogs. Due to a disability, I can’t do as much as I used to, so a friend trains and runs my dogs in agility. The oldest, an obedience trial champion, is almost 15 and does nosework. We go to obedience lessons and I teach at a couple clubs. My life went to the dogs.

Iva: A life with the dogs is a fabulous thing! George has been waiting patiently here for his turn with some questions, keeping himself busy with some smelltasting and such.

Hi, George! What’s it like being a witch’s familiar? Please tell us what a regular day for you looks like!


George: What’s it like being a Peep? If Packmom or Karly remember to feed me, I have breakfast. Then I nap. If I have to move because the sun isn’t where I left it, I will wiggle over and catch it. Since that’s a lot of work, I take another snooze. When Karly gets home, she takes me to check out my pee mail and do my thing. After she cleans up after me, we head home and I have to remind her to feed me. Usually, she does her homework and I sleep at her feet. When she’s finished, we’ll head over to Aunt Heather’s and teach Karly spells. Things like healing broken animals and Peeps, what herbs do what, is that a RABBIT! RABBITRABBITRABBIT… oh. False alarm, just a stuffed squeaky. Is that for me?

Iva : YES! It is a stuffed rabbit squeaky! Here you go. Just a little thank you for being on my blog today.

So, I noticed you do a lot of smelltasting. What’s your favorite smelltaste?

George: It truly depends on the moment. It’s like you Peeps, sometimes you want cake and other times you want steak. Although the earthy dungflygrasssweet of rabbit droppings are always a favorite.

Iva: Oh, yes, rabbit droppings. I heard that flavor was becoming super popular. It might be nice in a candle scent for sure!

What do you like best about solving mysteries, George?

George: Getting the hamburger at the end. You Peeps don’t know about the best part because the lady with the hands, my secret-ary stops writing before the good part!

Iva: Of course, the hamburger! Oh, wait a second… we’re having some commotion here. Oh… it’s Lupo! The non-magical Belgian Shepalingo. He’s part Belgian Malinois, German Shepherd, Malamute, and Dingo. He’s just busted down the door because he’s so excited to meet you.
What's that, Lupo? Oh, I think he has a few questions for you too, George.
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Lupo: What's it like being magical? Do you get better treats and toys?
I love my purple dinosaur.

George: The pay is bad. It's a lot of work, and it's far easier just to be a pet. However, there are times where magical drool is useful. It's fun to see my Boypup skid across the floor.

Iva: I can tell Lupo really wishes he had magic drool, too! His tail is  wagging a lot right now.

Lupo: Do you have any advice for a non-magical dog?

George: Sniff a lot, eat when you can, pee when you can, and make sure you turn three times before going to sleep. It keeps the ghosts from haunting or possessing your body.

Iva: Great advice, George! Mindy and George, where can readers find you on the ever-so-amazing internet?

http://mindymymudes.weebly.com/blog

https://www.facebook.com/Author-Mindy-Mymudes-486126501426333/timeline/

https://twitter.com/GeorgeBasset

Iva: A big thank you once again to Mindy and George for visiting the blog today. For Peeps and all dogs big and small, please feel free to comment below!
 


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Catching Up with James Joyce

9/4/2015

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Success! It happened! It really, truly, did.  Yay!

As an update to February’s blog post about the author James Joyce and his time in Pula, I’m so happy to announce that I finally had the opportunity to have a coffee with him. Okay, it was a mineral water—my favorite!—and not a coffee. And the James Joyce I’m referring to is a statue… but still! This is a girl’s dream come true. If you’re me, of course.

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I didn’t have to push any tourists out of the way, or lurk around for the spot to open up.  All those years of passing by James Joyce and seeing other people enjoying their time with him.  Well, those years are OVER. Because on this particular beautiful afternoon in Pula, my brother and I casually sauntered by Caffe Uliks, and—oh, yes—the spot was open. Not a soul in sight. And then we posed for a million pictures. Cheers to James Joyce!

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Christopher Mannino and The Scythe Wielder's Secret

8/30/2015

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Today I’d like to welcome YA fantasy author, Christopher Mannino, to the blog. Hello, Christopher! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am a high school theatre teacher and a fantasy author. A typical school day for me involves 6 classes of teaching drama, followed by six hours of after-school rehearsal for an upcoming production. Most of my first drafts are devised during summers, when I only teach part-time, and then are edited during my “free time” during the school year. I live with my wife, who is a romance author and a fundraiser, outside of Washington DC.

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Wow! That’s a busy schedule. I’m impressed! When did you first start writing?

I first seriously attempted writing in college. As an undergraduate, I wrote a young adult novel that took me ten years, tons of rewrites, and ended up being “shelved” in a file on my computer. It’s never been published. 

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What inspired you to write The Scythe Wielder’s Secret series?

In 2011, I finished my graduate degree with a semester abroad at Oxford. As part of my time overseas, I decided to travel somewhere completely different at least once a week. On one of those trips, I found myself stranded in Tintagel, Cornwall, the supposed birthplace of King Arthur.

I’d slept little, searching for a pub that’d let me spend the night. Before dawn, I crept out onto a promontory overlooking the area. There were no people, and I was alone on a fifty-foot cliff, attacked on every side by fierce winds. I clung to the rocks, struggling to stay on, feeling completely alone. I imagined a character totally alone, attacked from every direction. In the earliest draft, the character was a boy, but I soon changed it to a girl, alone in a world where she was the only girl.

I love this story and how it relates to the birthplace of King Arthur. I’d love to visit Tintagel some day! I’ve always been a big fan of the Arthurian legends.

You work as a drama teacher at a high school. What is your favorite part about being a teacher?

I like encouraging kids through the subjects I’m most passionate about. Theatre and writing are my two greatest passions, and I’m fortunate to pursue both professionally. Seeing kids grow is the most rewarding part- for example watching a shy kid who won’t talk to anyone appear onstage or take such as an interest in tech that they decide to pursue it professionally- those are moments you feel truly proud.

