REVIEW 5 out of 5 Quills ‘Blueprints’ by Barbara Delinsky
Everyone across America loves the ‘how to’ TV shows. How to flip it, how to gut it, how to cook it, how to not be the worst cook, how to lay tile, how to create curb appeal, how to love it or list it….there is something for everyone.
‘Blue Prints’ by Barbara Delinsky, will take you ‘back stage’ to experience all the intrigue, the politics, the back stabbing of a popular. home improvement reality show. The joy of her writing is she quickly tells about the many characters and before we turn too many pages, we care about all of them and are rooting for them. Continue reading “‘Blue Prints’…A Review”
Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?
A. Procrastination is unprofessional and a heinous habit…. A good strong reliable work ethic is what will make your publisher think of you as a worthy partner. If you are not a self starter or you cannot find it in yourself to show up for work on your own and deliver on time you should not pursue a writing career.
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?
Long before I moved to Savannah which is just a hop and skip down the road from Dorothea’s ‘low country’ I was reading her extraordinary stories of women in the south. This author draws you in, seduces you with her heroines’ triumphs and challenges that any woman can relate to. That’s why I was particularly pleased and honored when she granted me this interview.
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.
A. I write in my office in my home in NJ or in my office in my home in SC. My dream work space would be to occupy my little office in SC full time. This cruelty of this past winter’s plummeting temps, deep snow and black ice has cured me of any desire I may have had to remain in NJ. It’s not that I have anything against NJ. I have had many wonderful years here. It’s that I’m trapped indoors for months. But check back with me in a few years when I finally do reside in SC and hurricanes have me Continue reading “Interview with Dorothea Benton Frank * Blockbuster best Selling author”
I’m certain that there are writers out there that do a thorough story plot, get all their characters in a neat little row, know how their story is going to end. And that’s all before they write a word of their tale.
I, as a writer, would probably frighten some. I just sit down and start typing. Yes, the story has been bubbling, in my head, for days. There comes a point where I have to empty it before smoke seeps out of my ears. Many of my chapters are not numbered because I don’t know yet exactly where they will fit.
And much to my eternal delight (and gratitude) characters just keep showing up. Many of them I never planned. When they made their appearance, I had to shape the story around them….because once they show up, they are NOT leaving! Let me give you some examples. Continue reading “When Characters Come A’Knockin’…Are You Home?”
TS: More than a treat, it’s a honor to interview this illustrious author with such a body of work!
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. When I was ten years old, I was encouraged by my Mum to enter a short story contest with a magazine in England. It was about a young girl who desperately wanted a pony. Amazingly, long after I’d forgotten about it, I received a postal order with a small amount of money and a note that I was one of the winners in the competition. Seven years later, I joined the Yorkshire Evening Post as a typist. Within a year, I had become a reporter for them. I’ve been a journalist ever since.
Q. How long after that were you published?
A. My first novel, A Woman of Substance was published in 1979. I had tried to write four earlier novels that weren’t working for one reason or another. But all along, I was still a published journalist. I had a syndicated decorating column in the US throughout the 1970s. I also wrote and had published several decorating books in the 70s. Prior to that, I was a Women’s Page editor on Fleet Street with a handful of newspapers and magazines in England. Continue reading “Interview (part 2) with best selling Author, Barbara Taylor-Bradford”
A long time favorite author of mine, it’s such a delight to get an interview with Barbara Taylor Bradford!
Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?
A. I have an office in my apartment, which is really a converted bedroom. It’s got a cream colored sofa, a glass coffee table, several bookshelves lined with my published novels, and two desks. The first desk has a computer on it for my research. The second has an IBM typewriter, which is still what I prefer to use when writing my books.
Rating: 5 out of 5 quills! ‘The Cavendon Women‘ by Barbara Taylor Bradford A Review
In preparation for writing this review, I first read Cavendon Hall (a real pleasure) so that I would understand the full dynamic of this family. This story is Downton Abbey on steroids. So if you are a fan of this historic era (WWI & the early 1900’s) you will love both books!
Set in the countryside of Yorkshire, this old, aristocratic family must move with the times or be destroyed. The ‘downstairs’ Swann family has sworn allegiance to the Earl of Mowbray’s family for close to two hundred years and their families have intertwined for centuries. Continue reading “Chick-Lit At Its Finest! A Review”
Don’t miss Part I of this Interview! Jodi is a masterful story teller. I am a huge fan and love to sit down with her wonderful books!
Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing and for how long?
A. Of course. Harmony is as real to me as any town I’ve ever lived in. I lose sleep worrying about my characters.
My sons are afraid I’ll name one of my characters in the will.
Q. Who or what is your “Muse” at the moment ?
A. Right now I’m writing about ranches and canyons. I’m loving going out to a friend’s ranch and driving around.
Q. When did you begin to write seriously?
A. When I was 35. I realized in five years I’d be 40 and I wanted to be a writer, but I’d never really worked at it. I turned 40 at an autograph party for my first book. There is no big secret to being a writer. A WRITER WRITES. If you want to be a writer then write. Keep a long. I do. Somedays I only get one page done, but I’m moving forward.
This author is one of my current favorites. Rich stories with believable characters, it’s a pleasure for me to be able to interview Jodi Thomas.
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.
A. I write all over the place. I have a great office at West Texas A&M University with all my covers on the wall. I have an office upstairs in my home with one wall of bookshelves and three walls of windows and I have a tiny office out back off the garden where I’m putting together the plot for a new series.
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. No. I tend to work in two to three hour time periods. I get up to refill my drink every hour—diet coke if it’s warm, hot tea if it’s cold. I always open with what I worked on the day before. If I have to be away from my work more than four or five days, I start from the beginning. Usually spend at least half my time rewriting before I start writing.
Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?
A. I named my youngest son Cole after the hero in ASHES IN THE WIND. Don’t tell him.
Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative?
A. Hey, I could zone out of reality at any moment and write. Don’t believe in ‘feeling creative’. I think of creativity as more like a muscle than a talent. The more you use it
Another favorite!
the more creative you become.
Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?
A. Hardest part of writing is getting your butt in the chair. It’s not easy. I sometimes tell myself, “just 15 minutes tonight, I’m tired’ Three hours later I look up. Once I’m in the story, I’m in the story and don’t want to leave.
Set goals—-5 pages a day 5 days a week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON’T MISS UPCOMING BLOGS featuring INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! April’s author is Jodi Thomas. Coming Soon! Authors Barbara Taylor Bradford and Dorothea Benton Frank. To receive a free audio book and my sign up! On the home page, enter your email address. I love comments! Take the time to write one at the bottom of the post. Thanks!
Five out of 5 Quills (rating) ‘One True Heart’ ** A Review
This was a story that this reader didn’t want to end. I found myself rationing the pages to prolong the enjoyment. (I know some of my readers do the same when the book is just so good).
The author, Jodi Thomas, takes us back to the little Texas town of Harmony. Home!
Where people grow up, move away and then (always) return. Sometimes to heal, sometimes to hide, sometimes to reconnect with loved ones.
Captain Millanie McAllen comes home to heal the wounds of a warrior. Continue reading “One True Heart by Jodi Thomas…a Review”
back stabbing of a popular. home improvement reality show. The joy of her writing is she quickly tells about the many characters and before we turn too many pages, we care about all of them and are rooting for them. Continue reading “‘Blue Prints’…A Review”
