18 August 2011

Getting to Know Ann - Love Delivery Tour

Today I'm hosting Ann, the main character in Love Delivery by Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz. However, before we meet Ann, I have a small announcement to make:


To one person who comments and leaves contact information, Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz will 
email a short romantic story, '"A Midsummer's Knight"  At the end of the tour, she will choose 
one grand prize winner, who will receive a copy of /Love Delivery/ in whichever eBook format 
works.
On to our guest now. Welcome, Ann!

Title: Love Delivery
Publisher: MuseItUp Publishing
Author: Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Hi everyone, my name is Ann. I’m the main character in Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz’s contemporary romance, Love Delivery.

I’m the manager of a small independent donut shop, which is located not too far from my apartment.  I enjoy living in the city because I don’t need a car to get around.  I like being eco-friendly with the planet I live on. 

Besides taking the bus where I need to go, I have a bicycle, which I ride but only sometimes. I have to admit, though, that riding the bike on the busy city streets is kind of scary to me.  I would rather put my bike on the bus and go to one of our city parks where there are some really great bike paths.  That way, I don’t have to worry about cars pulling out in front of me.

I had a good friend a few years back who was riding his bike in the city.  He ended up in the hospital after a driver turned into him at a cross street.  I’m guessing the driver didn’t see him, but my friend got a broken leg and arm out of the incident.  He couldn’t ride his bike for a while.  But, he’s braver than I am because he eventually got back on the bike, and he still rides everywhere. 

I don’t eat meat for the same reason.  There is so much energy that goes into making red meat, I’d rather eat the grains. I feel good about eating lower down on the food chain, but I have to admit I still eat fish.  I can’t help myself.  I tried being a strict vegetarian, but when I’d go out to eat with friends, I’d smell these yummy dishes they ordered, and I would want to have something other than my vegetarian meals.  I do think, though, that restaurants have gotten better than they were, especially in the big cities. 

One of my favorite things to do is look in my fridge and see what I can create from leftovers.  I call it leftover soup.  It’s amazing how good leftover soup can be.  I usually add store-bought organic vegetable broth or a tomato-based vegetable juice to the leftovers.  I’ll put in my stir-fried vegetables and rice, or whole-wheat macaroni and cheese, whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, or anything else I find.  I mix everything together with the broth or juice, heat it up, and it’s dinner with a side of greens and vegetable salad.  Sometimes, I’ll add some whole-grain crackers and cheese, too.

I want to tell you a secret. I’m really interested in getting to know the man who delivers supplies to the donut shop.  His name is Tom.  He’s asked me to go out to dinner with him.  I’m curious how he feels about my life-style. We’ve joked and talked a lot when he makes his deliveries, but we’ve never talked about personal things…like how he feels about eating meat or wasting energy.

My ex-husband was an alcoholic, so I don’t care much for drinking, either.  Some of the comments Tom has made make me think that he drinks wine and beer.  I guess as long as he’s responsible about it, that wouldn’t be something to make me not want to see him again.  I guess when we go out to dinner, I’ll find out for sure.

You’ll need to read Love Delivery so you can find out when I do, whether Tom and I have anything in common.  I hope so. Although he’s quite handsome, I’m what my mom always called “cute.”  Never “beautiful,” only “cute.”  Sigh…

Do remember to leave your name and email address when you comment.  Penny is giving away a short story to one person who comments.

Excerpt
****
Ann pushed open the door, and the bell jingled like an added alarm to wake her up. Sometimes she wondered how she could function this early in the morning, but a job was a job. At least waitressing in a donut shop was honest. Maybe someday she’d go back to finish college and do something rewarding with her life. Then again, maybe the man of her dreams would walk through the door this morning and sweep her off her feet. The closest thing to a dream man in her life was Tom, the delivery guy, looking like God’s gift to women. She sighed. It didn’t seem fair. He would never find her appealing with the figure she inherited from her mother. The only attractive thing she could find when she looked in a mirror was her startling green eyes.


