new fiction Archives - Page 15 of 16 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Interview (part 2) with British Author, J. G. Dow

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

JG. I suppose you can get lost to the extent that you forget what time it is and write for longer than planned. Sometimes you really get caught up in things and laugh at an idea you’ve had or get annoyed at a character for doing a certain thing and so yes, you do get lost in it if you’re properly invested in the book. This is all good I suppose, as you care about what you are coming up with.

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

JG. I don’t really have a muse as such but I like lots of different writers like Bukowski, Hemingway, Salinger and Brautigan for instance and so they inspire me to try and improve all the time I suppose and keep at it!

Q. Do you have a new book coming out soon? If so tell us about it.

JG.I have a sequel to Jane of Manchester out now which is called Jane Once More and it furthers the adventures of Jane as well as developing her life and those of her friends as well and I’m also writing a fantasy type thing but that’s a long way off being finished!

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

JG. In my late twenties I think when I started to write poetry and entered a few competitions (I didn’t win any) That’s when it all got started as far as I can recall.

Q. How long after that were you published?

JG. I am self-published and that is only something I’ve done in recent years. I haven’t been picked up by the traditional publishers.

Q. What makes a writer great?

JG. The ability to have his/her own unique voice and to be able to effect a writer in a way that moves them in some way whether that be laughter or the shedding of a few tears or something else. As long as you can provoke something from people and hopefully tell a good tale along the way.

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

JG. It’s all just a matter of bashing away at the keyboard or typewriter until it’s all done and you are happy with the completed work. It creeps up on you and then one day…wow, I finished it!

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

JG. Living in Manchester gave me a feel for that particular city and so I could write about it confidently, knowing bars and restaurants etc. Reading helps you know how to write I think and just the process of getting older and learning from mistakes colours what you do quite significantly. All experience helps!

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

JG. I have done some science fiction and fantasy type stuff so I do write in a few different genres and I am enjoying writing in the chick-lit/humour genre as well.

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

JG. I can juggle a bit but I don’t think it will serve me well anywhere down the line! I can’t think of anything else really so I suppose I’ll end there!

Did you miss Part 1? Click here

Purchase J.G.Dow’s books

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MY BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? October’s author was Donna Kauffman. November: Rita Avaud a Najm. December: English mystery writer, J.G. Dow.

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To Purchase

Interview with author, Donna Kauffman

TS. Fairly recently I discovered Donna. I ordered one book (Blue Hollow Falls) and quickly ordered the rest of her books. That’s always a good sign from this Blogger! Beautifully crafted stories!

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please provide a photo/s of your shed, room, closet, barn….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

DK. I work any and everywhere. Have laptop, will travel! And I often do. I live in the Blue Ridge Mountains in southern Virginia, and though I do have dedicated office space in my house, I don’t think I’ve ever actually gone in there to write. Working where you live can, at times, provide a wealth of distractions to help procrastinate getting any writing done. At least a few times a week, I hop in my car and head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is minutes from where I live, and find a quiet overlook, trail, picnic area, and work there. It’s inspiring and has the added benefit of no internet/cell/email/other distractions. I’ve written large portions of many books up there.

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.)

DK. No rituals for me. I prefer it quiet (no tv, music, chatter) but I’ve written sitting in busy airport terminals and during my kids sports practices. I think sometimes you can get bogged down by placing too many “I have to have this in order to write” requirements. I’ve always been a “plant your backside somewhere and fall into the story already” type, mostly because I know if I started down the “I must have” path, I’d never get another book written.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

DK. I volunteer for a local wildlife center and a local wildlife sanctuary. I’m a dedicated hiker/outdoors person and photographer who loves animals, so it’s been a fascinating adjunct to that and I’ve learned so much about all the critters I’ve lived amongst for years. If I had the time, I’d love to get my wildlife rehabilitators’ license. Someday!

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

DK. No set time. My schedule and other obligations often create the blocks of time I write. Given a whole day with nothing else on the docket, I tend to get up and dive in before the world wakes up and gets in the way, and often times write all day until dinner. Then I’d likely sink back in again after the world goes to sleep. I’m both morning person and night owl, so that comes in handy!

