Rainey, the unicorn, is a prince who has been banished, for centuries, by the warlock, Hazard. He can never return home unless Emma solves more riddles than Kodak. The fable ends with a surprise twist, when Hazard’s Lieutenant reveals his secret weakness. It will delight readers young and old. While written for children, this fairy tale is sophisticated enough to appeal to adults as well.
5 out of 5 quills A Review of Tasha Alexander‘s latest Release
I don’t know about you but I love the characters in a story ‘below the stairs’ as much as the main characters in stories such as Downton Abbey and Upstairs, Downstairs and of course in all of Alexander’s ‘Lady Emily Mysteries’. This author has always given her readers a little taste of the servants’ lives surrounding her main characters: investigators, Emily and Colin Hargreave.
But in Behind the Shattered Glasswe get to walk behind the ‘green baize door’ and join the servants in the kitchen. And what wonderful characters they are!
This is a tangled murder mystery and I think, one of Alexander’s best. A beautiful country home, love is in the air, and the rich aristocrats are doing what rich aristocrats do; shooting, drinking, dancing seducing, riding, and sleuthing.
The conclusion to my Interview with mystery writer, Tasha Alexander
Tasha and husband, author, Andrew Grant
Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?
A. The first part of “no book” land is a barren, hideous wasteland. You’re sure you’ll never have a book-worthy idea again. You’re sure you should have gone to law school. You wonder if it’s too late. Then, as you’re reading, doing research, a little idea comes to you and you start developing it, researching it, playing with it. Pretty soon it coalesces and then you enter into the everything-is-possible-and-beautiful stage. A stage that never lasts long enough. In this stage, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the book. It can be the best thing you’ve ever written. It has no flaws. It will change your life.
A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ really means
COMING TUESDAY! Part II of my Interview with best selling author, Cathy Lamb
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?
A. I can get lost in my story, my characters, for hours. I’ll sit down upstairs, lean against the wall, my computer propped on my lap, and the next thing I know it’s three in the morning and the characters have taken me places I didn’t know we were going and done things that would get a normal person arrested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. RaymondBenson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To receive my posts sign up for my On the right side you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!
An Interview with best-selling author, Cathy Lamb (Part 1 of 3)
CL: ‘ I became a teacher because I wanted to become a writer. It was difficult for me to become proper and conservative but I threw out my red cowboy boots and persevered. I had no choice. I had to eat and health insurance is expensive. I loved teaching, but I also loved the nights and summers where I could write and try to build a career filled with creativity and my strange imagination.
I met my husband on a blind date. A mutual friend who was an undercover vice cop busting drug dealers set us up. My husband jokes he was being arrested at the time. That is not true. Do not believe him. His sense of humor is treacherous. It was love at third sight. We’ve now been married a long time. I drink too many mochas. I love chocolate. I run. I walk. I love to read. I often cry when I’m writing my books, and I laugh, too. I love walking through the waves at the beach and I believe that daydreaming makes you a better person so I do it a lot.’
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Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?
A. I write everywhere. Upstairs on my bed looking out the window at my maple trees, on my couch staring at my petunias and an
the Deschutes River. my husband fly fishes. I journal.
occasional hummingbird, and at Starbucks. I write best late at night. Ten o’clock to two o’clock in the morning. It’s quiet. My kids are in bed. My brain stops buzzing. I can dive straight into my imagination and hang out there for awhile like a crazy lady.
Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)
A. I look at email and then I feed my small, but mostly healthy addiction to the New York Times. I get ticked off at what I’m reading sometimes and sit back and think what I would do if I was president and which politicians I would immediately get rid of. It entertains me.
Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer?)
A. Pretty journals. One journal to five journals per book for writing ideas, characters, plots, and working through all sorts of literary problems. I write the story, however, on my computer. I write straight through, 2000 words a day, 10,000 a week, for the first draft. I edit every book eight times before it even goes to my editor. I edit it another four times after that. Yes, twelve edits. I want to bang my own head through the keyboard just thinking about it…
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
A. Waiting to “feel creative,” for me, is like waiting for the moon to drop on my head. Or for my flying Porsche to arrive. People who only write when they feel creative rarely get published. I make myself get creative. I give myself goals every day, every week and I meet the goals.