Love Delivery Tour Dates & Stops:

July 29 --            Lin Holmes, http://linsownblog.blogspot.com/ 
August 12 –        Ginger Simpson, http://mizging.blogspot.com/ 
August 13 --       Elaine Cantrell, http://elainepcantrell.blogspot.com/
August 14 --       Janie Franz, http://janiefranz.wordpress.com/ 
                          Jami Bevans, http://ciaragold.blogspot.com/
August 15 --       Joanne Tropello, http://joannetroppello.weebly.com/blog.html
August 16 --       Long and Short Reviews, http://www.longandshortreviews.com
August 17 --       Nicola Sheridan, http://www.magicalgains.blogspot.com/  
                           Celia Yearly, http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com  
                           Long and Short Reviews: http://www.longandshortreviews.com chatting on their forum
August 18 --        Su Halfwerk, http://www.suhalfwerk.blogspot.com   
August 19 --        Lin Holmes, http://linsownblog.blogspot.com/  
August 20 --        Janice Seagraves, http://ladyjanice.blogspot.com/  
August 21 --        Joylene Butler, http://cluculzwriter.blogspot.com/
August 22 --        Roseanne Dowell, http://roseannedowellauthor.blogspot.com/  
August 23 --        Tina Donahue, http://www.tinadonahue.com/blog/
August 24 --        Grace Elliott, http://graceelliot-author.blogspot.com/p/guest-blogger-spot.html
August 25 --        Marva Dasef, http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/
August 29 --        P.L. Parker, www.plparker.blogspot.com  

About the author
******
Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz has published hundreds of articles and short stories in print magazines and on-line. She writes for both adults and children. Her fiction has appeared in numerous genre and children’s publications and non‑fiction work has appeared in a variety of writing, parenting, and young adult print magazines and on line publications.  She edits for three small independent publishers.  Visit her web site at http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.yolasite.com  Her writing blog is located at http://pennylockwoodehrenkranz.blogspot.com/



Love Delivery , Lady-in-Waiting, and Mirror, Mirror are coming in 2011 from MuseItUp Publishing. Her YA chapbook, Dragon Sight and her anthology A Past and A Future are available at Sam’s Dot Publishing.  Funny Dog, Boo’s Bad Day, and Many Colored Coats, all picture books, and Ghost for Lunch, a sequel, are schedule for publication with 4RV. Her MG novel, Ghost for Rent, is currently in transition from previous publisher to a new publisher.



A Past and A Future, a short story collection





Dragon Sight, a YA illustrated chapbook




Love Delivery, contemporary romance, August, 2011




Lady in Waiting, historical romance, coming November, 2011

Mirror, Mirror, time travel romance, coming December 2011




Funny Dog, picture book, coming May, 2012

Ghost for Lunch, MG novel, coming September, 2013

Many Colored Coats, picture book, coming October, 2014

Boo's Bad Day, picture book, coming June, 2015

15 August 2011

Golden Oldies


Last week I had the pleasure of watching two olden horror movies that I somehow missed during my quest to scare the daylights out of my…
They possessed this genuine feel of reality to them. Both movies were made in the 70's. In those days horror movies either focused on plot/story or boobs. Luckily both fit the former category. 
I was familiar with Tales from the Crypt as a TV show, but I haven't seen this movie released in 1972. 
TheVault of Horror was made in 1973 initially referred to as part two of Tales from the Crypt. The stories in The Vault of Horror stayed with me more. Perhaps because I connected very strongly with one of them!!!
Each movie tells the stories of 5 people, total strangers to each other, yet they had "guilt" in common. 
Discussing the stories without giving away part of the charm of these two is impossible, and I would hate to spoil them for you. Needless to say, they're worth watching if you don't mind the absence of computer generated special effects we are swarmed with nowadays.

Can you think of any other Golden Oldies in the horror genre that focused on plot more than gore or effects?

04 June 2011

Intricate Entanglement got 4 Parrots

Yes, Intricate Entanglement's trailer was reviewed and was awarded 4 parrots by 1st Turning Point.
Here's a tidbit:
"I enjoyed the trailer for Intricate Entanglement by Su Halfwerk. It stands as a great example of how an author can create his or her own trailer on a budget and have an effective marketing tool. The chosen images were dramatic and clearly hinted at the stories in this anthology. I’m a big fan of Kevin MacLeod’s music and the author used this track well, matching the breathless beat to the images. By the end of the video, I had a clear understanding of the genre and the suspense of the book."