In addition to writing, you spend your summers singing. Please tell us more! Do you ever sing in the shower or while driving in your car?

I sing a LOT. I’ve sung in choirs, solo performances, and yes in the shower and the car. One of my favorite singing experiences was when a local group was involved with performing live music to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, at Wolftrap Park for the Performing Arts. The movies were shown on an enormous outdoor screen, in a version with all the music taken out. We had a full orchestra, 50 voice children’s choir, and a 150 voice adult choir, which I was a member of. It was difficult music, but tons of fun.

Ah! Lord of the Rings, one of my favorites. This sounds like it was fabulous!

When you are working on a book, what does your writing process look like?


I start with what I call a “developed idea.” This is usually a scenario involving a loose concept and some form of characters and plot. I keep a journal with developed book ideas- and currently have over twenty, spanning many genres. Then I gather a loose collection of images. These are concrete pictures, scenes that I can see, like tableaux, in my mind. I don’t yet know how they’ll connect. After that, I do an extremely loose outline, sometimes a single handwritten scrawled page. Then I just draft, connecting the images together, moving from beginning to end. After the first draft is done, I wait a while, re-read everything, and start to edit.

If you could pick one song to bring you inspiration, what would you choose?

“Transcendence” by Lindsey Stirling.

Please tell us about your new release.

“Sword of Deaths” is the second novel in The Scythe Wielder’s Secret trilogy. I expanded the writing a lot, by switching from one point of view to three, something I ended up continuing through the third novel as well. Many new characters are introduced, and the series takes a darker, and more epic fantasy feel.

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Blurb:

THE SCYTHE WIELDER'S SECRET CONTINUES

Susan Sarnio made a choice, and will spend the rest of her life as the only female Death.  Last year she was bullied and ostracized. Now, to her complete bewilderment, four Deaths vie for her affection. Yet, something is terribly wrong at the College of Deaths. When a ship carrying scythe metal is attacked, many blame the newly-freed Elementals, but Susan knows the Elementals are innocent.

Shadows from the distant past come to light. Dragons circle the horizon, blood spills, and nothing is what it seems. Susan and her friends struggle to stop a war. They search for the fabled First Scythe, hoping to sway the balance, but who is the true enemy?

Excerpt:

“What’s going on over there?” asked Billy.

The throng grew, moving toward the Sea with raised voices.

“Let’s find out,” said Frank.

Suzie, Billy, and Frank joined the crowd. They lost sight of Eshue, then saw him behind them. The city poured toward the Port.

“Never seen anything like it,” said a voice.

“Just there on the water?”

“You can see it now.”

“How could this happen?”

So many shouts, so much noise. Frank could hardly make out the sentences, but sensed the anxiety.

Fire and blood. With a pang, the image returned to his mind. The jumbles dissolved into a single image of fire on water. Past and future collided to form a single warning for the present.

They rounded a bend and the endless sea emerged before them.

It was on fire.

No, not the sea. A massive plume of smoke billowed toward Mors. Beneath it, a large boat floated toward the Port. Flames soared up from the sides of the ship. It limped through the waters, listing violently to one side. Enormous tongues of red and gold flame licked the sky. Frank’s eyes watered from blowing smoke.

“That’s a mortamant ship,” said a Death near him.

“How could this happen?” said another.

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It must be the ’Mentals,” said another.

Smaller vessels circled the massive craft, but the Deaths seemed unable to do anything. The large ship hit the side of a long pier. With a crash louder than thunder, half of the burning ship fell into the sea.

The Deaths around him surged forward.

“Fire!” shouted a voice. “’Mentals did this. ’Mentals!”

Even if ’Mentals had done this, the Deaths deserved it. Yet, the fire seemed wrong. Why would his people target a boat?

The angry chants grew louder. A hand grabbed Frank and spun him around.

“You see what happens when you touch the Lethe,” said Eshue. He glared with wild eyes, then spun away and darted into the throng of Deaths.

“We should get back to the College,” said Billy.

“How,” replied Frank. “If Eshue blames us for touching the water, will the other captains give us passage?”

Billy, Suzie, and Frank ran through the crowds. They halted at the large globe on the beach.

“What’s happening?” asked Suzie. “Why is everyone panicking? I know the boat was attacked, but shouldn’t people be trying to help?”

“That ship was carrying mortamant,” said Billy. “The metal for scythes. If they’ve lost a shipment that large, the entire World of the Dead will be affected.”

“Maybe it was an accident,” said Frank.

“Accident or not, they seem to think it was a ’Mental attack. This city’s going to turn ugly fast,” said Billy. “If they were using ’Mentals to stop bullets before this happened, I don’t want to see what they’ll do now.”

The implication hit home. They blamed the ’Mentals. Whether justified or not, if the Deaths learned he was a ’Mental in disguise there’d be problems.

“Let’s get our stuff and get out of here,” said Billy.

“Eshue said we can’t use the boat,” said Suzie.

“We’ll find something else.”

* * * *

Frank let the beautiful creature do the work. The sleek, white horses were calm and graceful. He’d never ridden before. Turning in the saddle, he saw Suzie clutching Billy’s waist. Of course they’d ride together, while Frank rode alone.

“Hurry up!” shouted a horseman in front of them. They’d spent the rest of their money to secure the two horses, and rode with a larger group.


The land route to the College would take an extra two days. None of the other Deaths said a word to them.

Behind him, against the sinking sun, the city of Mors seemed calm. Yet, the Deaths buzzed with anger.

None had survived the ship’s attack. A huge amount of mortamant was lost. Everyone blamed the ’Mentals. In every street, he’d heard whispers of war.

Whatever progress they’d made by defeating Sindril, seemed lost now.

