5 out of 5 Quills A Review of Patrick Taylor’s newest release ‘yer face is as long as a wet Sunday…’
Oh, I’m a big, BIG fan of Patrick Taylor’s work. I never miss buying his latest. What’s not to like….for me, the daughter of a second generation Irishman? In 1998 I spent a month in the west counties of Ireland looking for my paternal roots. My, my! Did I find them! My father’s name still appeared above ‘drapery’ shops in the small villages I traveled to. So, for me, reading Taylor’s series called ‘Country Doctor’ is like return visits to ‘the ole Sod’.
In this newest offering Patrick Taylor seamlessly takes the reader from his early days as a young doctor (newly graduated) practicing in the slums and tenements of Dublin (in the 1930’s), to twenty plus years later where he has been a GP in the tiny village of Ballybucklebo.
If you start out with the first book, An Irish Country Doctor, and continue reading the series, you fast become one of the villagers. You know everyone and everyone knows you. The series is the story of Fingal O’Reilly’s life, his patients, his young doctor proteges, his loves and all the people that make up the village of Ballybucklebo.
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 third in the Fabled Forest Series, “Bertie, the Bookworm and the Bully Boys” is now available as an AUDIO BOOK at www.audible.com and www.amazon.com as well as www.iTunes. com
Bertie, the bookworm is the fabled forest’s elder and teacher. Every week he has a spelling and reading circle where everyone is welcomed. Slam and his gang of bully boys are forever teasing, disrupting, and bullying Bertie and the group of faeries and woodland creatures. Pansy, the pixie is a new character in this third of the Fabled Forest series. She is a defender of reading, truth, and Bertie. Cheets, our beloved elf from past books gets in with the wrong crowd and his friends are worried that he will become the newest member of the Bully Boys. Best friends with Cheets, Pansy is determined to save her friend. The story teaches gentle lessons about literacy, bullying and ageism.
In an October post I’ll tell you more about the adventures of producing AUDIO books…..meeting new people, choosing a narrator, (a young opera singer from Switzerland)….the character voices she was able to create. Listen to Sample
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
This is a job. People imagine writers are off on palm tree studded islands writing, or in tree houses, or at their darling cottage at the beach, no distractions except their pinging imagination. This is a false image. Almost all the writers I know have children, responsibilities, people who need them. Some have day jobs. You simply must get your work done as others do in every other profession on the planet.
Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?
A. Don’t procrastinate. Sit your butt down and write and quit dallying around. Do you want to publish or not? Seriously. Ask yourself that question. It’s a good one.
I can procrastinate, too. I’m quite talented at it. But for me, if I don’t meet my goals, I don’t let myself go to bed at night. I have very, very late nights sometimes. Getting books written is about dedication, focus and hard work. Not romantic. Not always fun. You may be in pajamas most of the day. You may not wash your hair when you should. But you do buck up and write. It is what it is.
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.
Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment (i.e. specific creative inspirations)?
A. I don’t have a muse. Can I get one somewhere? Are they on sale?
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. When I was sixteen. Truly. That was when I decided I had to be a writer. There was no other goal, professionally, for me. I couldn’t be anything else. I wrote for the school newspaper, I wrote my first romance at age nineteen at the University of Oregon as a freshman. (It was rejected.) I taught fourth grade from the time I was twenty – two to twenty nine. I became a teacher specifically so I would have time at night and during summers to write.
Q. How long after that were you published?
A. I sold my first book in 2005. My road to publishing took a while. I went to college, then grad school, taught school, got married, had three kids, was a freelance writer for years for The Oregonian writing about homes, décor, people, events, fashion…the usual curvy road. When my kids were little I wrote late at night, too. It was the only time I had. I lived off about five to six hours of sleep a night for sixteen years.
Q. What makes a writer great?
A. A writer is great when they’re able to reach the reader through characters and wrench deep emotions out of them.
If you missed Part I, click here. Return to read Part 3 of this interview August 29th
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! A SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview with one 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, Patrick Taylor, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Cathy Lamb, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Raymond Benson, Andrew Grant, 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!
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!
