New Releases Archives - Page 23 of 29 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Butterflies and Bullets, Poetry and other Musings {2nd Edition}

Released and on Sale Now! www.amazon.com

Butterflies and Bullets is a collection of free verse poetry and musings about life, loss, love, and overcoming grief. Some fall on the ears like the touch of a butterfly. Others slam into your brain like a bullet. The poet’s inspiration was taken from life’s experiences.

‘Joy and anguish, pleasure and pain … concurrent tides of diverse expressions run through these pieces to profile the intricacies and nuances of life. When paired with evocative illustrations, it’s a dance of life that flies and falls through experience with a poet and observer’s astute, deft touch.

Poetry fans will find these works accessible; and though they may seem deceptively simple at first, their lasting impact lies in their thought-provoking, descriptive moments.’ ~~ D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

“Some fly joyously in the sun, alighting briefly, warming the heart – and then there`s the killing bullet, taking a straight path to the heart, bent on destruction. Trish`s poems are like that. She had me hooked from the very first with Joy Filled Canine. Dog-lovers will recognize the essence of dog (not the smell) at once. There`s the joy, living for the day. `brandy eyes alight` – that`s it, in three words. And Mandolin Man, so touching in its simplicity (and dogs again). Then The Song of Agony – the bullet straight to the heart. A short tale of desperation, and again, pared down to a distillation of pain. There`s where Trish Sugarek`s considerable talent lies. Buy it, folks!” Anne Purser, author

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! September’s author: Joseph Drumheller and October Author, Lisa Jackson. November’s author will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes
Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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The Queen’s Accomplice ~~ A Review

5 out of 5 quills A REVIEW
The Queen’s Accomplice
On Sale: October 4th

Susan Elia MacNeal plunks the reader down on the streets of war torn, bombed out London. We can see and hear the determination of the British people as they pull together and try to overcome the ravages of war. So how can it be that a serial killer is on the loose mimicking the infamous London ‘ripper’ from a previous century? And targeting only women who are ‘doing their bit’ for the war effort; many of them secret agents for MI-5.

Maggie Hope is still working for the British version of the CIA. But, now she’s been dragged into a murder investigation. And it’s suddenly gotten very personal when her own acquaintances and friends are the victims.

As always, with a MacNeal mystery, there are a couple of story lines within one book and at the end Susan ties it all together with a tidy bow. Fans of MacNeal’s Maggie Hope mystery series won’t be disappointed with this new offering. I was engaged to the last page by Susan’s excellent writing, and now can’t wait for the sequel, The Paris Spy.

Did you miss the wonderful interview I had with Susan: click here
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! October Author, Lisa Jackson. November will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes
Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

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Guest Blog ~~ Write from the Heart! Joseph Drumheller

How to Land a Multi-Book Children’s Publishing Deal? Write From the Heart!

About a year ago, I was paddling down a familiar stretch of whitewater when I found a tangled up crawdad in a fishing line. After about five minutes of meticulous unwinding, I launched the little fellow back into the wild. My wife Tamara and my paddling buddy Tom, both thought that would make a great children’s story. The next morning, I wrote my first children’s book, Jason and the Crawdad King, on the back of a few napkins while sipping tea in a coffee shop.

nearing-the-crawdad — Not far from where I found the Crawdad King

It was the first time in my life it felt like all the pieces were falling into place. The premise of the story came out of doing something I love. The suggestion for the story came from people I love. Plus, the story imbues a sense of wisdom from my personal experience and philosophy˗˗something else I love. And the whole package is directed toward the people that everyone loves—their children. From the time I found the helpless little crawdad, to the moment I’m typing this out on my laptop, it’s been one endless magic carpet ride. I think in spiritual circles they call it divine Flow.

The day I finished writing the story, Tamara’s daughter Chantelle came to visit. It was the first time I met her. It just so happens, besides being a professional ballerina in San Francisco, she’s also a brain child from Columbia University. In the two days she visited, she edited my book. Flow on, man.