The visions were true; they always were. This was just the beginning.

 

Woo hoo! This book sounds so good, it gives me the chills. Where can readers find you? Website, Facebook, etc?

www.ChristopherMannino.com

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8108129.Christopher_Mannino

www.facebook.com/CTMannino

www.twitter.com/CTMannino

 
Thanks so much for visiting the blog today, Christopher! I can’t wait to get a copy of your new book. Readers, please feel free to leave questions and comments for Christopher below!

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Let's Meet Author Suzanne de Montigny!

4/1/2015

6 Comments

 
Today my guest on the blog is author Suzanne de Montigny! Her new book is The Shadow of the Unicorn II: The Deception. Welcome, Suzanne! Please tell us a little bit about yourself.


Well, here are some interesting facts about me:
1.     I talk to my bichon frisé like he’s a normal human being. And yes, Buddy does answer back. (Funny how my mouth moves while he talks!)
2.     When my son took up skate boarding, I thought I’d be the cool mom and learn it too. Unfortunately, I ended up on my back and paying a visit to emergency.
3.     My two boys and I fiddle. (But they’re way better than me!)
4.     My favourite season is autumn so I can kick the leaves when no one’s looking.
5.     My husband says I snore so loud it wakes him up.

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I talk to my dog, Lupo, all the time! Lupo does a lot of complaining about things. What is your favorite place in the world?

Well…I like a few places best: Paris; Sydney, Australia; and Quebec City.

All those places sound fabulous! I've only been to Paris but I'm hoping to visit the rest! What is your favorite song?

Of course, it changes all the time, but right now it’s Lennie Gallant’s Peter’s Dream.

When and why did you begin writing?

I loved writing as a child and wrote my first unicorn novella when I was in grade six. It was six chapters long and ended tragically. But I truly became serious about writing after my father died eight years ago. I secretly like to think he put me up to it because at the funeral reception, I found myself telling everyone I felt like writing a book and couldn’t understand why. I finally did the following spring and haven’t stopped since.

What influences your writing?

Things that happen to me in everyday life. For example, my unpublished teen fiddling mystery, A Town Bewitched, grew exponentially from our first experience in fiddling camp. We were so crazy about fiddling. Then one day, I thought, what if that craze happened to an entire town, only there was something really wrong with the fiddler…

A lot of the plot in my second unicorn novel came from an experience as a child when I wasn’t allowed to play with a native girl (this was back in the sixties). It haunted me most of my life, but I’m glad to say, I found her on FB and apologized after nearly 50 years. She never responded, but at least I reached out to her. We were both victims of the times.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Why, fiddling, of course. That and snowboarding.

Those both sound like a ton of fun! What do you look for in a book when you sit down to read for fun?

I like good, clean fun. No swearing or bodily functions. I love to read mysteries, ghost stories, historical novels, that sort of thing. And I hate to admit this, but I love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Nothing makes me laugh harder.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them?

My dad, I guess. I’d ask him, “Do I do you proud?”


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Tell us about the current book you’re promoting.

I thought you’d never ask. It’s an awesome tween fantasy novel, entitled, The Shadow of the Unicorn II: The Deception. Of course, it’s the sequel to The Shadow of the Unicorn: The Legacy. And, BTW, I’m writing the final of the trilogy. Anyway, here’s the book trailer:http://youtu.be/xZgQSBowrFE

And it’s on for only $2.99 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Unicorn-Deception-Book-ebook/dp/B00TVTPB50/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1424798163&sr=1-1&keywords=the+shadow+of+the+unicorn+II%3A+The+Deception

Woo hoo! I love unicorns! How can we find you? Website, Facebook, blog, etc?

www.suzannedemontigny.com

https://www.facebook.com/unicorngirl52?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/sfierymountain

http://suzannesthoughtsfortheday/blogspot.ca


Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Yes, most important of all. I give half of the proceeds of all my unicorn novels to the Third World Eye Care Society, a group of eye specialists who travel to third world countries delivering thousands of pairs of used eyeglasses and performing eye surgery for free. 

Wow! That is amazing, Suzanne! Thanks for supporting such a great cause. It was really great to have you on the blog today! I can't wait to read your new book… it looks awesome!

Readers, please feel free to comment and ask questions for Suzanne!
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Let's Meet Authors David Fraser and Heather Fraser Brainerd!

3/10/2015

12 Comments

 
Today I am interviewing a fabulous brother/sister writing duo. Welcome, David Fraser and Heather Fraser Brainerd! Please tell us a little bit about yourselves.
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Dave: There's not much to say. I guess I'm just an ordinary guy who has lived an ordinary life.

There is nothing wrong with ordinary! I think ordinary is great. Hmmm… I'm wondering where Heather is? Hopefully she hasn't been abducted by vampires, leprechauns, or even a were-nanny. Well, let's carry on for now. Where is your favorite place in the world?

Dave: I have many places that could qualify, so I'll just go with the most memorable. That would be atop Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Maine. In winter and spring, this is where the sun first strikes the United States each day. I went up there late on December 31, 1999, to be among the first to see the sun rise on a new millenium.

I would love to visit Maine! It sounds beautiful. Maybe a bit chilly. What is your favorite song?

Dave: Anything from Bizet's opera Carmen. In my teens, I practiced for a summer with the Metropolitan Opera on a youth symphony program. I played the viola. If there had been any illnesses or other emergencies, I would have been able to fill in for an actual public performance. Unfortunately, everyone stayed nice and healthy. I spent hours each day playing Carmen over and over and over. To this day, I can still play the entire piece from memory.

That's great that you can still play! I used to play piano as a kid. I never practiced, though. You can probably imagine what a crummy piano player I was! So, when and why did you begin writing?

