Friday 31 August 2012

Welcome Author Malla Duncan


GENRE and INDIVIDUALITY

Firstly, my grateful thanks to Jeanette Hornby, a highly competent romance writer, for inviting me to post on her blog.

I suppose writers reflect their individuality in the way they write and the genres they choose to write in. I have always wanted to write scary stories from about the age of seven when I discovered the power of written words and how I could control them. I wanted desperately to tell stories but at that stage, I had no idea what they would be. I had two favourite sentences which I was convinced would fit into a story at some stage of my life. They were: The door burst open – and – There was a terrible scream.

So it’s not surprising I became a thriller writer. I write essentially for women readers but not romance. My books are chick chillers but not chick lit. I fit the old women-in-jeopardy genre: women’s psychological mystery suspense thrillers. Bit of a mouthful but the best description I can apply. Categorization is difficult, because every book I write is different.   

I began with horror and the supernatural (now called paranormal) and all I wanted to do was scare the reader to death. Gradually, I turned to the subtlety of the psychological story. I enjoyed creating mystery and suspense. I was intrigued by the intricacies of the thriller, the creation of twists and turns which led the reader on, always keeping little secrets tucked away to be revealed at exactly the right moment. I got a tremendous kick out of the way a mystery thriller is constructed. I read and studied other writers in the genre until I learned method, style and pace. And avowed to never be boring, never drag a story, never cheat the reader. I would keep every word, every page relevant. I learned that if a page of writing does not move the story forward, it dies.  

Writing is the hardest and longest apprenticeship anyone can choose to do. When it is your life, and is with you always, you are permanently learning. But that is the compulsion, the magnet. Writing creates new horizons everyday and that is why, as a writer, you will always travel further. To see the next view.

For more information on my books, please visit my Smashwords Author Page

Alternatively, find my books on Amazon:






Wednesday 29 August 2012

A Glimpse by Walt Whitman

A Glimpse, through an interstice caught,
Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room, around the stove, late of a winter night -- And I unremark'd seated in a corner;
Of a youth who loves me, and whom I love, silently approaching, and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand;
A long while, amid the noises of coming and going -- of drinking and oath and smutty jest,
There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, 
perhaps not a word.

Walt Whitman

                                                                             Picture: FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Tuesday 28 August 2012

A Poem by Emily Dickinson

"Hope" is the thing with feathers


"Hope is the thing with feathers 
That perches in the soul 
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops - at all

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm

I've heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity
It asked a crumb - of Me

                                                                                Picture: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

   

Monday 20 August 2012

Can't Stop The Music



“Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent”
– Victor Hugo

After viewing a new Australian drama series last night – Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War, I started thinking about music and how it can draw you back into time.

The series is set in the 70s and has an array of music from the era, some from iconic Australian artists.  The flashbacks to Countdown – an Australian music show of the day, cemented the period in my mind.

I grew up in the 70s listening to all that music.  The radio was always on so I knew the latest hits.  I think I know most of the words to the songs as well.

The group, Sherbet, who made the song “Howzat” famous, was a firm favourite of mine.  I still have my old scrap book with pictures and posters of them and others of fame.

But it’s the music that seeps into your subconscious.  When played, it can take you back to your youth.  You remember the daggy haircuts and clothes.  You remember the laughter and friendships.

Life wasn’t always good but the music could ease you out of the doldrums.  Singing or humming a catchy song was somehow comforting.

Even today, I like all types of music.  I enjoy listening to a happy melody, a soulful ballad or a classic tune, depending on my mood.

The ability to be lost in the music gives pause to reality and briefly, one can experience the freedom of the moment.

Plato says it well.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

 Pictures: FreeDigitalPhotos.net



Thursday 16 August 2012

Featured Author: Mary Aris


Mary Aris is an independent author and poetess and illustrator.  Her first published book, Melodies of the Heart, a collection of twenty-eight love poems, was published by Lulu in 2008.  Author of over seven hundred poems, she is a member of Allpoetry.com. Two of her poems, Phoenix Rising, and Fire in the Sky, written in honour of the victims of 911, were published in The Jersey Journal.  Mrs Aris has published three children’s books, Princess RoseBartholomew, and Jewelz the Juggling Cat.  Her first full length Gothic novel, The Curse of Anna Greene, was published in 2011 and written in 2010 as part of Nanowrimo.

Mrs Aris worked at the West New York Public Library for twenty years as a Library Assistant.  An avid reader, she is a member of LibraryThing, and Good Reads She maintains her own book review blog, The Bookworm’s Niche. She is also a member of Writers Cafe Org .

 Mrs Aris devotes her free time maintaining three blogs, TheGoldenPenThe Bookworm’s Niche, and The Artist’s Pallet,  She also enjoys cooking and sketching.  She lives in Oxford, England with her husband, Alexander.



