Friday, January 28, 2011

FOUR QUESTIONS FRIDAY




















Four Questions Friday asks about what you do in winter time. This will be the last Four Questions Friday, as I will be changing it to Supernatural Friday,,and do articles on anything supernatural. So tune in next Friday, February 4th, to check out the first one.


1. What do you do during the winter you don't do any other time of the year?


2. Do you do things to keep your skin from being dried?


3. What is your most favorite winter time activity?


4. Are you looking forward to spring?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Weird Wednesday


Today's Weird Wednesday looks like someone took a bunch of dolls and made a dollipede (think centipede). Very bizarre. What do you think?

Friday, January 21, 2011

FOUR QUESTIONS FRIDAY

Today's Four Questions Friday asks about history.


1. What piece of history is your favorite time?

2. What did history teach you?

3. What is the most haunted historical place in your opinion?

4. If you could go back in time, which era would you like to go to?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

WEIRD WEDNESDAY


This picture is odd--creepy actually, with the fish looking like it has a face.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Review of Dead Barchetta


Review of Dead Barchetta

by Pamela K. Kinney

Written by Kathryn Lively

Published by DLP Books

2010



Dead Barchetta is a mystery novel. More than that, its hero is not a gumshoe, but a music tutor by day and tribute band guitarist by night. Matt “Lerxst” Johnston doesn’t have an enemy in the world…so he thinks. And as for women, what rocker doesn’t have them wanting him? Except for one young woman, who tries to kill him by smothering him while he is sleeping in his bed. With mistaken identities (another Matt Johnson in Virginia Beach is found murdered), fear of his grandmother’s special “herb” garden being discovered and investigators, plus the suicide of his would-be killer in his music studio, Lerxst takes off on a bus to New York City to investigate why the girl came to Virginia Beach. And he finds more mysteries to add to the one that he is already investigating. He discovers more about himself and what he needs to do to survive the next attempt on his life, and what a strange trip that it is.

And yes, the book is too a trip, a very enjoyable one. Ms. Lively delivers one rock and roll of a mystery. I look forward to the next Lerxst Johnson mystery by Kathryn Lively.

Buy the paperback for $14: DLP Books AMAZON

View the book video at YouTube

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Four Quesrtions Friday-Day Early

Since I'll be out of town at a scifi convention, Marscon (leaving later today, in fact), I am putting up Four Questions Friday a day early. Today's asks about dreams.

1. What was the weirdest dream you ever had?

2. Did you ever had a dream that came true?

3. What was the scariest nightmare you had, child or adult, that you remember?

4. Do you believe that dreams can interpret our daily lives?

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Guest at Marscon This Upcoming Weekend

I'll be an author guest at Marscon at the Holiday Inn Patriot 3032 Richmond Road in Williamsburg, Virginia from Friday, January 14th through Sunday, January 16th. The con registration opens at on Friday.

I'll be doing two panels on Friday night--first one at 8PM where two other authors, Tony Ruggiero and Danny Birt, and I will be reading from our works plus doing book signings afterwards, and at 11PM I will be talking about the "Shivering World of Paranormal Research" with fellow Schiffer ghost book authors, Cheralyn Lambeth and Theresa Bane.
On Saturday at 2PM I'll be sharing the limelight as my pseudonym, Sapphire Phelan with Author Guest of Honor Shannon Butcher on "Putting the Speculative in Romance."

The three-day science fiction/fantasy/horror convention will also have other panels, workshops, costumes, parties, a dealer's room full of goodies, preformances and more.

Friday, January 07, 2011

FOUR QUESTIONS FRIDAY

Today's Four Questions Friday asks do you feel this is the year?

1. Is this the year to do something completely new that you never done before?

2. Is this the year to really do some reading?

3. Is this the year you will pen that novel and submit?

4. Is this the year you will join a new organization or go to a convention or conference of some kind?

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Patricia Snodgrass and Her Book Glorious


Today author Patricia Snodgrass is stopping by to do a guest blog about her book, Glorious. Check it out and do leave her comments. :)
Every state has them, and if you’ve done any travelling, you’ve been through at least one of them. I’m referring to those small towns that seem innocuous on the surface, but as soon as you go past the city limit sign you drive a little slower, because you know that if you don’t you might get caught speeding and you have no desire to stop there, not even for a moment. You’ll drive past gas stations and convenience stores even though you’re low on gas or need a bathroom break. But you’d rather push the car just a little further on a quarter of a tank of gas, or relieve yourself on the side of the road rather than to stop there.