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

DK. That’s the single biggest obstacle to all writers. I think I can safely say we all do it. (And if you don’t, please share your trick with me!) I guess I’ve learned how to remove temptation from my immediate surroundings (hence the my mobile office pod, as I call it, aka my car.) If I can’t stop myself from getting up and doing laundry instead of tackling the next scene, or from scrolling through social media, then I take myself off somewhere where I can’t do either of those things. It’s an ongoing battle. Deadlines and knowing you’ve got bills to pay also help immensely.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

DK. I don’t know if I can pinpoint that. Story evolution is such an ephemeral thing for me. It comes at me from all sides, in all manners of unfolding. Some characters are part of the initial, ooh, this is a story I want to tell! And some come along as the story develops.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

DK. Wanting there to be more books in the world that I wanted to read. I have broad interests in fiction and I’m very picky all at the same time. I like what I like. I have my favorite authors and am always on the prowl for new ones. (The library is a wonderful treasure trove for finding new authors. No investment risk other than a little time to see if they can pull you into their worlds…) I was having a hard time finding more of what I loved and kept imagining what story I would want to read, and one thing led to another, and I started putting thoughts to paper. I’d always been a writer of some kind or other, so it was a natural combination of putting my thoughts down in writing, then steering those thoughts into the fictional realm. When I got serious about it, I joined a local writer’s organization and immersed myself in learning more about the craft of writing as well as the business of writing. I knew immediately I’d found my people. (Fictional and non.)

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

DK. Could be either one. It really depends on the story. The trigger could be location, occupation, setting, conflict, or any combination of those. I’ve been writing small town fiction for a while now and so location is often the first thing that intrigues me. I want to set my fictional world in this place or that, and then occupations, conflicts, plot ideas start to percolate, and along with them the perfect people to tell that story, both main characters and secondary. Research begins, story begins, and folks just up and introduce themselves in the process.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

Join us for Part II, October 27th of this fascinating Interview

To purchase Donna Kauffman’s books ~ Click here
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? September: Dylan Callens. October’s author is Donna Kauffman. In November we say hello to Rita Avaud a Najm.

Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!

Interview with Janet Macleod Trotter (conclusion)

Q. What makes a writer great?

JT. I think that’s very subjective –we don’t all like the same books. But I suppose the writers I admire most are the ones who create a world so vivid that you remember the characters and places long afterwards – they can change the way you see the world. Books that have done this for me that spring to mind are, The Great Gatsby (Scott Fitzgerald), Passage to India (E.M. Forster), Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) and The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver).

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

JT. This can vary! I usually do about 6 months of research and gathering material before mapping out a storyline. Then I write a synopsis so I know where the story is going and how it will be resolved. This isn’t always strictly followed but it’s the blue-print for building the story, allowing for variations along the way. I write character profiles which are added to as I write the novel (these are really important when writing a series as I record their physical features, dates of significant events, relationships etc. that can be referred to when writing the follow-on books).

It takes about another 6 months to write the novel. My technique is to edit as I go along. Each day I begin by going over what I have written the day before and re-write it, before moving on to the next scene. When it’s all written, I’ll put it aside for a week or so and then go back to it and re-edit the whole manuscript. After this it will go to an editor and be given further edits as well as being copy edited and proofread. I make sure this happens for my independently published novels too – everything must be professionally done.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

JT. I hope it has enriched my writing. As a writer you may not use actual incidents from your own life but you certainly use your own emotional response to make a novel realistic. How else can you feel your way into the inner life of your characters? More directly, I have used the experience of my younger self going on the overland trail to India. I used the diary I kept as an 18-year-old for the background to my mystery novel, THE VANISHING OF RUTH. I was writing it 30 years after the event so wanted the setting to be authentic – I certainly wouldn’t have remembered half of it without the prompt of my diary!

The one big traumatic event that I did use in an early novel was my experience of a stillborn baby. I did so partly as therapy for me and partly to make others aware of how deeply it can affect people. At the time, 30 years ago, society tended not to acknowledge such losses or encourage bereft parents to talk about it. Now, things are handled much more sensitively. THE HUNGRY HILLS is dedicated to our firstborn son.

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

I have written a couple of mysteries which I greatly enjoyed, and I’ve also written a childhood memoirs. But my default setting is historical novels!

