Category: A Writer’s Take……

A Review ~~ The Innocents by Ace Atkins

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing Five out five quills     A Review    The Innocents by Ace Atkins

Ace is  a quintessential storyteller.  He takes us to the back waters of Mississippi and seduces Ace.Book..Scanus with his wonderful, oh-so-human characters.  So richly drawn that we fall in love with every one of them.  Quinn Colson, the ex-war hero turned part-time sheriff’s deputy; Lillie Virgil, the female Sheriff with a no-nonsense-get-things-done attitude, lashing the bad guys with a dirty mouth.  A train load of other fascinating, and sometimes funny, cast of characters. My favorite type of book; one in which I can revisit the environs and the people and read about what they’ve been up to since I last visited.

And the funny thing is you had no interest in visiting these little one horse towns such as Blackjack, Sugar Ditch, and Jericho; much less meet all these rednecks.  But if you trust me not to steer you wrong, you’ll definitely enjoy yourself in the new book by Ace Atkins, The Innocents.

(A preview from amazon.com) ‘Quinn Colson didn’t owe his home town of Jericho, Mississippi, a damn thing. After serving for more than a decade as a U.S. Army Ranger, he’d returned, been elected sheriff, and tried to make the town and surrounding Tibbehah county a better place. He was rewarded with being voted out of office, and went back to the war zone he’d left.      Now, back in Jericho, trying to fix things with his still-married high school girlfriend and retired Hollywood stuntman father, he’s drawn to becoming a lawman again. This time, he accepts a badge from acting Sheriff Lillie Virgil, a foul-mouthed law woman with shades of Calamity Jane. But what they must confront together is something brand-new. When a former high school cheerleader is found walking a back road completely engulfed in flames…..’

The mystery aspect is just too delicious.  I never saw it coming…who really killed the cheerleader. Atkins takes us on a twisted road of investigative prowess.

And let us not forget Ace Atkins is the same writer who has kept Robert Parker’s books alive.  He writes as Parker so fans can continue to enjoy another brilliant storyteller.
I highly recommend Ace’s latest offering.  You won’t regret it!!  Released July 12th.

Did you read my INTERVIEW with Ace Atkins?  Click Here

 

 

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS! In April, a long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House)   Michael Saad, Canadian author, was June’s author. Robyn Carr is July’s author. Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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‘Wild Violets’, a Historic Romance Set During the Roaring ’20’s

It’s the roaring twenties in San Francisco, a decade famous for hot jazz and icy gin.

Violet has left her small home town in the Pacific Northwest to pursue a basketball career in the City by the Bay.  Eventually, with her earnings, she buys a bar and grill, becoming a ‘flapper’ in every sense of the word; working all day and dancing all night. While her teenage daughter raises her seven year old son, Violet is out on the town with her latest man de’jour. Dressed in her signature red dress, she is the toast of the town, and finally, the owner of a speakeasy where she hosts the cream of San Francisco’s society, city politicians, bishops, and Hollywood celebrities.

But there is an underbelly of corruption, grifters, the mob, excess, and neglect in Violet’s life.  Her two children are an afterthought and she chooses her men over their well-being time and time again.  Their childhood needs are always trumped by her self-indulgent desires.   The two children are possessions that she can put down or pick up again on a whim, showing them off to her current beau or friends and then forgotten.  And when they get in her way, she gets rid of them.

A Review ~~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

‘Readers can expect to both love and hate as they follow Violet’s paths and choices. Violet is determined and gritty, often selfish, and is focused on appearances and achieving success even if it comes at the cost of family and friends. She purposely uses her beauty to manipulate those around her and her passions too often overrun the interests of others, be they beaus, authority figures, or her own children.

Despite this, reader can’t help but be intrigued as Violet charges through her 1920s San Francisco world with the ambitions and determination of an unstoppable Amazon. Perhaps part of the story line’s realistic feel is because it stems from the author’s own family stories. Or maybe it’s because Violet’s world evolves beyond her self-centered pursuits to embrace family and support systems that succeed alongside Violet’s efforts to realize her own dreams.