Dave: Following a severe car crash when I was in my mid-twenties, I was stuck in bed. Having two legs with compound fractures tends to do that to you. I got sick of watching the same old garbage over and over on television, so I started writing as a way to keep myself from going crazy.

What influences your writing?

Dave: The writings of the Dalai Lama. In college, I had an internship at the Dalai Lama Foundation. It was in the Donor Relations department, which basically meant calling famous people and asking for donations. Tom Hanks, if I recall correctly, was particularly nice. The end of the internship coincided with one of his visits to the United States and we were invited. It was a nice dinner (vegetarian, of course) and he was a brilliant speaker. We were all hugging and crying by the time he was done.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

Dave: I recently took up BASE jumping. This is parachute jumping off of any Building, Antenna, Span (bridge), or Earth (cliff). I haven't done any buildings yet, as the close quarters of nearby buildings kind of freaks me out a little, so that's on my to-do list for this year.

Wow! That is AMAZING! Hang on… I have to watch a quick video of BASE jumping on YouTube… wowzer! 

What do you look for in a book when you sit down to read for fun? Maybe after a nice BASE jumping adventure? (It would probably be a bit difficult to do while jumping off of a building or whatnot.)


Dave: I generally look for Page One. If I start anywhere else, I tend to have no idea what's going on.

YES! I do that, too. It's hard to jump right into the middle of a book, I don't really recommend it.

Heather (rushing in): Sorry I’m late. I had a severe case of the hiccups. Did I miss anything?
Dave: No. I’m just sharing a little bit about my average, everyday life.


Hello, Heather! So glad you could make it! So here's a question for both of you. If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them?

Dave: I would meet honorable and trustworthy NBC anchorman Brian Williams. I'd like to show him the Medal of Honor I got that time I was in the Coast Guard and saved a boatload of Cuban refugees from a school of hungry hammerhead sharks.
Heather: What are you talking about!? That never happened! What other flim flam have you told these nice people?
Dave: Gee, would you look at the time? Gotta run. I’m late for tea with Oprah Winfrey.


Tell us about the current book you're promoting. The cover is awesome!

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Shadows of New York: Middle Grade Fantasy

Blurb:
What do you do when your view of the world gets turned on its head? Eleven-year-old Josh Cooper is surprised when his new nanny ends up being a dude, but that pales in comparison to how he feels when he learns the nanny, Aiden, is also a werewolf. Aiden teaches Josh about the Imaginary World, even introducing him to his friends Larry Fancypants (a suave-yet-goofy vampire) and Steve Lickerman (a tall-yet-meek leprechaun). This fascinating world seems harmless, until Josh learns of the shadowy wraith that’s stalking New York, attacking creatures and stealing their powers. As werewolves are ideally suited for fighting wraiths, Aiden is called upon to help capture the elusive Mr. Midnight, unintentionally drawing Josh even deeper into the strange and mysterious.

MuseItUp Publishing: https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museitup/fantasy/urban-fantasy/shadows-of-new-york-detail

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Shadows-New-York-Manny-Book-ebook/dp/B00LU4WM1A/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1410208549&sr=8-7&keywords=shadows+of+new+york

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadows-of-new-york-heather-fraser-brainerd/1119963973?ean=9781771275682

How can we find you? Website, Facebook, blog, etc?
Blog: https://drivingblindproductions.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrainerdFraser
Twitter Dave: https://twitter.com/DonaldFarster
Twitter Heather: https://twitter.com/HFBrainerd


Thanks so much for being my guests on the blog today, Heather and Dave! I'm excited to read your book. I'm really intrigued by the were-nanny and all of the other characters… can't wait!

Readers, please leave comments and/or questions for Heather and Dave!
12 Comments

Blog Swap with Barbara Ehrentreu

3/4/2015

10 Comments

 
Today my guest on the blog is author Barbara Ehrentreu. I'm excited to be swapping blogs with her today! To check out her blog, please visit Barbara’s Meanderings http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com. 
Let's find out some more about her!

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Author Bio:

Barbara Ehrentreu grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Queens. She has lived and taught in Long Island, Buffalo, NY and Westchester, NY as well as a year in Los Angeles, CA. She has a Masters Degree in Reading and Writing K-12. Currently she is retired from teaching and living in Stamford, CT with her family. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor won second prize in Preditors & Editors as Best Young Adult Book for 2011. It was inspired by Paula Danziger for her children's writing workshop at Manhattanville College. Her second book, After, considers what can happen to a teen when her father becomes ill with a heart attack. It is based on her own experiences when her husband had a heart attack and the aftermath of what she and her family experienced. She is preparing the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor. Barbara also writes poetry and several of her poems are published in the anthologies, Prompted: An International Collection of Poetry, Beyond the Dark Room, Storm Cycle and Backlit Barbell
. She has a blog, Barbara's Meanderings, and she hosts a radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages, once a month.


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BLURB FOR IF I COULD BE LIKE JENNIFER TAYLOR
Carolyn Samuels is obsessed with the idea of being popular. She is convinced that the only thing keeping her from happiness is her too heavy for fashion body and not being a cheerleader. Hyperventilating when she gets nervous doesn't help. When she is paired for a math project with the girl who tormented her in middle school, Jennifer Taylor, she is sure it is going to be another year of pain. With Carolyn's crush on Jennifer's hunky junior quarterback, Brad, her freshman year in high school looks like a rerun of middle school. When Jennifer is the only student who knows why she fell in gym class, Carolyn is blackmailed into doing her math homework in return for Jennifer's silence. Jennifer takes on Carolyn as a pity project since she can't be seen with someone who dresses in jeans and sweatshirts. When Jennifer invites Carolyn to spend the night to make her over and teach her to tumble, Carolyn learns Jennifer's secret and lies to her own friends to cover it up. Will Carolyn become a cheerleader and popular? Does she continue to keep Jennifer's secret? Or will she be a target of this mean girl again?