You can read the rest of the review here: http://1stturningpoint.com/?page_id=7



Don't forget, I design book trailers for myself as well as others. Find out more here.

27 May 2011

Guest Blog: Author JE Gurley

Today, author JE Gurley takes over Vivid Sentiments to discuss a very intriguing topic: "Building Character in your Characters."
Over to you Jim.


Building Character in your Characters


Character is defined as the nature, quality, temperament or moral fiber of an individual. Adults become the child and its environment. Much is said about slum children or ghetto children or even one-parent children, their disadvantages and the poor likelihood of their success. I dispute this. While disadvantages are just that, disadvantages, character makes the person.
  What about your characters? I know they do not spring full-grown from your mind and fall glibly upon the page. Somewhere deep in your psyche they undergo conception, birth and childhood. You set them upon their course and direct their movements. Are they cardboard cutouts, mere automatons upon which you heap the trials of Job or Jonah or are they flesh and blood people who live, love, yearn and die?
  Characters make the story. Indeed, without them, there is no story. Doesn’t it follow that a compelling story needs compelling characters? What would Moby Dick be without peg-legged and whale scarred Captain Ahab or Lord of the Rings without good-natured, loyal Samwise? Not only your protagonist, your antagonist and host of supporting characters need lives as well. Who cares if a cardboard cutout dies a violent death or if a spineless, sniveling whiner threatens to destroy the galaxy?
  Just like a child, you develop them from the ground up. Reading is visual but the images are created in the reader’s mind by your words. Help your readers by giving them a framework with which to work. Describe your characters, not coldly and clinically as if they are admiring themselves in a mirror, but in bits and pieces as the story unfolds. How do they move – boldly, timidly, with a limp? What color hair – red hair brings connotations of quick anger or taunting as a child (Towhead?) Long black hair often denotes sultry, exotic. Is their face stern, jolly, handsome, scarred, fat, thin? Do they speak with a lisp, in rhyme, with a foreign accent? Do they play ball, jog, smoke, sit on the couch and chug beer and eat pretzels?
  Look around you. There are millions of characters out there, each with a story. Just take a typical bar (Or pub in the UK). Are your characters as varied as the people sitting around you? If not, they should be. Above all, your characters should be individuals with which the reader can relate and form a bond that lasts until the end of the story and hopefully farther. Your characters determine the direction, the scope and the theme of your story as much as the story develops and grows your characters. Like individuals, they grow from their testing their environment, the obstacles you place in the way of their quest, whether it is saving the world, winning the big game or finding the perfect mate. Both grow together, story and characters. Nurture them well.

About JE Gurely:

JE Gurley lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife, Kim, and two cats, as well as the usual desert creatures who visit his bird bath eat day for water. He writes full-time, plays guitar and keyboards for local rock and blues bands part-time. Born near historical Shiloh National Battlefield, his love of history plays out in the background for many of his novels. He is a member of the Horror Writers Association and Southeast Arizona Writers Association.
websites: www.jamesgurley.com or www.hellrig.com
Blog: www.jegurley.wordpress.com or www.jegurley.blogspot.com
Hell Rig is available on Amazon here.

23 May 2011

Book Review: Home by Carson Buckingham

Title: Home
Author: Carson Buckingham
Genre: Horror

Publisher: Hellfire Publishing
Available format: PDF, E-pub,Mobi
Buy here

HOME by Carson Buckingham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Kate Kavanagh’s life is changing, in many ways. Secrets, weird allies, and changing views of the world are only few of the elements Kate has to face to carry on with her life.

I doubt I can say more without giving Home away, and that would be a shame. One must read this book to experience the suspense, intrigue, and the amazing revelations at the end. I’m usually good at guessing what’s coming next, fortunately, I failed miserably with this book. Surprises popped on each page, leaving me wondering where this was leading. I can honestly say Home made me experience an emotion I haven’t felt for a while; I was hooked without knowing on what.