A captivating story about a young boy who teaches us what ‘normal’ means
Don’t Miss Part 2 and 3 of this Interview on August 27th and 28th.
A REVIEW of “If You Could See What I See” Click here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month. These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Cathy Lamb, Raymond Benson, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. RaymondBenson is January’s author. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page. Enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!
‘Education’ is rooted in the wordeducare–or ex ducare— and the most important aspect of the definition is that it has two meanings. One being to acquire knowledge, from books and study.
The second is to explore and understand that which is within us all. A search, a journey leading to the places where wisdom lies and is crucial to who we might become.
I am a mishmash of both…formal education mixed in with a continuing search for myself, my goals and the wisdom that life wants to give me, if only I’d listen. In the past decade I have pursued the second part: to explore and understand what I’m all about. It is indeed a journey and has led finally to some wisdom, which IS ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL TO WHO WE MIGHT BECOME.
So why am I even talking about this? Well, let’s see….knowledge leads to awarenessand awareness leads to being a better writer. Wisdom, if you are so lucky to find some, leads to you writing richer characters because you now have the empathy that comes with wisdom. The ‘journey’ in the second part of your education makes YOU a richer character and that leads to your story being fully developed, abounding with interesting characters, fascinating places and good plots.
And if you try hard enough and have a little luck you never stop learning. Even if the only thing that happens in your education today is that you read a new, sometimes obscure, word and have to go and look it up…you are continuing to learn. My favorite thing!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name:: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Amber Winckler, Robert McCammon, Caroline Leavitt, Sue Grafton, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Loretta Chase, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb. and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is October’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To receive my posts sign up for my on the home page; On the right side enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!
Part II ** Interview with Sue GraftonIn Loving Memory
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?
SG. On occasion, but not nearly often enough. I love that feeling but most of the time it’s just struggle, hair-tearing, whining, and complaints. I’m easily distracted. If the work is going well…call it twice a week…then I’m happy. Most of the time I’m sitting here because that’s what it takes. Comfortable or uncomfortable doesn’t make any difference. I suffer because I feel stupid and clumsy and blocked most of the time, but so what? That is all part of the process. If you’re not willing to sweat it out, you’re in the wrong business. No short cuts.
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
SG. When I was eighteen. I wrote seven full-length novels from the ages of twenty-two to thirty-eight. Novels four and five were published. The others have never seen the light of day. The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI and that was after a long stint in Hollywood where I wrote pilots, movies for television, and the occasional film script.
Q. How long after that were you published?
SG. My first novel was published five years after I began teaching myself how to write long form. ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI took me five years to write. I’d say ‘five’ is the magic number. It takes fifteen years of being published before you can support yourself with the writing. This is not a career for sissies or cowards. You better get used to hard work. And rejection and frustration. That’s what teaches you. You can’t side-step the anguish.
Q. and the all important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like?
SG. As I’ve often described, I keep a series of journals or notebooks on my computer for every novel I write. The journal is where I keep plot possibilities, ideas, research notes, character sketches, dialogue when it occurs to me. The collective journals for ‘V’ IS FOR VENGEANCE came to 967 single-spaced pages. The journals for ‘W’ came to 1298 single-spaced pages on the day I finished the book, which was February 21, 2013. It took me a year to settle on the storyline . I work by trial and error which is why it takes me so long. After a mere thirty years at this, I know what doesn’t work but I don’t always know it in advance. I write and then I think, no. I write some more and think, don’t think so. I write some more and think, are you kidding me? I write some more and I think, well that stinks. And on it goes.
Q. Where/when do you first discover Kinsey and your other characters ?
SG. I am Kinsey Millhone so that was easy enough. Other characters I discover as I go along. Character and plot can never be separated. Both have to be developed at the same time, in tandem, or a story won’t come to life.