EXCERPT FOR IF I COULD BE LIKE JENNIFER TAYLOR
Feeling my old hatred of gym, I glance across the locker room and see Jennifer in red designer shorts and a tight sleeveless shirt to match. She's standing in front of the only mirror in the room turning back and forth.

Becky and I slide into our loose camp shorts and a T-shirt, and once they're on, we race onto the gym floor. Always better to be early for gym the first day.  You never knew what kind of teacher you'd have. My athletic ability is zero, so I don’t take chances. Once I was a few minutes late, and the gym teacher in middle school made me run around the gym ten times. It took me the whole gym period.

Becky and I sit on the low seats in the bleachers, but Jennifer and her group saunter into the gym and choose the highest seats avoiding the rest of us. Miss Gaylon, the gym teacher introduces herself and gives us a few minutes until the last stragglers come from the locker room.  For those few minutes, I almost feel comfortable. My breathing returns to normal. I hear giggles from Jennifer and her group, but I ignore it.

"Maybe it won't be so bad this year, Carolyn." Becky always tries to cheer me up now. This wasn’t true a few years ago. I had to cheer her up a lot. Becky’s brothers are just turning five, and they’re both in kindergarten. Her mom remarried after being divorced for ten years. Becky was just getting used to her new stepfather when her mom got pregnant. I remember how miserable Becky was the first year of middle school when her mom spent so much time with her twin brothers and didn’t have enough time to help Becky with her homework. Luckily, Becky’s stepfather is a history teacher, so she got very interested in history and current events.

"Right, Becky, and maybe I'll learn to be a gymnast in ten minutes. Reality check, remember last year?"

"Okay, I'm hoping it won't be so bad."

"You mean like the dentist finding you only have one cavity and filling it the same day?"

"You’re so lame, Carolyn. Since we're all older, maybe she'll treat us differently. People change over the summer you know."

"Look at her, Becky."

Becky turns to look over at the group at the top of the bleachers and then turns back to look me in the eye. “You know you have to put that stupid day behind you.”

I pretend not to know what she’s talking about. “What stupid day?”

Like I don’t remember every detail.

“The zip line day.”

“Oh, that day,” I say with a combination grimace and smile. “The day I wound up having to climb off the platform. I wanted to bore a hole into the ground so I wouldn’t have to walk past them but couldn’t, and everyone screamed at me: ‘Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.’”

“You have to admit it was funny the way the gym teacher ran up the ladder like a squirrel to rescue you. Everyone laughed at how stupid she looked. Jennifer got the whole class going with that ridiculous ‘breathe, Carolyn, breathe.’” Becky looks behind her to Jennifer. “You know I wanted to run over and punch her, but I couldn’t because I was still on the platform, and it was my turn to go.”

“Yeah, if I had a few more minutes, I would have been able to get up the courage to grip the zip line and hook myself to it. Stupid teacher didn’t give me a chance. This not breathing thing when I get nervous really sucks.”

Becky nods because she knows me so well.

“So then Jennifer started with that horrible chant, and of course, the whole class followed her, like always.” My eyes fill with tears as I remember, and my breathing is getting worse by the minute.

“I thought it was a dumb idea to do ropes course stuff in school. We did it at my camp the summer before, and no one was forced to do it. Anyone could get nervous with Jennifer in front of them,” Becky comforts me.

I continue talking as if I’m in a trance. “Remember how last year whenever I ran into Jennifer she would whisper ‘breathe, Carolyn, breathe,’ so no one could hear it except me. Once she did it just before I had to go up in front of the class in math.   Sometimes she would do it in front of everyone and, of course, get a big laugh while I wanted to turn into a piece of furniture.”

Becky grabs my arm.  “Do we have to go back over this again? You need to forget about it.” She takes her hand away from my arm as I continue to speak.

“Becky, I can’t. The thing is it’s this bad movie in my brain looping the same horrible scenes. The funny thing is, most of the time, she would ignore me. I would never know what she was going to do. You have to admire someone so single-minded she managed to get to me at just the right time.

You remember don’t you? And today did you see how she wore the same outfit as me? It’s spooky.”

My funny breathing returns as Miss Gaylon tells us to line up on the yellow line alphabetically. I hope there will be someone to go between Jennifer and me. No luck. Jennifer is going to be behind me all year. I hold my breath. I couldn't stand more of the same this year. I pray for the day to end soon. A glance at my new watch shows me fifteen more minutes left of the period. Is Miss Gaylon's voice getting lower?  What is that pounding in my ears?

Jennifer turns to face me, and I hear, "Breathe, Carolyn, breathe.” Then my world turns black.

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BLURB FOR AFTER
After” is a story about the struggles Lauren Walstein, a fifteen-year-old girl, has to go through when her father suddenly has a heart attack and undergoes bypass surgery. In one phone call her life changes completely. Lauren is a character with whom most teens will relate. Her best friend since kindergarten, Joey, is going out with her enemy and they have grown apart. Before the phone call all she thought about was getting a scholarship for softball, and the Mets. Suddenly she must deal with both her father’s illness and being in school. The demands on her from both ends complicate the story. In the middle of all this, she finds she is developing feelings for her best friend that are more than friendly. Is he feeling the same or is he just comforting her? In addition there is Joey’s mean girl friend Amber, who doesn’t appreciate Lauren being in the picture. Will Lauren’s father recover? How will Lauren cope with her new feelings for Joey?


EXCERPT FOR AFTER
Let me go back and tell a little bit about myself. First of all, you might be thinking I’m a boy, but you’re wrong. My name is Lauren. I’m fifteen, and my sister is seventeen. I’m one hundred percent female. We learned about stereotypes in social studies and thinking sports can be only a boy’s thing is one of those. The teacher used blondes—and how people think they’re dumb or playing dumb—as an example. We had to come up with a few stereotypes of our own as our ticket to leave that day. It was then I realized my own parents thought in stereotypes. 


