Tag: writers

Sure’n It’s Off to an Irish Village, You’ll be goin’…an Interview with author, Patrick Taylor (1 of 2)

P    This blogger was in her home place of Ireland for a month….and each time I read  another ‘Country Doctor’ book by this author, I revisit the home of my heart.  Patrick has given me this opportunity to interview one of my top favorite authors!

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, PATRICK TAYLOR

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing?

A. In my study when at home. In rented accommodation when we winter in California.

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 usually sort out the admin stuff like e-mail then edit what I wrote yesterday and then get on with the new stuff.

Q. What is your mode of writing? (long hand? Pencil? Computer? Etc.)

A. Computer. I used to be a doctor. Nobody can read my handwriting—including me.

Q. Do you have a set time each day to write or do you write only when you are feeling creative? Continue reading “Sure’n It’s Off to an Irish Village, You’ll be goin’…an Interview with author, Patrick Taylor (1 of 2)”

Don’t Miss my Interview with author, Patrick Taylor! Begins this Tuesday!

Irish stories, best sellers, Patrick Taylor        This blogger was in her home place of Ireland for a month….and each time I read  another ‘Country Doctor’ book by this author, I revisit the home of my heart.  Patrick has given me this opportunity to interview one of my top favorite authors!

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR, PATRICK TAYLOR  begins this Tuesday, Nov. 5th in a two part Nov. 7th.


To Read My Review  Click here

“Fingal O’Reilly, Irish Doctor” A Review of Patrick Taylor’s newest book

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writing     5 out of 5 Quills           A Review of Patrick Taylor’s newest release
reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing                                  
  ‘yer face is as long as a wet Sunday…’

 review.O'Reilly.Irish.DrOh, 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.

The charm of Taylor’s language is unparalleled.  “He’s about as deep as a feckin’ frying pan–and twice as dense.” and, “How’s life abusing you?” Bob asked.  “It’s good to be off work and heading to play rugby, I can tell you that for free.” Fin replied.    and
Continue reading ““Fingal O’Reilly, Irish Doctor” A Review of Patrick Taylor’s newest book”

“Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!

faeries, elves, warlocks, fables, riddles, fairy tales, theatre   GREAT NEWS!  “Emma and the Lost Unicorn” is now AVAILABLE as an AUDIO BOOK
at www.audible.com and www.amazon.com and iTunes.com

 

In addition to a paperback with wonderful illustrations it is AVAILABLE in AUDIO

Emma Retail Sample Listen

 

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.

Queens, warlocks, faeries, elves, unicorns, handmaidens, scary henchmen and one small mortal girl child, in an enchanted forest. The rhetorical owl and naughty elf provide much laughter.
This parable offers many subtle lessons. Continue reading ““Emma and the Lost Unicorn” an Audio Book is now Available!!”

He Always Makes Me Smile…and Think!

famous authors, Charles Bukowski, interviews, best selling authors    More from Charles Bukowski……..His insight is pure truth but who among us would think in quite this way?  Never a glass far from his hand, never a woman far from his arm, never a stubby pencil far from his fingers…the genius wrote and wrote and then wrote some more… and very little of it was false.

 

it’s strange  ©

it’s strange when famous people die
whether they have fought the good fight or
the bad one.
it’s strange when famous people die
whether we like them or not
they are like old buildings old streets Continue reading “He Always Makes Me Smile…and Think!”

Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander…a review

reviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writingreviews, authors, writing reviews, authors, writing    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 best sellers, writers, best selling authors, Victorian, mysteryreaders a little taste of the servants’ lives surrounding her main characters: investigators, Emily and Colin Hargreave.
But in Behind the Shattered Glass we 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.

Continue reading “Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander…a review”

Best selling Author, Jeffery Deaver…an Interview (part 2)

murder mystery, best sellers, Jeffery Deaver   JD: “Mickey Spillane once told me: “People don’t read books to get to the middle. They read to get to the end.”

  Part 2 of my Interview with author, Jeffery Deaver

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

A. I’m not sure I completely understand this question. If you mean the work process, I can tell you that I spend the better part of a year to create a detailed outline for my novels. Because my thrillers are so plot-driven, it’s important for me to know exactly where the story is going before I begin writing it. My outlines run hundreds of pages long and are the most difficult part of the writing process, but the most important. The outlines are where I work out all the twists and turns in the story. Once I finish the outline, writing the novel is fairly easy and only takes a few months. It takes about a year for me to write a novel, although some years I write two novels a year. Continue reading “Best selling Author, Jeffery Deaver…an Interview (part 2)”

An Interview with Jeffery Deaver…Best selling author of murder mysteries

mystery writer, Jeffrey Deaver, best selling authors,     Multi-talented, murder mystery best selling author,  JEFFERY DEAVER shares his writing life with us………

“I never took classes. There aren’t any books that I would recommend. The best way to learn about writing is to study the work of other writers you admire.”

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? 

A. Usually I write in an office in my house. But, I write pretty much anywhere — on planes, in hotel rooms, anywhere in my house. (My office sometimes gets so cluttered I end up working in the kitchen. When the kitchen goes, it’s up to my bedroom. And so on and so on. I wish I had a bigger house.) I like the writing area to be silent (or with jazz or classical accompaniment occasionally) and either windowless or shaded. When it comes time to write the book itself I’ll shut the lights out, picture the scene I’m about to write then close my eyes and go at it. Continue reading “An Interview with Jeffery Deaver…Best selling author of murder mysteries”

‘Okay!’ Another word from my Box of Chocolates…Okay, tell me!

words, okay, writers, writing wordsIf you are one of my readers you know by now how much I love words.  New words, obscure words, the origin of words.  Ever wonder about the word, ‘okay’ ‘OK’ ??  I think you’ll be surprised!  How many times do we use it in a day?  How many times do we hear it in a day?
Not to mention how many times a day we click on “OK”!

Here’s some facts about the early history of the abbreviation O.K.

The historical record shows that ‘OK’ appeared as an abbreviation for “oll korrect” (a conscious misspelling of “all correct”) in Boston newspapers in 1839.   It was reinterpreted in the 1840 United States presidential election as an affectionate reference to Presidential  candidate, Martin “OK” Van Buren. (shortened from ‘Old Kinderhook’ as Van Buren was born in Kinderhook, NY.)  Insinuating that he was an ‘okay’ guy.

Continue reading “‘Okay!’ Another word from my Box of Chocolates…Okay, tell me!”

An Ode to Our Cats…Hank and me (Part 2)

In his later years when he ran out of things to say about drinking, the sad state of the world, women, and brawling,  Charles (Hank) Bukowski wrote some really good stuff about his cats.  He always had one or two or five hanging around and his love and admiration for them shines through his words.
He inspired me to write an ‘ode’ to my most recent cats.  We have a lot in common, Hank and I.  Nowadays, I try to have only one cat at a time but in the past I’ve had up to five.  My downfall was that I decided to breed Persian cats….but, damn!  When the kittens were born, I couldn’t bear to give them up.  That ended my breeding days.

Here is an ode to Hank’s mean, old, junk-yard dog of a Cat.cat lovers, cats, Charles Bukowski

bad fix   by Charles Bukowski

old Butch, they fixed him
the girls don’t look like much
anymore.

when Big Sam moved out
of the back
I inherited big Butch,
70 as cats go, old, fixed,
but still as big and
mean a cat as anybody
ever remembered
seeing. Continue reading “An Ode to Our Cats…Hank and me (Part 2)”