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

Writing is a very solitary way of life and to produce anything a writer must put in hours and hours of work. So I just want readers to know that if you’ve ever taken the time and trouble to contact an author and let them know you’ve enjoyed their book, you have done a wonderful thing! I get giddy with gratitude if a complete stranger gets in touch and thanks me for giving them a good read. You have no idea how much pleasure that gives in return – and the inspiration to carry on!

Did you miss Part I and Part II of this wonderful Interview with Janet?

https://janetmacleodtrotter.wordpress.com/category/news/

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? Johan Thompson (South African author) joined us in April. June: Mehreen Ahmed. July: Janet Macleod Trotter, author of Tea Planter’s Daughter and in August we say ‘hello’ to Cheryl Hollon. September: Dylan Callens

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Interview with Author, Sheryl Steines (part 2)

Part II of my Interview with Sheryl Steines, Sci-Fi writer

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

SS. It’s weird but I think right now, time is my muse. The older I get, the farther away I feel from accomplishing my goals, I feel as though I’m fighting with time. And knowing that time moves so quickly, it inspires me to keep writing and creating and working.

Q. Do you have a new book coming out soon? If so tell us about it.

SS. Black Market. It’s the second book in the Wizard Hall Series. Annie Pearce, is a wizard guard, a magical police officer. She is called by her contact at the FBI who warns her of a John Doe in the forest. He’s dressed oddly for a hike in the forest and Annie, learning of his location is worried because the body was discovered just outside the portal to the black market, the magical shopping area selling illegal objects, potions and animals.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

SS. At my 20th class reunion, I caught up with a former classmate who I discovered was a published author. I was so jealous because it had been my life’s dream to be an author. That emotional awakening, forced me to face the reality that I hadn’t even tried to accomplish my goal. It took two years before I finally was able to write the book, but since then, I haven’t looked back.

Q. How long after that were you published?

SS. I self-published the book in 2010, two years after I started writing.

Q. What makes a writer great?

SS. A great writer is someone who watches, listens, understands people and the world around them. They’re intuitive, empathic and when they write, the story and the characters come off the page.

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

SS. I start with an object, an idea for a murder, a location or a snippet of a scene; one thing that starts the story. I can come from watching television or reading a book on mythology or folk tales. When something sparks, I do more in depth research learning about the history of the object, person, story until the idea grows. I’m a pantser, I write by the seat of my pants. I let the story unfold for me once I get the basic idea drawn out. My first draft is usually short and incomplete. After finishing the draft, I wait about four weeks before I touch the story again. The next several drafts add color. I change or adjust the story lines, I add characters, or make tweaks to existing characters. Sometimes this could take up to 10 drafts or more until the story unfolds in a fabulous way. My second book took 10 drafts before it was ready to go to an editor. When I originally wrote the story, the middle and the end were completely different than how the final draft came out because I saw things differently in the later drafts; I rewrote the ending, I changed the bad guys, I changed the murderer, I gave different magical skills to the creatures until the story felt complete and whole.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

SS. I write about death because of the death of my daughter. It helps me understand the grief and in the stories, my main character Annie Pearce also tries to figure out how her father’s death affects how she lives her life.

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

SS. Every once and a while I see something or read something that I think would make a great book idea, something that’s not part of the Fantasy Genre. I just wish I had the time to write it.

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

SS. I’m a mom of two. I love being creative and enjoy interior design. I’m an avid reader, love driving my ’66 Mustang convertible, I’ve been a Cubs fan since I was born and love to travel and immerse myself into my location.

Click here to enjoy Part I

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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? December: Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January was Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines.
Johan Thompson (South African author) will join us in March.

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Interview with Sci-Fi Author, Sheryl Steines

TS. Science-fiction author, Sheryl Steines shares her writing world with us.

SS. I write on the couch, under a blanket with the tv on for background noise. I’m slowly moving back into my guest room/office where I have a large desk, all of my research books and all of my sci fi/fantasy fan paraphernalia. Unfortunately it’s still not put back together after a small computer fire.

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.)