I go against the stereotype for girls. I’ve always loved baseball. Joey loves it differently than I do. He likes to play it, but he memorizes all the facts and can spew them out any time they’re needed. I like the flow of the game and the feel of the perfect pitch leaving my hand. 

Our friendship goes against the stereotypes, too. He and I clicked in kindergarten. The first day of school, Joey and I sat together and didn’t stop talking the whole morning. My parents told me that when the teacher tried to separate us we both put our feet on the ground and refused to be moved. She let us sit together for the rest of the year. But the next year the teachers were onto us and separated Joey and me for the whole year into different classes. We’d see each other in the hallway and wave. Sometimes I’d have a little tear in my eye when I saw him and it didn’t go away for a long time.

Before the phone call, there I was, eyelids drooping, in front of the TV, about to go upstairs to bed. Mom joined me for the last couple of innings. It looked like the Mets might do it. Though I tried, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I was in the process of raising my tall, lean body off the sofa and placing one foot on the floor when the phone rang. Dad usually called Mom late when he worked nights, so I handed the phone to Mom and started upstairs. I didn’t get far. As soon as my foot touched the first step I stopped in mid-step. Mom was screaming into the phone. 

“What? You want me to go out now and buy you Alka-Seltzer? You have indigestion?”

Dad never has anything wrong with his stomach. You could say it’s made of iron. I turned around and went back to the living room, catching bits of Mom’s conversation as I approached her. Even though I didn’t understand the reason for the phone call my heart started pounding and a sick feeling started in my stomach. I stood behind Mom.

“You have pain in your back, and indigestion? Go to the hospital! No, I’m not going out to buy you Alka-Seltzer.” She slammed down the phone and gave into hysterics. 

“That stupid man. He has to go to the hospital. He’s having a heart attack. He is so insufferable. I’m calling the doctor.” Tears rolled down her face as she frantically punched in the number for the doctors we use. She described Dad’s symptoms to the answering crew and they put her through directly to the coronary doctor on call. 

“Okay, I’m calling him back. He’s insane,” she said to no one in particular, but really to me and my sister. Diane, hearing all the screaming, had run down the steps and put her arms around Mom, who was now sobbing uncontrollably, but still punching in Dad’s number.

Holding the phone and wiping away tears she spoke to him again. This time it sounded a lot more like the way she spoke to my sister and me when she wanted something done for her. I wrapped my arms around myself and prayed this was a nightmare.

“I called the doctor and he said you need to go to the Emergency Room as soon as possible.” Then she added her own Mom advice. “Take two aspirin and we’ll meet you there.”

My life changed at that precise moment: 9:30 p.m. Sunday, September 24.And I never even realized it had happened.


Here are some links to learn more about Barbara and her books:

After:

MuseItUp Publishing:    
http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/young-adult/after-detail

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/After-Barbara-Ehrentreu-ebook/dp/B00NDYDC3C/ref=la_B00J0URGVM_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418409175&sr=1-2

For Nook on Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/after-barbara-ehrentreu/1120349821?ean=2940046242980

IBooks

If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor: (print and ebook)

MuseItUp Publishing: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore/index.php/museityoung/if-i-could-be-like-jennifer-taylor-detail

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/If-Could-Like-Jennifer-Taylor-ebook/dp/B005NWRLL6/ref=la_B00J0URGVM_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418409175&sr=1-1

For Nook on Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/reviews/If-I-Could-Be-Like-Jennifer-Taylor%2FBarbara-Ehrentreu/1105870667?csrfToken=7tl0EbMuS9kryS71CGU8jWQqfAkqgZfa&sort=3#reviews

IBooks

Blog: Barbara’s Meanderings: http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraEhrentreu
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barbehr
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4797564.Barbara_Ehrentreu
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/

Thanks so much for being on my blog today, Barbara! It was fun to swap blogs with you. Readers, please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question!  


10 Comments

Author Beverly Stowe McClure and I LIVE IN A DOGHOUSE

3/2/2015

8 Comments

 
Happy Read an E-Book Week! Today I’d like to welcome author Beverly Stowe McClure on the blog. Hello, Beverly! It’s a pleasure to have you here. Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
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I’m a mom, grandmother and great-grandmother, and I’m so young. I live in the country with two cats that adopted me. I never wanted to be a writer. In fact, when I was a kid, I hated to read. Life’s strange though. I ended up being a teacher, which meant I had to read to graduate from the university and I had to read to teach my students to read. And now I write. My former teachers would never believe it.

Cats are truly amazing! I have found that they are great companions for writing, reading, and editing. (My cat, Xena the Warrior Catress, enjoys sitting on my lap while I type away at my computer!)

What is your favorite place in the world?

I haven’t traveled a lot, but Charleston, SC, with its beautiful old homes, plantations, lighthouses and history is one place I love to visit . My favorite place in the world, however, is my home of thirty-plus years: twenty-three acres of mesquite and elm  trees, a pond that sometimes has fish, ducks, frogs, turtles and dragonflies. I can hear the coyotes, howling their song. Roadrunners peek in the door to see what’s happening. Deer stop by every evening for a handout, and birds share their beautiful songs. There’s no place I’d rather be.

Charleston sounds like a beautiful place. I’d love to visit there some day!

What is your favorite song?


Most anything by Elvis Presley.

Fabulous! When and why did you begin writing?