I’m a Michael Douglas fan and also loved his father, actor Kirk Douglas. Going back too far for you? Liberace on our old black and white TV so many years ago. So naturally I had to see how Mike Douglas would play Liberace. Yep! You heard me right !
The Great, the One and Only Liberace
…..testosterone laden, sexy, smoldering all-man Michael Douglas playing the incredibly talented, prissy, outrageously gay Liberace in the movie, “Behind the Candelabra” with Matt Damon as his long time partner/lover, Scott.
I’m writing this pseudo-review because the movie inspired me TO WRITE. It’s another way to sharpen your writing claws on a daily basis. Write about things that move you, makes you happy (which this film did on so many levels) makes you sad, angry, passionate. Keep writing!
Michael Douglas as Liberace
But let’s go back, for a moment, to ‘matinée idol’ time…….when men were men and women were glad! When Kirk Douglas was every young woman’s heart throb and Michael Douglas was not even a twinkle in Kirk’s eye.
My God, he was sex on two legs. He was a real film hero. But he wasn’t alone…..Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Kirk, Randolph Scott…the list went on and on.
Kirk Douglas as Spartacus
His movies included: In Harm’s Way, Two Weeks in Another Town, Lonely Are the Brave, Spartacus,
Paths of Glory, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Lust for Life (Vincent Van Gogh), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Vikings, Man Without a Star, The Indian Fighter, Ulysses, just to name a few.
In those days it would have been the kiss of death to their career if a man played the roleof a ‘faggot or queer or pansy’ which is what gay men were called in those days. Very offensive words these days. Actors like Rock Hudson and Montgomery Cliff spent their careers and lives going to great lengths to hide their life style. Liberace promoted the false rumor that he and Sonja Henie (famous ice skater/movie star) had a long-standing love affaire to cover his gay life style.
So now let’s look at Michael Douglas’ work…. Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, (one of my favorites) Basic Instinct, The Jewel of the Nile, A Chorus Line,
Romancing the Stone, The China Syndrome, Coma, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Again, just picking a few from what comprised his career.
And now after a stellar career as a leading man, Michael Douglas had the vision, los cajones, the guts,the talent to portray Liberace in this very fine film.
Growing up, we watched Liberace every week on TV, at our house, much to the disgust of my Dad. (a raging homophobe) and when I watched “Behind the Candelabra” I felt that the great entertainer and pianist, Liberace had returned! Thank you, Michael!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with other 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, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, Karen Robards, Robert McCammon, Sue Grafton, Caroline Leavitt, Cathy Lamb, Heidi Jon Schmidt, 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! July features Rhys Bowen. 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.
Receive my posts in an email. 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!
I know! I’m nagging my fellow writers about this. But, I need to convince you that no matter how much you hate what you’ve written (on any given day), and how much crap you might think it is (on any given day) and how much you might despise and doubt yourself (on any given day). DON’T THROW ANYTHING that you’ve written AWAY!
Put it out of sight so it won’t haunt you. Throw it in a drawer that you never open. I promise you, in a month, a year or even in several years you will bring it out, dust it off, edit and add to it and wonder why you ever hated it. It could be a short story that blossoms into a novel. It could be a few lines that turns into poetry.
I love what Charles Bukowski said on this subject; about pulling the ‘crap’ writing out of a box, filling it’s cavities, giving eye and ear examinations and………
my atomic stockpile by Charles Bukowski
I cleaned my place the other day
first time in ten years
and found 100 rejected poems:
I fastened them all to a clipboard
(much bad reading).
now I will clean their teeth
fill their cavities
give them eye and ear examinations
weigh them
offer blood transfusions
then send them out again into the
sick world of posey.
either that
or I must burn down your cities,
rape your women,
murder your men,
enslave your children.
every time I clean my room
the world trembles in the balance.
that’s why I only do it once every
ten years.
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This is a very funny (ironic) man and that’s why I am so drawn to him, in spite of his drunken, sexist, bigoted, misogynistic ways. Would I want him living in my house? God, NO! But would I like to go away with him for awhile to an island or a cabin in the mountains where we could drink, write, talk, yell, swear, debate, philosophize, and BE HONEST!! HELL, YES!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, 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! Mark Childress was our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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!