SS. When I’m not working full time, I always have to get my housework, errands and other chores done before I can comfortably begin to work. When all that’s taken care of, I sit down with a cup of tea, huddled under my blanket with my computer in my lap. I work best in the afternoon to early evening.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

SS. My guilty pleasure is American Ninja Warrior and I have a secret dream to write the teleplay to turn the Wizard Hall Chronicles (my book series) into a tv show.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

SS. My most productive times are between 12 pm – 7pm. For whatever reason, those have always been my most productive hours. Otherwise I squeeze in what I can between 7p and 9pm after work.

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

SS. I tell writers all time; write every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s just a sentence, paragraph, page or chapter. If this is what you want to do, just do it and do it every day.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

SS. Hmm… That’s a good question. I’ve said it lots of time, I don’t plan a book well. I try and it just goes off course. So when I start with a new book, I try and have a beginning, middle and rough end. Since I have my main characters already, I just start writing and every once and a while, I need someone else, and usually, they pop in my head. By my tenth draft, I usually have a pretty well rounded character that adds a little something to the story.

Q. What first inspired you to write your stories?

SS. There was something about the Nancy Drew mystery series. At seven I just fell in love with the detective/mystery novel and I never looked back. But I didn’t just want to read the books, I wanted to create my own stories, so I did. I wrote my own little detective novels.

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

SS. Situation definitely. It starts with a little idea, whether it’s from watching a tv show, reading a book, seeing something online, it doesn’t matter. That little spark sends me down a path and from there, I can create an entire story.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

SS. Sometimes, yes. When the story flows, when the ideas come, I can’t pull away. Part of it happens because I can’t plan books well and I just run off on tangents. However, I like getting lost in the surprises, like a reader would. It’s fun.

Join us for Part II of the Interview on February 25th

sherylsteines.com
Twitter @Sherylsteines
FB : Wizard Hall Chronicles
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? November was best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January is Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines.
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Halo-Halo Book Review Praises Song of the Yukon

A REVIEW

‘I read Trisha Sugarek’s novel Song of the Yukon, as I’m generally interested in homesteading and off-grid stories. Trisha’s novel, set in Alaska, more than satisfied my curiosity. It’s about LaVerne, a teen and budding song writer who followed the poet Robert Service’s trip into the wilds of Alaska. The inclusion of Service’s life offers a welcome layer to the story, and the references are inserted harmoniously so that they seem a natural instead of forced companion to the primary plot of LaVerne’s life: she impersonated a boy to be hired aboard a freighter who took her from Seattle to Alaska; along the way, she experiences boat rides on the Yukon, meets members of native tribes, files homestead papers and works the land.

Song of the Yukon also delights due to its structure of seamlessly weaving poetry, song lyrics and correspondence within the novel’s narrative. There was a scene around a camp fire where LaVerne gets to know the indigenous guide, Black Eyed Joe and his mother, Edna that I particularly liked. Sugarek weaves Service’s poem into the dialogue where Edna makes an observation about Mother Earth.

Sugarek’s use of correspondence also doesn’t grate in the narrative flow. My personal experience is I’ve found the insertion of correspondence to be an interruption or a cheat in writing a story, but such isn’t the case here. Here, the correspondence makes the story more personal as well as is effective in bringing onto the page the rest of the world beyond LaVerne’s particular environment.

Last but not least, the story weaves in a love triangle, (perhaps not the first time but) a rare point of view within the genre of homesteading, off-grid Alaska and Wild West stories. All in all, Sugarek’s multi-layered approach uplifts SONG OF THE YUKON from the crowded field of such stories.’ ~~EILEEN TABIOS, Senior Editor The Halo-Halo Book Review
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MY BLOGS feature INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! Did you miss the past few months? November was best selling author, Grace Burrowes and in December, Reed Farrel Coleman, contributing writer for Robert B. Parker series. January is Dinah Jefferies and February’s author is Sheryl Steines.
Check out more Motivational Moments…for Writers!To receive my posts sign up for my On the home page, enter your email address. Thanks!

Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas ~~A Review

Rating: 5 out 5 quills A Review Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas

It was great to return to Crossroads, Texas once again. Thomas introduced a couple of quirky new characters to spice things up and blend with returning characters that we’ve all come to enjoy and even…yes I’ll say it…love.