My first writing attempt was in eighth grade when I wrote a poem for an English assignment. The teacher sent it to a high school anthology and it was published in Young America Sings. That was the end of my writing career until the late 1990s. I was teaching then and noticed how much my students enjoyed reading the kid magazines, like “Weekly Reader,” “Jack and Jill,” “Highlights,” etc. Since many of them had articles on classroom activities like those that we did in class, I started wondering if I could write for magazines. I had no idea how to go about it, so I signed up for a writing course and learned the basics. The first article I sent out was on having fire drills in the home, like we did at school. To my surprise, it was published in a TV type magazine called “Happiness.” I was happy and went on to publish several more articles on art activities and science experiments we did in class in “Humpty Dumpty,” “Jack and Jill,” “Focus on the Family Clubhouse Jr.,” “Ladybug” and other fun magazines. My true love, though, is writing novels for kids and teens.

“Happiness”… what a perfect start to a happy writing career! What influences your writing?

My boys and my grandkids many times are an influence in my writing. Something they say or do may spark an idea for a story. Nature, articles I read in magazines and the newspaper, and just watching life are great influences on what stories I write.

What do you do when you’re not writing?

I enjoy reading. Yeah, who would have thought it? I review books, also. Taking long walks are one of my favorite things to do. My tabby cat goes with me. Genealogy, photo albums, and playing the piano are other pleasures I enjoy. I also teach a women’s Sunday school class at my church.

Oh, books… it's impossible to not love books! What do you look for in a book when you sit down to read for fun?

A story that will make me love the characters and hope they find happiness in the end.

If you could meet anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and what would you say to them?

I would like to meet Jesus Christ and tell him how much I love him and thank him for what he did for me and for others. I’d also like to meet my mother’s parents and get to know them.

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Tell us about the current book you’re promoting.

I LIVE IN A DOGHOUSE is my latest story. It’s about a boy's struggles to accept his new family while he longs for the old. MG/Tween contemporary.

Sometimes a boy just needs a safe place to hide, like a doghouse.


I've never hidden in a doghouse, but I can imagine it would be a GREAT place to hide. I can’t wait to read the book! How can we find you? Website, Facebook, blog, etc?

Website: http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com

Blog: http://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/beverlysmcclure

Twitter: https://twitter.com/beverlymcclure

Goodreads:
http://goodreads.com/author/show/11462.Beverly_Stowe_McClure

Author Bio:

Most of the time, you’ll find Beverly in front of her computer, writing the stories little voices whisper in her ear. To some of her friends, she is affectionately known as the “Bug Lady” because she rescues butterflies, moths, walking sticks, and praying mantis from her cats.

For twenty-two years, Beverly taught children in grades two through five how to read and write. They taught her patience. Now, she teaches a women’s Sunday school class at her church.

Beverly is published in leading children’s magazines and Chicken Soup for the Soul Anthologies. She also has twelve books published and is the Gold Winner in the 2012 Children’s Literary Classics, and also the Silver Winner in the 2013 CLC. Her books have won other awards as well.   


Book Blurb:

Eleven-year-old Nick Cassidy's stepsister delights in calling him gross names. His half-sister loves for Nick to push her in the stroller, to his embarrassment. What if the guys from school see him? All Nick wants is his father to come back and take him away from this crazy family. Is it any wonder he sometimes lives in the doghouse?

I LIVE IN A DOGHOUSE is the story of a boy's struggles to accept his new family while he longs for the old. When his father finally returns, will Nick's dreams come true? Or will he discover that memories sometimes are faulty, and it’s best to forget the past and treasure the present?


Thanks so much again for the visit, Beverly! So nice to have you on the blog.Today my husband and I started looking for a second dog to adopt to be a companion for our fur baby, Lupo. Hopefully New Dog will be here soon. The dogs won't be living in a doghouse…more likely on the couch! This will be a great book to read along with my furry companions!

8 Comments

Conda Douglas and The Mall Fairies

2/24/2015

8 Comments

 
Today I've got author Conda Douglas in for a visit. Welcome, Conda! 

Hi all, I'm Conda, author of all sorts of things. It's great being on Iva's blog, thank you Iva! And I have a couple of things for you all, a short story and a recipe from my Mall Fairies series. And right now the first and second novels in my series, plus a stand alone short story are in a book bundle for only $1.99 here! Scroll down for the short story and recipe. And please, ask me anything in the comments. I may not have the answer, but I sure love the questions.


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In The Mall Fairies: Exile Swoop the fairy lives in the attic of a shopping mall and loves it. She’s terrified of Outside, where fairies can die. But when Swoop finds her best friend One Wing in the company of a human, she determines she’ll do anything to save him from being exiled Outside.

In The Mall Fairies: War: Once, the fairies lived hidden, safe in the attic of a shopping mall. No longer. Now the fairies must become warriors to get a necessary potion from the troll-like pixies. Now teenage fairy Swoop must discover a way to save her fairy clan from death. Can she stop a war? 


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(Conda's note: this is a story and recipe from my cookbook The Mall Fairies Sweet Tooth Cookbook. It's about the pixies that are introduced in the second in my Mall Fairies' trilogy, The Mall Fairies: War. Enjoy meeting Flit and the rest of the pixies!)

FLIT AND THE PUMPKIN BREAD AND BARS AND...

"What, in the Big Digger's name, are we going to do with an entire pumpkin?" Cheer, the leader of the pixie clan glared at Flit. Cheer sat straight on her rock—okay, throne, as she insisted it be called—and leaned forward.

Flit fingered the hem of her mouse skin cloak. She'd thought that Cheer would be pleased with what Flit and her friends had managed to find tucked away in a human's garden and haul home. There were times when she hated her part time job of scavenger—Dumpster diver--provider of foodstuffs for the pixie clan. She gestured at the human's fist-sized pumpkin. "It's a tiny pumpkin."

"For human's maybe, not for five-inch-tall pixies. For pixies, it's big enough for all of us to live on for a week."

Flit nodded. "Exactly."

Cheer slumped on her rock. "My fault for sending a healer out instead of a hunter."

"Pumpkin is very good for you," Flit the healer said.

Cheer sighed. "Right, but I'm sending all the complaints your way."