I woke up this morning thinking about the fifties. “The Great Pretender” by The Platters weaving its magic through my brain. My poodle skirt was one of five full circle skirts in my closet. And the number of crinolines you wore under your poodle skirt dictated how popular you were at school. Crazy, huh?
And that made me think of the other things that the really popular girls had that I wanted. I had one crinoline, they had at least three. Oh! and Jansen sweater sets. My parents could only afford one; the really cool girls had a set for every day of the week. Jansen sweaters had a lot of cashmere in them and they were expensive from my side of the tracks. (Stay at home Mom and a meat cutter Dad.) And I can still remember my first pair of white buck shoes. Every night I had to ‘paint’ white polish on them. They couldn’t be scuffed or dirty, EVER!
‘Bad’ Girls were identified by four things: they drank beer, they dated servicemen (sailors in my town), they had their ears pierced and they would go out on dates to the drive-in movies. We all knew what happened there! You wouldn’t want to be caught dead talking to any of them if you valued your reputation!
And I was there at the birth of Rock n’ Roll. Bill Hailey and the Comets had just released their movie “Rock Around the Clock”. Elvis had stormed the world stage with “Heartbreak Hotel” and “I Forgot to Remember to Forget”. We loved him on the radio and on our 45’s, but parents were up in arms and would not let us ‘see‘ him. Those hips were scandalous!
So the movie “Rock Around the Clock” finally comes to our little burg. It was a Saturday matinee and the house was packed with teenagers. Somewhere in the movie Bill Hailey sings his signature song. We couldn’t stay in our seats! “One, two, three o’clock, four o’clock rock, five, six, seven o’clock, eight o’clock ROCK! nine, ten, eleven o’clock, twelve o’clock ROCK!……..We’re gonna rock around the clock tonight!” The aisles filled with teens dancing, doing the jitterbug. Laughing and singing along with the Comets. It was amazing!
The theatre manager thought he had a riot on his hands and called the police. We got a stern lecture and were told if we would stay in our seats they would turn the movie back on.
Do you remember cruising and the Drive-In?? After the football game, or dance, or a date for the movies everyone would pile into whoever had a car and cruise down the length of Lincoln St. through downtown and out First Street to Bernie’s Drive-Inn and drive slowly around and around the restaurant, checking everyone out while they checked you out. We’d either stop for a ‘malt’ or a ‘Coke’ or we’d reverse our cruising and drive back down First Street and up Lincoln…..we’d do that until someone had to get home before curfew. My last boyfriend in high school was older and had already graduated. He had a custom 1957 Chevy coupe. Very little chrome; everything was ‘leaded in’. It was the most gorgeous dusky pink.
Our ‘song’ was Party Doll by Buddy Knox. I was his party Doll and how I kept my virginity that year, I’ll never know!!
Start your month off right!! DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS. INTERVIEWS with other best-selling AUTHORS! A NEW SERIES, “The Writer’s Corner”
I have had a wonderful response from other authors and will feature an interview once a month . I have invited such luminaries as: Ann Purser, Susan Elia MacNeal, , Mark Childress, Rhys Bowen, Dean Koontz, Sheryl Woods, Jo-Ann Mapson, Jeffrey Deaver, Elizabeth Gilbert, Amber Winckler, 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! Mark Childress is our April author. Robert McCammon is scheduled for May. Caroline Leavitt is June‘s author. July features Rhys Bowen. Sue Grafton is August’s author and September will feature Tasha Alexander. Slick mystery writer, Andrew Grant will join us this winter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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!
Oh, I’m a big, BIG fan of Patrick Taylor’s work. I never miss buying his latest. What’s not to like….for me, the daughter of a second generation Irishman? In 1998 I spent a month in the west counties of Ireland looking for my paternal roots. My, my! Did I find them! My father’s name still appeared above ‘drapery’ shops in the small villages I traveled to. So, for me, reading Taylor’s series called ‘Country Doctor’ is like return visits to ‘the ole Sod’.