As the story evolves and Vi’s life moves full circle, readers interested in a blend of romance and historical backgrounds will appreciate her evolutionary process, and will find that the circumstances and determination of her world lend well to an absorbing read suitable for beach reading or a leisure choice.’

Available at www.amazon.com, e-books, and at all fine book stores.
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Motivational Moments…for Writers! # 6

1..girl.write..mouse_1Writers! Jump-start your day with more Motivational Moments!

Don’t worry about a story that you haven’t finished.  It’s okay to let it ‘rest’.  There have been times when I have had three books waiting for me to finish.  Just the other day I pulled up my GAN (great American novel) and realized that it had been ‘resting’ for over a year. Life and other stories had gotten in the way.

The good news is that it’s only about 50-75 pages from being a completed first draft.  And, I am looking at it with fresh eyes.  What a difference that makes. It’s almost like reading someone else’s work and I am revitalized and eager now to complete it and begin rewrites.

BTW, I am calling Song of the Yukon my great American novel; not out of ego but very much with tongue in cheek. Rather it is my largest effort to day and took the most research, blood and sweat.

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business.” Henry David Thoreau

 

 

“It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.”  W. Somerset Maugham

“Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.” Confucius

 

 

 

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!  A long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) Best selling author, Robyn Carr is July’s author. Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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Conclusion…an Interview with author, Michael Saad

Photo # 1 - Mike in Waterton CroppedPart III  My interview with Canadian author, Michael Saad

Q.  Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

MS. Yes, absolutely. I know exactly what that means. A few of my fictional stories have literally ‘written themselves.’  It’s hard to explain, but I think many experienced fiction writers can identify with that.  I can think of two stories in particular that I’ve published where I’ve looked back and asked ‘did I really write that?’ and ‘where the heck did that come from?’

Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment?

MS. I have many. Right now I am totally into musical artists like Hozier, Rachel Platten, and Virgina to Vegas. Their lyrics and sounds speak to me in their various messages of hope and optimism or, in Hozier’s case, the exact opposite. In the past year these artists have been an inspiration not only to my writing but also for my teaching, as I see how many of our young people today have had to be resilient in the face of adversity. Exploring the natural world is certainly another muse.  Many stories and ideas have come to me just standing in the outdoors, on a mountaintop, in a stream, or watching a bull moose feed in a pond.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

MS. Probably 18 years ago (in 1998), when I first started my teaching career. I knew I needed a bonafide hobby. I had been playing a lot of sports and going to the gym, but I felt I needed a constructive interest that exercise couldn’t quite fulfill.  I need to create, and I had always had in the back of my head that I wanted to write stories and articles, so that was the direction I decided to go.

Q. How long after that were you published?

MS. I was published two years after that. I have had many short stories, novellas, and historical articles published since then. Incidentally, I’ve also had hundreds of rejection letters in that time.  Only a fellow writer would appreciate that last statistic!

Q. What makes a writer great?

MS. I may have a different answer for you 20 years from now, but today I would say having the ability to display resonance with your reader. Only the very best writers can do this with as many readers as possible. Notice I state ‘with as many readers as possible’ and not ‘every, single reader who’s ever read their work.’  There’s a reason for that, and it’s the very reason why you’ll hear many people praise the Stephen Kings and Shakespeares of the world as literary geniuses, while others condemn them as laughable and boring.  Some writers connect with certain people and others don’t.  It’s that way with all art, not just literature.  It’s all about resonance for me, and for every reader that’s different.