… Three days later …

"Roast pumpkin, pumpkin soup, cold pumpkin soup—no more!" Digger, Flit's best friend, stood in front of a large group of angry pixies confronting Flit.

"But—" Flit looked over at the pile of cooked pumpkin, the rather large pile of remaining cooked pumpkin.

Digger saw her looking. "Yeah, I hate to waste food too, especially food I helped you drag home and then cook, but we're making an exception this time." The other pixies nodded in agreement.

"But—" Flit cast her gaze around as she tried to think of a way to use up the pumpkin—her gaze fell on the stack of honeycomb freshly stolen from a hive. Aha.

"What if we had it for dessert instead?" Flit asked.

"Dessert?"

"You know, make up some pumpkin bread or bars with acorn flour and the honey—"

"Yeah, yeah, that sounds—delicious," Digger said. The other pixies nodded again.

"And it's healthy too," Flit had to add.

PUMPKIN BARS
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves (can be omitted, but why?)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I use canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, salt & soda) and set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well.

Spread batter in a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

For a richer dessert, frost with one of Grandma MacDougall's frostings (recipes follows Molasses Cake recipe in The Mall Fairies Sweet Tooth Cookbook).

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Conda grew up in the ski resort of Sun Valley, Idaho, in her folk’s funky art gallery. She’s traveled the world and her own tiny office, writing all the while. She delights in writing her popular tween fantasy Mall Fairies series and getting fairy Swoop, pixie Flit, and their human companion, Grace, into magical and fantastical trouble. The inspiration for her Mall Fairies came from the sparrows living in the shopping mall Towne Square Mall in Boise, Idaho. Next up, trouble with trolls in the last of the trilogy: The Mall Fairies: Destiny.

For more about Conda visit:

Blog: http://condascreativecenter.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/conda.v.douglas

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/condadouglas/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Conda_V



Conda, thanks so much for coming by today. I can't wait to read The Mall Fairies series! I'm SUPER excited to try out the Pumpkin Bars recipe…yum!
 

            


8 Comments

James Joyce in Pula

2/8/2015

1 Comment

 
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I’ve never had the chance to sit down and have a coffee with James Joyce. He’s always busy. He sits in the same spot on the terrace of Caffe Uliks, day after day. You’d think I’d be able to snag a moment, right? Well, most of the time, he’s surrounded by people. ­­ Photo crazed tourists, maybe a local or two. Sometimes a pleasant-looking person who sits and reads the newspaper. How come they get to hang with James Joyce? <Big sigh.> 

I frequently feel like a lurker when it comes to James Joyce. Not a lurker as in a pimple, but more like a stalker-ish person. I admit it…I am on a mission. I want to park my butt in the seat next to him. Maybe take a couple of goofy selfies together. (Me and James Joyce, woohoo! A Facebook post, of course.) I definitely want to order a macchiato and bask in the glory of sitting next to this amazing writer.

BUT… the seat is NEVER empty. So, do I lurk around the corner and make a mad dash at the right moment? Do I start taking photos with reckless abandon? I always just end up glaring at the person sitting next to him and then walking on, hoping that I’ll get a chance another day.

The James Joyce I’m talking about isn’t actually the REAL James Joyce. It’s the life-size bronze statue of the famous Irish writer who lived in the Istrian coastal city of Pula, Croatia. The statue is seated on the terrace of Caffe Uliks (named after Joyce’s novel Ulysses), in Pula’s Portorata Square. From the café, you can see the Roman Arch of the Sergii. This is just one of the slew of fabulous ancient Roman monuments that can be found in Pula.

Arena Amphitheater:

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Arena Amphitheater

Triumphal Arch of the Sergii:
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Temple of Augustus:
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James Joyce didn’t really want to come to Pula. He was born in Dublin in 1882. He tried to publish an early version of his novel, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, but it was rejected. Joyce decided to get work through the Berlitz Language School. There weren’t any openings in Zurich or Trieste, but finally a position opened up in Pula. Joyce then moved to Pula with his girlfriend and future wife, Nora.

Joyce taught English to Austro-Hungarian officers from Pula’s naval base. The language school was in a yellow building just a hop, skip, and a jump away from where his statue now sits at the café. Joyce was only in Pula for a short time, from October 1904 to March 1905. He was never particularly happy during this time. He made friends with many of his students and talked to them frequently about his writing, which he considered his real work.

Even though Pula may not have been his favorite place, Joyce did a lot of writing there. He spent time revising Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and worked on perfecting his stream-of-consciousness technique. This writing technique can be described as a way of thinking out loud, perhaps involving a jumble of thoughts or emotions passing through a character’s mind. It’s sort of like having a conversation with yourself. 

Here is an example of stream-of-consciousness from Joyce’s Ulysses, a novel which is considered a literary masterpiece:

Coffined thoughts around me, in mummycases, embalmed in spice of words. Thoth, god of libraries, a birdgod, moonycrowned. And I heard the voice of that Egyptian highpriest. In painted chambers loaded with tilebooks. They are still. Once quick in the brains of men. Still: but an itch of death is in them, to tell me in my ear a maudlin tale, urge me to wreak their will.

After Joyce left Pula, he went on to write Ulysses, Dubliners (a collection of short stories), and Finnegan’s Wake. James Joyce is considered to be one of the most revered writers of the 20th century.

In the yellow building that used to be the language school, there is a plaque that says: “In 1904-05 James Joyce, the famous Irish author, taught English in the building.” I wonder if he sat in a cafe near this spot—perhaps looking out at the Arch of the Sergii—and imagined all that he would someday accomplish? Maybe this summer, when I visit Pula again, I’ll finally get a chance to have that coffee and ask him!

Important Note: My mom took all the photos of James Joyce in this post. Yes, she got to have some hang out time. I'm so jealous! 

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    Iva Valentino

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    Iva is an author, dancer, & lover of books. 

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