The book has a great beginning when Angela receives a cryptic message: Run. Disappear. Vanish. And she does. Grabbing just a few things, she flees Florida and ends up in Crossroads. But is it far enough to hide in plain sight? I found myself wanting more story from Vern and Carter. They enchanted me with their eccentric outlook and actions. The love story within the tale is tender and sweet. This reviewer always appreciates an author’s restraint leaving much to the reader’s imagination, instead of laying it all out….as it were.

Rustler’s Moon was an excellent sequel to Ransom Canyon and I can’t wait to read book three, Winter’s Camp.

Did you miss my Interview with Jodi Thomas? Click here

Excerpt from Rustler’s Moon

Crossroads, Texas
October
Angela

Dried weeds scratched against Angela Harold’s bare legs as she walked the neglected grounds behind the Ransom Canyon Museum near Crossroads, Texas. Rumbling gray clouds spotted the sky above. Wind raged as though trying to push her back to the East Coast. She decided any rain might blow all the way to Oklahoma before it could land on Texas soil. But the weather didn’t matter. She had made it here. She’d done exactly what her father told her. She’d vanished.

Angela had meant to stop long enough to clean up before she took her first look at the museum, but she could not wait. So, in sandals, shorts and a tank top, she explored the land behind the boarded-up building on the edge of Ransom Canyon.When she’d talked to the board president, Staten Kirkland, five days ago, he’d sounded excited. They’d had to close the museum when the last curator left and in six months she’d been the only one to call about the job opening. Before the phone call ended Kirkland offered her a three-month trial if she could answer one question.Angela thought it would be about her experience or her education, but it was pure Texas folk history. Continue reading “Rustler’s Moon by Jodi Thomas ~~A Review”

Interview with Two Murder Cops

TS. We are sitting in an interview room. It is windowless, small and claustrophobic. Some kind of foam soundproofing covers the walls and there are bare spots where nervous suspects have picked at it. In the far corner, at the ceiling, there is a camera. Why do I feel guilty of something?
Sargent Detective O’Roarke is well…no other word for it…big! He seems to take up most of the room’s space and more than his fair share of air. Handsome, tough and his Irish heritage is mapped on his features. Detective Stella Garcia, sitting next to him, is a lily amidst the stones. Refined features, with cheekbones that could cut steak. Clear, sharp hazel eyes and streaky light brown hair cut in an effortless pageboy.
I begin.

TS. Tell me, have you always wanted to be in law enforcement?

O’R. I was raised in Hell’s Kitchen before it was gentrified. I had my share of brushes with the law and I saw some of my friends go to jail or get dead. The writing was on the wall. Did I want to end up in prison or worse? As a juvie; I think I was fifteen, a cop picked me up for shoplifting. It was my sister’s birthday and I didn’t have any money for a present for her. First he put the fear of hell in me.
Kept me handcuffed and stuffed me in a room just like this one. Left me alone there for two hours. When he came back he had a sandwich and a soda for me. He moved the cuffs to the front and I had to eat like that. He told me I was damn close to the age where he could charge me as an adult. What was I going to do with my life? He confirmed what I already knew, prison or dead.
Then he asked me if I’d like to ride along with him some night? I remember feeling like an anvil had fallen on me. Be a cop? Really? Was this guy joking? I rode with him and his partner a couple of nights later and that was all it took. The old cop started mentoring me and helped me get a partial scholarship to NYU.

TS. And you, Detective Garcia? (O’Roarke snorted and barked out a laugh)

SG. Cut it out O’Roarke. (She turned back to me) I grew up on a horse farm, upper Connecticut. Lived atop a horse or in the barn until I was eighteen, when I went to UC. The first year I had no idea what I wanted to do, didn’t declare a major until the middle of my sophomore year. Some sonority sisters and I went to Manhattan to see a show one weekend. When we left the theatre, a half a block down, three cop cars suddenly converged on the street, lights and sirens. Six cops jumped out of their cars and grabbed what we heard later were three armed perps.
One broke away and ran up the street toward us waving a gun. People scattered but my friends and I were frozen to the pavement. A female cop chased after him and, as luck would have it, tackled him right in front of us. It was a flying tackle; she landed on his back and they both went down. She disarmed him and had him in cuffs by the time her partner got to them. The cop stood up; she’d lost her hat and she had a split lip but she was grinning like crazy at her partner. From that moment on I was toast. Monday morning I went in to school and declared my major in criminal justice. I made Detective two years ago.