Next I met my illustrator, Lili Avakem. Major Flow there. Lili and I met via the modus operandi of the 21st century…the internet. I was hoping to find an illustrator who was exceptionally talented, in love with illustrating, relatively unknown (like me), and hadn’t reached their full potential yet (hopefully like me too!). In short, I was hoping for an enormous stroke of good luck.

I held a contest on Freelancer.com, searching for samples from illustrators. Lili beat out 25 other entries. However, to win the contract to illustrate the entire book, I asked Lili and another artist from Thailand to submit one more illustration. I took one glance at Lili’s second submission and my jaw dropped to the floor in utter disbelief. I realized the enormous stroke of good luck I was hoping for had actually arrived. As I sit and write this, I still haven’t met Lili face-to-face. It’s like she’s some angelic creator of magic, hanging out in cyber space.

Shall we Flow a little further? After Lili and I finished the manuscript, I sent out queries to about 120 literary agents and publishers. After about a month, as rejection notices started to pile up, I was contacted out of the blue by Golden Bell Entertainment in New York. I never submitted anything to them. They contacted me based on an illustration of Lili’s I posted on Facebook. Go figure!

I recently landed a children’s picture book publishing deal, for nine books, with Golden Bell Entertainment in New York. “Wow!” You might be thinking. “How did you pull that off?”

I’ll lay it to you straight. It happened on accident. I’m was born a creative free spirit. It took me a long time to figure out what that was, let alone accept it. I was also born with powerful spiritual inclinations and an incredibly strong connection to nature. I’ve always seen things from a philosophical point of view, as I’ve wandered deep into the wilderness. That framework led me to a Master’s degree in Geology and a patchwork career as an exploration geologist. With a helicopter pilot as my chauffeur, I’ve prospected the Alaskan Arctic, the Yukon Rocky Mountains, and the Barren Lands of the Arctic Ocean. I also hung my hat for a spell in northern Sweden.

arctic-tundra — Artic Tundra…that little speck is me

And what was the result of those fascinating explorations? It deepened my connection to this planet we call Earth. So here I sit, a published author with the sky as our limit. And how did it all happen? By being myself and doing what I love, with people I love, to the core of my being. If you’re looking for success as an author, I’d suggest you start there. The rest will take care of itself. Your only job is to enjoy the journey.

Bio

Joseph Drumheller is a three-time award winning author with works in non-fiction, fiction and now children’s books. He has a deep love for nature and adventure, which fueled his previous career as an exploration geologist. He lives with his twin flame and extraordinary performing arts spouse, Tamara. They live in the great Pacific Northwest. www.josephdrumheller.com

Did you see the Interview with Joseph? Click here

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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! September’s author will be Joseph Drumheller and October: Author, Lisa Jackson. November’s author will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!

Writing Fiction Organically

This was the first time, in twenty+ years of writing that I couldn’t find a place to end the book. What was going on? Every new adventure that LaVerne had in the wilds of Alaska suggested another story thread.

It took me three years to write this saga.(87K words) I didn’t know it at the time, but I was letting it ‘rest’ at certain points and I think it’s a better story for it.

I have learned over the years to let it flow organically; when characters come busting through the door, I welcome them in. They always tell me their story and it always fits with what I am writing. The indigenous people in Song of the Yukon joined me early on. Black-eyed Joe was sitting in the back of the village store and LaVerne (heroine) and I were both surprised to find him there. Then I went on to meet Joe’s brother, Elk-tail and his mother Edna.

Without exception, at some point (early, if I’m lucky) my characters take over the story and I become the typist. I interview authors on my blog and so many of them say the same thing, so, with relief, I find I’m not as crazy as I thought I was.

Research: The story about my auntie LaVerne running away to Alaska is a true family tale. So all I had to do was pull from the many stories my mother told me as a child. But, living ‘off the grid’ in Alaska, in the 1920’s? The Internet is a writer’s best tool. Can you believe that we used to have to go to the library and do all this research, pouring through books? With a couple of clicks I was able to weave the Athabaskan (native American) language, their folk lore and their customs throughout the story. I was able to build a dog sled, from scratch using only wood and rawhide lashings. I was able to set a fur trapping line. I was able to build a cabin with only hand tools. (think about it) I was able to train puppies to become a dog sled team. I was able to describe, accurately, a funeral pot-latch.