And once you finally do get through town, you speed up; moving a little faster than you normally would because you really, really want to see that creepy little hamlet receding in your rear view mirror.

You might not know exactly what caused you so much discomfort. The town you just passed through looks like every other town. All you know for certain is that there is a profound sense of relief that you didn’t have to linger there. And even though you cast a final glance back and shudder ever so slightly, you know on a deep instinctive level that things aren’t as they seem, just like a log in the forest looks solid and secure enough to walk on, you dare not turn it over, because you know there’s rot and filth underneath.

The fictional town of Overton, Arkansas described in my novel Glorious, is one such town. Founded in the early 1800’s by a sect of the Society of Friends, Overton was an out of the way stop on the Underground Railroad. Men would travel to larger cities such as Little Rock or Fort Smith, and purchase slaves, take them back to Overton, teach them a trade, and then sell them to abolitionists who, in theory at least, set them up in businesses in Free states.

Even then, there is a subtle evil about the town, something intrinsically bad, but anything anyone could quite put their proverbial finger on. But you know, just as surely as that there is rot underneath the aforementioned log, that something is very, very wrong with this town.
Something that makes you push your foot down on that gas pedal and rush your way through it. Yet, you know that if you do, you’ll get caught and you might, God help you, just might, have to spend the night there.

Glorious Wilks sensed the evil, but as a child, was unable to stop it. Stan Gilmer, sensed it, and in his madness, tapped into it, and destroyed the town.

Some people are squeamish about the subject matter in Glorious. One podcast owner withdrew her invitation to interview me after having read the book, for fear that it would upset her African American listeners. One reviewer stated my novel was well written but not for the faint of heart.

They pushed their gas pedal down a little too hard, and ran away from an odd little town that was trapped in a frightening time where women were regarded as toys, blacks deemed as inferior, and the presidency was possible only to the wealthiest of white males. It is after all, so much easier to floor the car, and get as far away as possible, peeing in relief behind a tree in the middle of nowhere than to stop, get out and explore the town, to see it for what it really is: a reflection on our times.

And the reason being is that we as a people, as The People, haven’t come as far as we like to think we have. We are, after all, friends and neighbors…right?

Despite the apparent controversy, I don’t think Glorious is any more or less contentious than anything Faulkner wrote. I don’t think it’s any more frightening than anything Maya Angelo penned in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Nor do I think it’s any more or less disturbing than the imagery found in To Kill a Mockingbird, which, by the way, inspired me to write Glorious in the first place.

A writer’s main duty to her audience is to tell the truth, no matter how ugly that truth is. I wrote about racism, sexism and insanity. I also wrote about friendship, love, hope and change that transcended race and gender.

Most of all, I told the truth.
BLURB:

Emily Prudhomme is terrified of her stepfather, and for good reason. A man who was raised by an abusive father and uncle, he is convinced that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is talking to him personally through a radio he keeps in his office.

Emily, alienated by her stepfather’s bizarre behavior, is befriended by Glorious, an African-American girl with beautiful amber-colored eyes and the ability to see the thoughts of others. Outcast because of their differences, the girls become fast friends.

When a tragic accident occurs on the banks of the Little Missouri river leaving one girl dead and the other hopelessly maimed for life, rage and revenge creates a firestorm that not only destroys a town but the lives of two families.

Excerpt:

Emily Prudhomme was afraid of God. She was afraid of her stepfather, who was God’s representative on earth. But most of all, she feared the demon that lurked inside her.
The monster forced the right side of her face to twitch, and occasionally, when she was especially frightened, it would utter bizarre yipping noises. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make it stop. In fact, the harder she tried, the worse it got. For as long as she could remember, people thought she was retarded, her schoolmates shunned her. The doctor told her mother that it was just a twitch that Emily would grow out of. But Stan knew what the real culprit was, and the only way to save her, he said, was to have the demon confronted in church.
Emily sat on the foot of her bed, staring into the mirror, waiting for the time to come when she would have to go to church—to Stan’s church— and not to the little sandstone Episcopalian building in Prescott, Arkansas, where she’d been baptized and spent her childhood.
No, Stan’s house of worship was quite different, and she was afraid of the God that dwelt there.
Emily regarded her reflection in the mirror. At thirteen, she wasn’t quite pretty; and it was just as well as far as her step dad was concerned. Pretty girls were silly, vain, lustful and inattentive in their duty to God. They were a problem because boys sniffed like redbone hounds around them, wanting only one thing, and girls were too weak willed to resist. Or so Stan constantly reminded her.
I don’t think it would matter if I were pretty, really, she thought. Nobody would come near me, not with the way my face jumps.
Stan wasn’t a horrible man Emily chided herself. He hadn’t beaten her, nor had he starved her, nor did any terrible things stepparents were legendary for. He did stare at her chest, but it was always in a thin-lipped, disapproving way that made her feel like she’d done something dirty.
He was strict, and did expect her to live by his rules, which in a way was a relief. Everyone in the small town of Overton knew the evangelical pharmacist, and many tended to steer clear of him. So when the ‘cooler’ kids tried to tempt her, she’d say no because Stan would get mad. They would shiver ever so slightly and nod; then walk away.
Stan’s commandments were simple: No boys. No jewelry, flashy dresses, slacks or pant suits. No cigarettes. No booze or drugs and absolutely no makeup. Come home, do your chores and homework. Read your Bible. Pray. Attend church. Pray.
That was the Gospel According to Stan, the stepfather and God’s representative. Nobody knew more about the Bible than Stan. And he knew there were demons because the Good Book said so.
Emily took her rubber tipped brush and flung it at the mirror, which bounced off with a soft ‘shlack’ as it struck the polished surface.