I believe Home could have been longer. Some very interesting characters were mentioned in the passing, ones I wanted to know more about. I can’t even mention their names because I will give part of the surprise away. Also, the revelations came in a gush at the end, all in one go. I wish she had stretched it a bit by trickling surprises the same way she trickled the incidents leading to it. I can only hope that Buckingham is planning a sequel or a prequel to the book.

This was my first Carson Buckingham book, it will most definitely NOT be my last.

*off to look for more books by this author*


View all my reviews

15 May 2011

Horror Talk review of Intricate Entanglement


This is Horror Talk's review of Intricate Entanglement:


"...however the discussion afterwards is far more interesting.  The book takes place in an asylum so the subjects are all insane to some degree.  If they're crazy, did the events that brought them to this place actually happen?  Or was it all in their heads?  Author Su Halfwerk weaves these tales in such a way that I found myself constantly questioning what I thought was the true story."

Read more here.

14 May 2011

Guest Blogger - Author Rie McGaha

Today's guest is author Rie McGaha, and she is sharing the blurb and excerpt of her book Calen.

Blurb
When Calen MacLeod begins having dreams of an ethereal beauty who beckons to him, he passes it off as just having an itch he hasn't scratched in a long time. But when he leaves on a journey to find her, following the directions she's given him in his dreams, he begins to doubt his sanity. And when he finds himself high in the Mackinaw Mountains in a secret fortress with unicorns and a pink and white castle, surrounded by women, each one more beautiful than the next, it's a fantasy no man would want to wake up from. But Arianna is the only woman for Calen.

The women of the Fortress have lived in peace, hidden away from the humans who tried to annihilate them all. But now a 500-year-old demon is out to destroy the women's matriarch, Ariella, and he'll stop at nothing to complete his mission. When Calen MacLeod shows up, he throws a wrench into Damon's plans. Never let it be said Damon isn't ready for anything, but when he kidnaps Arianna and takes her to modern day San Francisco, is he ready to meet Calen, who will stop at nothing to save his ladylove?



Excerpt

He had seen his father lying on the ground with blood running from his head. And he saw the men ripping his mother's clothes until her skirt hung in shreds, baring her from the waist down. They had tied her hands and threw her over the chopping block and fell on her one by one. The little boy didn't know what they were doing, as they slapped her, shouting and laughing all the while her cries and screams scared him, and he covered his ears. The men were strangers to the child, but one stuck in his memory. Tall, with long, dirty hair, he wore all black and had whiskers all over his face, and this man hurt his mother more than the others. The little boy cried as he watched the men and he saw the flash of a silver ring on the tall man's finger as the man's plunged through his mother's back. The blood ran down her body, down the chopping block onto the dirt.

The boy ran then. He ran back to the place where his mother had hidden him in the dark, secret corner of the hut and made himself as small as he could under the furs. He heard the men come inside, and heard their laughter as they tore up the place. They broke what could break, kicked over the table and stools, and cursed when they didn't find anything of value to steal.

"Burn it!" One of the men shouted.

"Nay," the man with ring said. "We don't want to attract attention. Leave it be and mount up. We have to find the boy!"


The little boy was so afraid, he stayed hidden under the furs all the rest of the day until it was nearly full dark. But as night fell, his full bladder drove him out of his hiding place. He had to climb under and over logs that once made up the walls of his home. That was when he found his parents lying on the ground. He stood there crying, and pee ran down his leg. He went to his mother first and shook her, patted her back and called to her over and over, but she wouldn't answer him. He then turned to his father and shook him harder, but he didn't answer either.

As the full moon rose over the forest, he sat down and wailed. After a while he fell asleep and when he awoke, it was still full dark. He shivered, and used the moon's light to his way back into the hut. Dragging the furs behind him, he went back out to his parents' side. He covered his mother first, laid between them and shared a fur with his father.

When he woke in the morning, he searched through the hut and found some bread and dried meat to eat. With no concept of time, the child slept, ate, played in the dirt, and waited for his parents to wake up.