Q. …and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like for you?

MS. Well, for All the Devils Are Here it was a step-by-step journey in the truest sense. It started off as a short story assignment I did 25 years ago in a class called Writing 11.  My English teacher at the time, whom I dedicated the novel to, gave me good feedback on it, but told me it was incomplete, and challenged me to delve more into the main characters’ story lines.  This soon became one of my ‘back-burner’ projects while I ventured into other pursuits like university, history, teaching, and sport.  About 10 years ago, I encountered my English teacher again in a chance meeting, and we conversed and he asked me about my story.  I decided to turn it into a novella, taking his advice from 25 years ago to heart.  From there, I still found myself with unanswered questions about the main characters, and so then turned it into a full-fledged novel, which I now realize was what my teacher was steering me towards all along.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?Photo # 6 - Family Hike in Red Rock Canyon

MS. I have encountered drugs and drug use in my time, and have seen and experienced the cycle, agony, and destruction that addiction can bring. That subject has been a big part of my fiction writing now and in the past. Life experiences are very much an influence for my writing – I would best describe them as the thread that weaves in-and-out of the fabric of my work.  All of my characters and plots are imaginary, but there are elements of them that are reflective of various experiences I’ve encountered in my trials and tribulations of life.  Like everyone, I am not perfect and have my fair-share of demons in the closet.  Every now and then I turn some of them loose in my writing.

Q. Have you? Or do you want to write in another genre`?

MS. Yes, I have written science fiction and horror stories. My science fiction carries explicit warnings and themes, whereas my horror stories are more subtle in their message.  I have always been drawn to the serious stuff, and that includes all other types of media – video games, movies, television, theatre.

Q. Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know?

MS. Yes. [Haley Joel Osment] I see dead people. Kidding… 😉  See, I can be funny−or maybe not.

Did you miss any of this in-depth interview?  Click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!  A long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) May’s author was Jordan Rosenfeld.  Best selling author, Robyn Carr is July’s author.

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Motivational Moments for a Writer! #5

 

One of my most challenging skills, as a writer, was to understand and implement POV.  Point-of-view.  My editor pointed out a lot of ‘head hopping’ (the expression for telling your reader what everyone is thinking and feeling) when in each chapter the writer should try to stick to one point of view.   But, even very successful, best seller authors like Nora Roberts is guilty of this.

 Action, thoughts, & dialogue establishes the character’s POV.

I’ll be candid here….the jury is still out for me on strict POV writing. When I’m reading (and I do a lot of reading) and become aware of an author ‘head hopping’, it doesn’t distract or annoy me.  When I catch myself doing it, as I write, I don’t see where it detracts from my storytelling.  

‘The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.’ Dorothy Parker

‘The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.’ Charles Du Bos

 

‘I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.’  Michael J. Fox

 

 

 

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS!

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Part 2 of my Interview with author, Michael Saad

Photo # 8 - Mike Sailing Along Queen Charlotte IslandsQ. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?

MS. When I’m working full time, especially with teaching, with all of the marking, lesson planning, and numerous ‘extra-curricular’ duties we have going on in our profession, it is very difficult to find the time and energy to write. As a married family man with small kids, my family has been very supportive of my ‘hobby time’ of writing, but it still can be an insurmountable task to balance work, family time, and writing. I want (and need) to spend time with my family, and I want (and need) to focus on teaching, so quite often writing will (and should) take a back seat to that.  That being said, I have gotten up at 3 or 4 AM some days to write, often during holidays, just so I can squeeze it in, and balance writing with my other responsibilities.  It is not an easy thing to do, but when you truly find a hobby you like – whatever it is, in my case it’s writing, you are willing to do that if it means being able to get that ‘hobby time.’