TS. And you’re in NYPD’s Homicide Unit.

O’R. Yeah, I was in Vice for a few years and then moved to Homicide.

SG. Domestic Violence and Kids at Risk Unit and then I went over to Homicide. So many deaths result from domestic violence but once the Homicide detectives arrived we’re done. I wanted to be able to follow my cases to the end. O’Roarke and I have been partners since my transfer.

O’R. (Grinning at his partner) Yeah, I had to train the rookie, here. A dirty job but somebody’s got to do it.

TS. You get some pretty high profile cases assigned to you. That famous Broadway director, the celebrity chef on the Food Network Do those kinds of cases require anything different?

O’R. No. Because under all that wealth and glitter they’re just people like you and me.

TS. Wasn’t Chef Jeff Kirikos the mayor’s brother-in-law? That had to add some pressure on the NYPD. (O’Roarke snorted again, this time in disgust.
I had the distinct impression he didn’t suffer fools or politicians, in this case.)

SG. That was a cold case. The mayor requested that we take another look at it. We were happy to get it solved.

TS. Are either of you married? Have children?

SG: I am, with two boys. R.J.’s eleven and Robbie is seven.

TS. ‘R.J’?

SG. Nickname. He’s Raul Garcia, Jr., for his father.

TS. And you, Detective O’Roarke? (Now it was Garcia’s turn to snort.)

O’R. Single. No further comment.

SG. I have high hopes for O’Roarke here. (She poked him in the ribs.) Someday some woman will gob-smack him into marriage.

O’R. Cut it out, Garcia! Right now! (The rough detective was blushing.)

TS. Must be tough on home life.

SG. Yes. At times very much so. But I have an amazing husband. He teaches high school and coaches the swim team. He can be home when my boys get there and they’re amazing too. They always tell me how proud they are their mom’s a cop.

TS. What are the toughest cases on you personally?

O’R. SG. (They answer simultaneously.) Domestic.

TS. Why so?

SG. The children. (Her eyes were suddenly bright with tears.)

O’R. We just closed a case where two little kids, toddlers, were hiding behind a chair while their father beat their mother to death.

SG. Those cases stay with you for the rest of your life.

TS. What do you do for fun? Do you have time for a personal life?

O’R. I work out, watch soccer on the tube. Meet with friends for dinner occasionally. But we’re on call 24/7 so when the mobile lights up we go.

TS. And you Detective Garcia?

SG. Still riding horses. Our family tries to get up to my parents’ farm at least once a month. We ride, help around the barn and visit with my folks. (She beams with pride.) My boys are naturals.

O’Roarke’s mobile lights up and the theme from ‘Dragnet’ comes from his jacket pocket. Garcia’s starts playing the theme from Star Wars and vibrates across the table. O’Roarke opens his text.

O’R. Speak of the devil. We got a body.
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Sample of the audio-book: TasteOfMurder.Audio.Sample.
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One True Heart by Jodi Thomas…a Review

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”

Stellar Review for “The Taste of Murder”

REVIEW ~~~ The Taste of Murder is Book 5 in Sugarek’s ‘The World of Murder’ series (previously acclaimed by this reviewer as a tight, compelling series that builds powerful scenarios and believable protagonists) and is especially recommended for prior fans of the books who want a continuation of the same successful devices employed in the previous titles: emotion-driven protagonists and a whodunit scenario that puzzles readers as much as the characters doing the investigating.

With its dash of romance, culinary-based intrigue, and a New York City setting, The Taste of Murder is as riveting as its predecessors and offers much to newcomers as well as prior fans. And having the subject be a culinary competition mystery is perfect timing, by the way, given current TV viewer interest in cooking show competitions (which are proliferating – sans murder scenarios, of course!)he story opens on the set of a cooking show competition where four chefs are charged with using ingredients from three mystery shopping bags. All is progressing smoothly … until a world-renowned chef/judge keels over dead.
Cut! Continue reading “Stellar Review for “The Taste of Murder””

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