The next morning, the child awoke to the sounds of men shouting. Fearing the mean men had returned, he ran into the remains of the hut and slid under the fallen logs to the secret corner hiding place. He heard the horses snorting and the men talking. Their voices sounded grim and low, not like the loud laughter of the ones who’d hurt his mother. Shaking with fear, he lay still and tried to make himself very small so they wouldn't notice him. He heard them as they walked around the hut, and the sound of  the fallen logs being moved around told him they were inside. A very big hand picked him up, but he was too afraid to open his eyes. 

====================


 About Rie McGaha:
Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whale migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over, Rie always enjoys the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her twelve children and thirty-five (and counting) grandchildren still live.
As a dreamer of dreams and born with a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she gardens and enjoys the abundant wildlife in her backyard.
She is an animal rights supporter, a spay/neuter advocate, and occasionally has the opportunity to drive transport for animals going to their forever homes, and takes care of her 7 dogs & 1 cat, who are all rescues.
Between her husband, children, grandchildren, and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. She is currently working on Arion, the third book in the My Soul to Keep Trilogy. Rie is the review coordinator/editor for The Pagan & The Pen Book Reviews, and she writes two monthly columns for The Pagan & The Pen on line magazine.


You can find out more about Rie here:

Blogs:
Causes:

10 May 2011

I have a kickass name ;-D



Kandie Delley is so right. She says I have a kickass name, and I agree with her :-)
Join us today on her website where I discuss Promoting Outside the Proverbial Box.

05 May 2011

MunatyCooking Online Magazine - May issue

 
Here's a link to May's Issue of MunatyCooking Online Magazine:  


Featured in this issue:
  • Chef Dennis
  • Author Conda V Douglas
  • Author Lynn Hones
  • Food blogger Sandra Mihic
You're a click away from many mouth-watering recipes!

29 April 2011

Book Review: Shadow Path by P.L. Blair

Book Title: Shadow Path
Author: P.L. Blair
Genre: Fantasy - Adventure - Mystery
Publisher: Studio See Publishing

Buy Kindle
Buy Paperback

Review: 
Kat Morales and her Elf partner, Tevis, are police detectives in Corpus Christi, Texas, assigned to solve the mystery of the dead ogre found stabbed with an enchanted sword. The world isn't the same since the portals opened between our world and the "Otherside" few years back. Seeing an elf with his pointy ears is a normal thing, maybe not accepted by all, but normal nonetheless. However, crimes now (sometimes) involve magic and a good portion of--what was called before the portals opened--the supernatural.Although "Shadow Path" is book one in the fantasy adventure Portals Series by P.L. Blair, it is the third book I read in the series. Luckily, each book was written to stand alone, with enough hints to drive you back to read the other books but without missing the story you're reading at the time.
Shadow Path has some enlightening moments when mythology met P.L. Blair's imagination half way. An intriguing read, indeed. It was quite entertaining to research Greek mythology to find out where Blair's creativity sparked and changed things or even added to them. Reading how Arvandus and Gairth met Kat and Tevis was like meeting old friends after a long time; I had goosebumps all over my arms. I smiled.
Dragons, elves, pixies, and many other creatures I haven't heard of make an appearance in this book. If you are a teen or older, interested in fantasy and its fantastical creatures, myths, and whodunit mysteries, then Shadow Path is for you.


21 April 2011

Guest Blog - It’s the genre that makes the monster

Author Marc Vun Kannon takes over Vivid Sentiments with his guest blog: It’s the genre that makes the monster.
Over to you, Marc!
----------------------------------------- 