Bio: I was born in Miami, Florida and raised in West New York, New Jersey.  It was always a dream of mine to become a published author. Since the tender age of seven I began writing stories and poems as I mention in my autobiography, ‘A day in my Life: An autobiography—the First Forty-five Years’ Lulu 2009.


“I first noticed the voice at the tender age of seven.  The voice spoke to me in dreams in the language of inspiration.  The voice transfixed me in a state of joy and rapture enchanting my hand to take pen to paper.” (Aris, 2009)

 It wasn’t until my second year of high school when I enrolled in a poetry class, which taught me the dynamics of poetry that inspired me to continue writing.  I published my first poetry book, Melodies of the Heart, a collection of twenty-eight love poems in 2008.  In 2002 I began writing Princess Rose, a novella about two aged monarchs of Carlisle who were saddened by the fact that they were getting on in years and still there was no heir to the throne.  Queen Anne’s wishes to have a child were answered by seven blithe sisters who called themselves the Moonbeam Fairies who took it upon themselves to create a princess for the Monarchs.  All was well in Carlisle until the king’s evil magician, Astrociousnov (Pronounced As-tro-cious-nov), kidnapped the princess.  Princess Rose was published in 2009.  This was followed by Portraits of Life, and The Curse of Anna Greene, my first full-length Gothic Novel.  I wrote this novel as a participant of Nanowrimo in 2010.  I live in Oxford, England with my husband, Alexander.

Bibliography



Official Websites:     Mary Aris Writer
                                          The Golden Pen
Unofficial Website:  The Golden Pen

Amazon Page:      Amazon.com
                                   Amazon.uk


Official Blog:         The Golden Pen


Contact Mary Aris at:





Wednesday 8 August 2012

Welcome Author Gladys Quintal


Bio
I have loved vampires and the paranormal for as long as I can remember and always wanted to write a book or three on the subject.  My two favourite shows are Moonlight and Dexter - Mick St John being my favourite vampire and Dexter being everyone's favourite serial killer.  I found a lot of inspiration from these two shows, inventing my own vampire vigilante that kills 'bad men' while saving women from rapists and children molesters.

A lot of what I write about comes from my own personal experiences and my desire when I was younger for a hero to swoop in and take me away.  Unfortunately, I never found my guardian angel and so I created Alexi, a vampire/serial killer hybrid, as the hero of my books.  My stories come mostly from inside my head, real life happenings or dream and visions.  A lot of my characters are actually based on friends of mine: Hayley, Nana and Moyra are all real people, Chloe is based on my daughter Emma and Cassie is me - in the beginning anyway.  She becomes less like me as the stories progress



Books
I've written three books in The Dream Series so far: The Man of My Dreams, Be Careful What You Wish For and The Chosen One.  They centre around Cassie and Alexi and their forbidden love, trying to live a normal life in a not so normal world.  Vampires in my books are cursed, only being seen as human in the mortal subconscious until they find a human to love them unconditionally.  Once that happens, they are free to walk amongst us and look as we do.  They still need blood to survive and Alexi has found the perfect way to satisfy his needs, in the process of ridding the streets of evil.

Purchase books and Connect with Gladys here: 
 Blog    Facebook    Amazon


Jeanette's 4-stars-plus book montage

An Offer He Can't Refuse
Emily's Affair
Taste
Rough Harbor
The Chosen One
Runaway Heart
Bared to You
Melodies of the Heart
Fifty Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades of Grey
Anon
Somewhere in Time
House Guest
A Cop, His Wife and Her Best Friend
Hero Of Her Heart
All In Time
Asking for Andre
Almost a Bride
The Fence My Father Built


Jeanette Hornby's favorite books »

Jeanette's bookshelf: diversity

In Love With Death
3 of 5 stars true
I liked the authors take on the Angel of Death and enjoyed learning about the individual characters. The story was interesting and I liked the way the author simplified the subject matter. With a little more editing and polishing, this ...
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now and diversity
An Offer He Can't Refuse
4 of 5 stars true
A thoroughly enjoyable tale. I liked the characters and the situation they were in. A good read for romance lovers.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, diversity, and favourites
All In Time
4 of 5 stars true
An interesting and enjoyable story. I would have liked the unique events to unravel slower and continue longer, but overall, the tale was quite engrossing. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity
Bloodtrail
4 of 5 stars true
An intricately woven vampire tale that keeps you wanting more. The historical and scientific content was unique and engrossing. I particularly liked the way the author separated each character's story in the beginning and then tied the...
tagged: diversity, 4-stars, and from-dec-2011-to-now
House Guest
4 of 5 stars true
A short, creepy and enthralling story. The development of the main character and situation was strangely enjoyable. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity

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