My advice to other writers is: write every day. If you get stuck, let the story rest; go write something else. And never, never give up!
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DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! September’s author will be Joseph Drumheller and October: Author, Lisa Jackson. November’s author will be best selling author, Grace Burrowes Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!
To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!

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Conclusion: Interview with Author, Joseph Drumheller

The conclusion of this delightful interview with author, Joseph Drumheller.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

JD. Characters. They tend to tell me what to write. After I found the crawdad that inspired, Jason and the Crawdad King, I spent the next morning sipping tea listening to Jason dictate. As he spoke, I wrote the story down on the back of some napkins.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

JD. Absolutely. One day I began writing at 10 a.m. I vaguely remember getting up to grab a bite to eat or to go to the bathroom. The next time I looked at a clock it was 3 a.m.!

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

JD. I have two. (1) My wife Tamara. She’s the focus of out next work, Aura the Angel, The Ballerina’s Beacon. She was a child prodigy ballerina who spent 30+ years working in Off-Broadway productions in the San Francisco area. She is the epitome of love incarnate. (2) Lili Avakem. She’s my award-winning illustrator—born, raised and educated in Tehran, Iran and now living in LA. It seems everything we touch turns into magic.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

JD. I haven’t yet. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a (serious) day in your life.

Q. What makes a writer great?

JD. Heart, soul and passion. You can’t ‘try’ to be a writer. You either have it you or you don’t. And if you do have it in you, it still takes a lot of time and energy to sculpt your craft. But it it’s what you’re born to do, you’ll love it. Also, don’t worry about spelling. They have editors for that.

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

JD. For me, it’s called a magic carpet ride. I wander around in nature (places I love) then go home or out for tea and write about it. I was born to be a free spirit. Writing is the only thing that has completely fit my lifelong tendency to be there proverbial round peg that doesn’t fit into any the square holes out there.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

JD. When it come to writing, my life experiences are the whole ball of wax. Almost everything I write about is based on what I’ve seen and done. That’s why it’s so easy to write.

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

JD. I have three published books in the genres of non-fiction, fiction and now children’s books. I also have eight more children’s books to come, with Golden Bell Entertainment out of New York.

The Subconscious, the Divine and Me (2012, Pine Wood Press) – An introduction to spirituality. Non-fiction.

The Unity Oracle (2015, Self-published) – An award-winning spiritual adventure novel. Fiction.

Jason and the Crawdad King (2016, Golden Bell Entertainment) – A picture book, featuring award-winning illustrator Lili Avakem. Children’s Book.

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

Don’t force your writing and don’t stop. If you love it, it will show. I would like to thank Golden Bell’s Polar Press

Visit Joseph’s website www.CrawdadKing.com and Joseph’s page on facebook

Did you miss Part I of this Interview? Click here

Release date of Crawdad King Winter, 2017.

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Song of the Yukon, A new Novel by Trisha Sugarek

It’s taken me 3 years to write this saga. Since it’s set in the 1920’s there was extensive research to be done about how life was lived ‘off the grid’ in Alaska. It’s jammed packed with interesting characters and adventure.

The old timers would tell you, ‘it’s a good yarn’ and I’m proud of it. Based on the true story of my aunt when she was a mere 17 years old, running away from home and working her way from Seattle to the wilds of Alaska.

Click here to purchase

Alaska was calling! LaVerne’s dream was to follow in Robert Service’s footsteps to the wilds of Alaska. At sixteen she was already writing her own music and she believed that her talent could only flourish on the back trails of the Yukon. Alone and impersonating a boy, she hires aboard a freighter, out of Seattle, and works her way to the north.

From boat rides on the Yukon and encounters with native tribes to filing homestead papers and working the land, LaVerne uses newfound frontier wisdom as a basis for expanding both her music and her perceptions: “No man owns what Mother Spirit does not freely give.” Black-eyed Joe told her. What a charming folk tale, LaVerne thought. I could use the story in one of my songs.”
It was here she learns the realities of frontier life that will shape her life, help her create music, and lead her in directions no woman has explored alone before.