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

MS. There’s a number of things. The consistency of writing – that is, doing it every day – can certainly help you to build flow and enthusiasm in your work. However, most of us – certainly those of us who do not make writing our careers – are unable to have the advantage of being able to write every day.  So I think the key then is to have a piece or project you believe in, but also have definite parameters in place for the size and scope of your project.  Don’t try and write the great Canadian novel, for instance, if you truly don’t have the time to do so.  Work on a short story instead.  Continue reading “Part 2 of my Interview with author, Michael Saad”

Interview with Canadian writer, Michael Saad

Saad.athis.desk)An Interview with………Michael Saad has been writing almost his entire life.  He is about to release  his first full length novel,  All the Devils Are Here.  He  lives in Lethbridge, Alberta.  A teacher by day, a writer by night, this is a fascinating journey of how Mike fits it all into 24 hours.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

MS. I write in my ‘man-cave’ as my family so affectionately calls it. It is my own, customized room in the house filled with items that fuel my imagination.  Everything from Star Wars posters & memorabilia (yes, I’m a wannabe Jedi – I’m totally a child of the 1980s…), historical paintings, nature portraits, my favorite books, and hockey artifacts.  Every writer needs his or her own, customized work space, whatever that is, and it needs to be tailor-made by the writer, and for each writer that’s different, but it’s so important.

I didn’t always have my man-cave.  In the past, as a university student, my writing was best done in a little cubicle in the basement of my old university library.  It wasn’t customized and was quite drab, but it was my space and I did my best writing there.  Continue reading “Interview with Canadian writer, Michael Saad”

Motivational Moments….for Writers! #4

2A.girl.write..mouse_1Writers! Jump-start your day with more Motivational Moments!

If you are a relatively new writer, start by writing about something you know.  Maybe a family story.  Talk to your grandparents about their life experiences.  My mother and her 12 siblings have been an endless reservoir of stories for me.  The length doesn’t matter when you first begin to write.  Be a good storyteller.


“A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a
good children’s story in the slightest.” ~C.S. Lewis

If I hear an adult chuckle when reading my children’s books, I know I’ve done a good job. 

 

 “I dream my paintings, then I paint my dreams.” ~ Van Gogh  Dream your story and then write it!

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.” ~ e  e cummings

 

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek
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Motivational Moments….for Writers! #3

 

Oh, so you think you will just write all day and wonderful things will happen?  Think again, grasshopper.  If you’re a one-man-band like myself and most other indie authors, you will have to wear an editor, publicist, marketing and publishing hat, just to name a few.
It takes hard work and then some more hard work.  But here’s the payoff:  After four years…yep..you heard me right…of consistent blogging with relevant content, supporting other writers, and interviewing authors so much more famous than I am (well, I’m not famous at all) my posts (blog) are on page ONE of Google search and my books are selling.  This year a traditional publisher picked up my true crime series of books.  Don’t misunderstand, when you get a publisher DO NOT stop publishing your indie books.  And most important of all: KEEP WRITING!

Alan.1PE2Y  “If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust.” Alan Rickman, actor

“Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.”  John Wayne

 

 

                                                ‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS! In April, a long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) May’s author was Jordan Rosenfeld.  Michael Saad, Canadian author, will be June’s author. Robyn Carr is July’s author.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!

Motivational Moments… for Writers! #1

2A.girl.write..mouse_1Writers!  Start your day with a little writer’s jump-start.  You can do it!

Procrastination is just a word.  Write one new word, one new sentence.  Breath!  That sentence should make you want to write another.

What?  Why? When? How? Where does that sentence lead you? Breathe. It doesn’t have to be perfect…it’s the first draft.  That’s what re-writes are for.

‘Writers aren’t exactly people, they’re a whole lot of people trying to be one person.’
– F. Scott Fitzgerald


Sign up for my blog and receive your ‘Motivational Moments‘ twice a week! Simple: type your email address in the box on my Home page (top/right). Click on ‘subscribe’.writer

 

‘As a writer, I marinate, speculate and hibernate.’  Trisha Sugarek

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with  best-selling AUTHORS! In April, a long awaited interview with Kathleen Grissom (The Kitchen House) May’s author is Jordan Rosenfeld.  Michael Saad, Canadian author, will be June’s author. Robyn Carr is July’s author.

To receive my posts sign up for my blog, blogs, blogger, writer, author, playwright, books, plays,fiction  On the home page, enter your email address.  Thanks!