Q. What inspired your story/stories ?
SG. Sometimes a germ of an idea will come to me. In fact many times I have the germ of an idea. That’s the easy part. What’s difficult is figuring out what you can do with an idea, figuring out how you can develop it to the point where it will carry 660 manuscript pages. You need heft and complexity and major muscle. Not every idea will yield a novel. One of my big lessons, always, is learning when to let it go. I’m ruthless when it comes to that. I might work on an idea for six months. Once I realize it isn’t working and that I don’t know how to make it work, I dump it.
Q. Have you or do you want to write in another genre?
2017
SG. I’ve written in other forms and formats; movie scripts, television scripts, short stories and novels. I’ve never written science fiction or erotica or romance or horror or westerns. I don’t know those forms and I wouldn’t do a good job of it. I love the hard-boiled private eye novel and I love crime fiction, which is…as it turns out…where I belong.
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Biography: I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky where I graduated from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a degree in English. I worked in a variety of jobs in the medical field, writing after the family was down for the night. Sold a ‘mainstream’ novel, KEZIAH DANE, that was published when I was 27 and then a second novel, THE LOLLY-MADONNA WAR, that was published when I was 29. Altogether, before the alphabet novels, I wrote 7 books . The eighth novel I wrote was ‘A’ IS FOR ALIBI. Guess what I’ve been doing every since?’
MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? December: British writer, J.G. Dow. January: In Memory, Sue Grafton.
An Interview with Mystery Writer, Sue Grafton (Part 1)
Author, John D. McDonald died suddenly back in 1986 and took Travis McGee with him. I owned and had read every book of McDonald’s…..Now what was I suppose to do?? I didn’t read many mysteries (back then) but I was especially fond of Travis and his bear-of-a-man friend, Meyer. So back in the eighties, (when you shopped at a real book store), I looked through the aisles for someone worthy of replacing John McDonald. There I found “A is for Alibi” with the formidable and quirky, Kinsey Millhone. I’ve been reading Sue Grafton ever since. TS
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this entry from Sue’s journals;
Dear Shadow . . . Self . . . and Right Brain, Doing everything I can here to make life possible. I’ve abandoned the old story . . . cleaned out my computer . . . sorted and tossed and filed away old notes and articles. Now I need help in launching myself again. Please speak to me. Please let me know where the new book is coming from. I really need your assistance and I’m hoping you’ll spark something so I can get to work.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Love & kisses,
Sue
Response from Shadow Self: How about an old-fashioned unsolved murder case? Parents are angry because nothing’s been done. Case is old & cold, with no new leads coming in.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?
Sue Grafton’s work space
A. I have an office in both my homes; Montecito, California and Louisville Kentucky. The two are different in terms of size and style but I can’t tell you that I’m more productive in one than in the other. I like lots of light. I like tidiness. I like space. I like quiet. When I’m working my desk is usually a mess, but I do make an effort from time to time to restore order. The creative process is messy enough. I don’t need to look at chaos as well.
Q. Do you have any special rituals when you sit down to write? (sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)
A. Often I do a short stint of self-hypnosis which helps quiet the chatter in my head and helps me focus and concentrate. I learned the technique from a book on the subject that I got at a book store and it’s been a wonderful way to keep ‘centered’ if you’ll forgive the term.
Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.)
A. A computer, of course. Which I claim has greatly improved my skills. In the ‘olden’ days of white out and cutting and pasting, I got hung up on whether the page ‘looked right’. I hated adding anything that forced me to repaginate because I didn’t like all the extra work. If I deleted 11 lines, I got so I could exactly replace the missing lines with something that would work as well so that I didn’t have to retype everything. To my way of thinking, this is not the key to writing well. On a computer I can and do write every line over and over until it suits me. The tinkering is infinite. I when a line is right and when it’s not, I revise and refine and cut and amend until it sounds right to my inner ear.