‘Song of the Yukon covers more than music growth, more than homesteading in the wilderness, and even more than testing one’s abilities against a foreign environment. Most of all, it’s about one woman’s determination to achieve her dream against any odds – and it provides readers with not only a solid background in frontier experiences, but a sense of self and accomplishment that heroine LaVerne learns through hard experience. Song of the Yukon is a powerful saga, recommended for a range of readers. Thank you for the opportunity to look at your fine title! ‘~~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review ~~

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

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A Review ~~ ‘Mother’ from duo-writers, Thorne & Cross

(5 out of 5 quills) MOTHER ~~ A Review

How to write a review without it being filled with spoilers! Like Dean Koontz (and early King) this writing team blends a common-place event with chilling anticipation. A young couple falling on hard times, goes back to live with the parents (in this case Mother) knowing full well it’s not a good idea. To add to this reviewer’s anxiety, the young wife is pregnant. Has Mother changed her ways? Has time mellowed her out?

Every page subtly tells the reader this is not going to end well. Just turn the next page and it will get better, won’t it? The authors deliver!

I highly recommend this latest offering by Tamara Thorne and Allistair Cross. I guarantee you will never look at your mother-in-law in the same way again.

If you missed my INTERVIEW with this exciting writing team, 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) September’s author will be Joseph Drumheller and October: Andrew Snook. Check out Motivational Moments…for Writers!

To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!

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Interview (conclusion) with Author, Robyn Carr

Robyn Carr was a young mother of two in the mid-1970s when she started writing fiction, an Air Force wife, educated as a nurse, whose husband’s frequent assignment changes made it difficult for her to work in her profession. Little did the aspiring novelist know then, as she wrote with babies on her lap, that she would become one of the world’s most popular authors of romance and women’s fiction, that 11 of her novels would earn the #1 berth on the New York Times bestselling books list. www.robyncarr.com

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

RC. It’s complicated yet simple. There’s an idea. I usually talk to my editor and agent about the idea and it’s barely an embryo. Then I start typing. I let them peek at it at about 100 pages and at this stage it barely has arms and legs. We discuss it to death – and frankly I hate that part. I don’t want to talk about it, I want to write. I have never had a good pitch. I can’t even pitch a book that’s finished! I’d much rather you read it than have me tell you what it’s about.

During the writing of that book, other writing business interferes. The line edit on the previous book. The copy-edits on the previous book. The release of a book. Q&A’s you don’t have time for (she says, blushing). Book tours. Cover art. Cover copy. Blogs. Meetings. Etc. Continue reading “Interview (conclusion) with Author, Robyn Carr”

An Interview with Bestselling Author, Robyn Carr

TS: Although Robyn’s earlier novels were historicals, she found the voice that has resonated with readers by writing a blend of contemporary romance and women’s fiction—books that not only entertain but also address sensitive issues, such as domestic violence, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, workplace burnout and miscarriage, anything that can compromise a woman’s happiness because she’s female. There have been standalone novels—and wildly popular series.

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

RC. I work in an extra bedroom that has built-in desktop, drawers and bookshelves to the ceiling. I really outgrew it years ago – I’ve been in this house and office for 17 years. I share the space with my husband who takes care of all our family business and attempts to help me with my business and since he tends to stack things, it’s become small and messy. I have the half with the desk and desktop computer – he has the half with the file drawers, not that he actually files. My desk is cluttered with everything from checkbooks to unanswered mail. Given our computerized and internet lives, most of the unanswered mail remains unanswered. If I can’t do it on the computer, it’s just impossible to get to. This office that houses two people and a million books is only 10X12. But it’s where I’m most at home. The chair is curved to my butt and the screen is exactly the right distance from my eyes. All the letters are worn off the keyboard because I like the keyboard. Continue reading “An Interview with Bestselling Author, Robyn Carr”

A Review ~~ The Innocents by Ace Atkins

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 us 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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