My latest novel, St. Martin’s Moon, is a werewolf adventure set on a lunar colony.
When I got the idea for St. Martin’s Moon I originally envisioned it as a horror/mystery novel, and started writing it as such. I was two chapters in before I realized something frightening: I could not write horror. Or mystery. The essence of horror is setting and tone, both of which are usually rendered with description, and I hate description. In my first book I discovered that I didn’t want to write it any more than I wanted to read it, so I didn’t. I created a style of writing which presents the setting as seen through some character’s eyes, a dynamic style better suited for Fantasy and SF than horror.
I continued writing St. Martin’s Moon as a paranormal instead, and a futuristic paranormal at that. It’s remarkable what changes can come over a creature when you shift genres on it.
I’ve never been a big fan of the transformation of the classic monsters—vampires, werewolves, zombies—into some sort of heroic paranormal characters. I see it as some sort of cheat, creating a creature that looks like a vampire superficially and calling it a vampire just to cash in on the name. Or perhaps taking a fairly standard vampire idea and changing it just a little, bending it to fill the needs of the story and not the other way around. It’s easier to respect a story that doesn’t have to play fast and loose with the rules, whether it’s horror, SF, or what have you. (And yes, I’m aware that genres don’t have ‘rules’ as such, but giving him some special ability/weakness just so he can use it to save/lose the day at the end is bad practice, in my book.) So why would I do it myself?
Simple answer is, I didn’t. I didn’t write a novel about the monster, I wrote a novel about the man. The man who bears the curse, and has to live with it because he cannot die with it. The man who has to kill them because he can’t save them. There’s more than one kind of curse. The werewolves stayed as close to the myth (well, the Universal myth anyway) as I could keep them: vicious, bestial, monstrous. No pack structure or alpha-male angstiness. Except that this was a paranormal, enough like Sci Fi that my publisher billed it that way to make readers and booksellers happy. If this had been a horror story I could have just taken the curse for granted. That’s what curses are, after all, unknown and therefore scary.
The unknown doesn’t fly so well in SF. I had to able to explain the monster, at least a little bit. Which meant they had to be explainable. I didn’t really want to explain them, if I didn’t have to, turn a grand horrific blood curse into a disease, or a neurosis. Where’s the poetry in that? Plus, if I could explain it, I’d have to cure it. Or something. What something? No clue.* This little problem held up the writing for quite some time, as you can imagine. Not to mention the fact that I wanted a happy ending for someone. I needed something with at least a possibility of poetry in it.
Then a miracle occurred. The story shifted sideways and became a paranormal romance, at least a little bit. Speaking of poetry…
*But I did explain it, eventually. The only book I know of that asks Why the Moon? and gets away with it.

St. Martin's Moon is coming 5/15/2011 from Echelon Press
The Moon is haunted, but the werewolves don't know that!

About Marc Vun Kannon:
Like many writers, I started when a story came along and decided that I should write it. Don't ask me why. Others followed, until now I'm afraid to go out of the house with a recorder or notebook in my hand. But I show them, I refuse to write the same story twice!

16 April 2011

Intricate Entanglement - Guest Trailer!

Thought of sharing this small news:

Intricate Entanglement's trailer is a guest trailer over on author Toni V Sweeney's website. Here's the link:
http://www.tonivsweeney.com/Guest_Trailer.html

I think this came to be after I shared BookGirl's review on some yahoo groups.

:-)

15 April 2011

The Opinion of a Book Addict

BookGirl has reviewed Intricate Entanglement. This is her opinion:

"This book reads like several books in one, there is the main story about the reporter and the side stories of the people living in the asylum. I was drawn to this book by only watching the booktrailer. I was inmediately interested and I wasn’t disappointed.
The story chills you to the bone, the side stories had an eerie feeling tot hem. The people had such normal lifes before they were comitted. But one thing sets them off and even after hearing the stories you don’t know what that is. The asylum itself is creepy and the ending send shivers down my spine.
Amazing book that leaves you breathless, this is one Asylum you don’t even want to visit because I have the feeling that onces your in you won’t ever come out!"
http://www.damnationbooks.com/book.php?isbn=9781615723393

I got 5 ratties :-D

Here's the link to the actual review.
http://mybookaddiction.blogspot.com/2011/04/reviewintricate-entanglement-by-su.html

05 April 2011

Book Trailer Creation

Book Trailers are the most happening publicity tool available to authors to spread awareness of their books. My affordable yet memorable trailers are fashion-designed to fit authors’ visions of their books.

Click here to find out more. You won't be disappointed :-)