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
A. I’m usually at my desk at 8:00. I check emails and make a brief visit to my Face Book page where I chat with readers. I never feel truly creative. I work until lunch time when I take a short break. go back until mid-afternoon when I usually take a walk with one of a number of friends. I work seven days a week because it’s easier to stay connected to the writing. In completing “W” I worked double-sessions, returning to my desk after dinner. I cut out our social life. I nixed all the walks which I found interrupted the work too often. I didn’t run errands. I didn’t stop to get my hair cut.
Part 2 of this Interview will be posted August 6th
And to read more in the fascinating Journals that Sue keeps for each book, go to: www.suegrafton.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Karen Robards, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Raymond Benson, Amber Winckler, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author with a bonus chat with Cathy Lamb later in the month. September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is my January author. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!
DON’T MISS IT! Starting tomorrow, my interview with Sue Grafton, most famous for her best selling alphabet series!
August 1st and 6th, Sue shares with me and her readers her process as she writes her best sellers. Beginning back in the eighties she wrote “A IS FOR ALIBI” and the rest is history. What happens when we get to “Z”?? Will that be the end to Kinsey Milhone, PI? Oh, no!!!
REVIEW: “For the Love of Mike” by Rhys Bowen (5 out of 5 quills)
I’m totally engaged reading Rhys Bowen‘s Molly Murphy’s mysteries. Set in the early 1900’s, these books are more than just entertaining mysteries. For example: The sub-story is of New York City in by-gone days. Where Ellis Island disgorged immigrants by the thousands, dumping them on the streets of Manhattan, willy-nilly, to fend for themselves however they could. Few requirements were imposed; they had to have five dollars, be fairly healthy and free of consumption (tuberculosis). The immigrants could be wanted criminals back in their home country and still be admitted.
At the turn of the century, Greenwich Village was filled with “students, rowdies, Negroes, miscreants and anarchists“. (“For the Love of Mike”) Ha! The Village hasn’t changed much! Hell’s Kitchen and lower Manhattan were the “Irish Section” and filled with tenements and poverty. The discrimination of those times was not white against all the others but rather nationality against nationality. In the Jewish and Italian sections of town there were signs in the windows of shops stating “NO Irish need apply”. Only Italian and Jewish girls worked in the sweatshops of the garment district; and in Hell’s Kitchen and Five Points other ethnic groups (not Irish) who ventured into those neighborhoods did so at their own peril.
If you are at all familiar with the ‘neighborhoods’ of today’s Manhattan you will quickly see that the face of the city has not changed all that much. It is still an island of ethnic neighborhoods. Much to my satisfaction! That’s how I learned the city from 1991 to 2006….wandering (by design) the streets of each neighborhood so that we could taste the air there, eat the food and often chat with the inhabitants. I’ll never forget the time, in Chinatown, when I attempted to photograph the face of an ancient Chinese woman. She ran me offwith her umbrella held high!
Now because of Rhys Bowen brilliant writing I get to revisit those neighborhoods (that I love) in a different era. My very own TIME MACHINE!
I so enjoyed Interviewing Ms. Bowen just recently.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coming in August! A review of Ms. Bowen’s latest release, “Heirs and Graces” The Royal Spyness series
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner” INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS!
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and plan on featuring an interview once a month .These authors have already responded and you can read their interviews by clicking on their name: : Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Robert McCammon, Heidi Jon Schmidt, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Amber Winckler, Caroline Leavitt, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Karen Robards, Walter Mosley, Nora Roberts, Raymond Benson and many others.
So come along with me; we shall sneak into these writers’ special places, be a fly on the wall and watch them create! July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Jeffrey Deaver is November’s author and slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter. Loretta Chase will be featured later this year. Raymond Benson is January’s author.
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To receive my posts sign up for my Go to the home page; On the right side you’ll see a box where you can enter your email address. Click on “join my blog”. You need to confirm in an email from ‘Writer at Play’ . Thanks!
GREAT NEWS! “Emma and the Lost Unicorn” is now AVAILABLE as an AUDIO BOOK