Title: Glorious
Author: Patricia Snodgrass
Publisher: Mundania Press

Link:
http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Glorious
Price: 12.95 paper, 4.99 ebook download

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Monday, January 03, 2011

Guest Blogging on Southern Fried Gothic Today

I'm guest blogging at Southern Fried Gothic today--with one of my short stories from Spectre Nightmares and Visitations "Werewolf for Hire" and the book blurb, Check it out at http://is.gd/k1pYy

Sunday, January 02, 2011

Interviewing Kathryn Lively on Her New Release, Dead Barchetta


Today I am interviewing Kathryn Lively on her new mystery release Dead Barchetta. Once I am done with the book, I will be posting a review of it on my blog too. If you have any questions for Kathryn, do leave them in the comments. I'll have to approve them but she will see them and answer them, too.
1.) -Please tell us about your latest book.

Dead Barchetta is a mystery written by my "alter ego," the saint to my sinner (LOL). It is the result of six years of false starts and the resolve to fulfill an auction bid made at a convention for Rush fans. It is a story of how an attempted killing leads to a realization of mistaken identity, and consequently one man's spiral into paranoia and desire to find answers about the forces working against him (or, at least what he perceives as much). In the end, our hero discovers perhaps his life has been a lie all along.


2.) -Can we expect more mysteries from you in the future?

That’s the plan. I have a partial written that I need to finish. It is also set in Virginia Beach against a music background. Plus, I intend to write a sequel to Dead Barchetta.


3.) - What motivated you to start writing?

I don’t believe there was a time when I didn’t write. I honestly believe the desire was born with me. All through elementary and middle school I made up stories, and they must have been memorable since my principal once suggested I should do it professionally.


4.) – What kind of research did you do for this book?

I have musician friends who were able to clarify some of the finer points with regards to the guitars Lerxst plays. I also have a friend in law enforcement I bug for information. Since part of the story is set in New York, I made a trip up there to get a feel for the setting.


5.) Do you have a set schedule for writing or do you just go with the flow?
Given my work and home schedule, I write when I have a free moment. I used my iTouch mainly to write this last book, stealing moments to write a sentence here and there. The bulk of my work, though, is done at night pretty much until 1:00 A.M.


6.) - Where do your ideas come from?

All sorts of places and experiences – some come from dreams, some are suggested by non-writer friends (my previous mystery, PITHED, was semi-based on my father’s experiences in teaching). Other times I’ll see something while driving on the way home and come up with an idea. I have more than I know what to do with!
7.) - Who, if anyone, has influenced your writing?

I tend to drift toward humorous writers like Carl Hiaasen and Dave Barry as far as the mystery is concerned.


8.) - Have you always wanted to be a writer?

I suppose I have. I really can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.

9.) - What is the most rewarding thing about being a writer?

I think the most rewarding thing for me is to receive a letter from somebody who enjoyed your book…somebody who isn’t a relative!

10.) - Please tell us about yourself (family, hobbies, education, etc.)

Well, the short version: I’m originally from Florida and hope to get back there one day. My day job is working in social media, helping people boost their visibility in Facebook and Twitter. As for hobbies, I don’t have many – I’ve recently taken up knitting and I try to exercise when I can. Mainly I work, take care of my little girl, and write.


11.) - Are there any words of encouragement for unpublished writers?

Write, revise, and revise some more. Don’t be discouraged by rejection slips – often times the quality of the writing is not the issue. For all the creativity involved in writing, the publishing part is business. Find the house that best suits what you write.


12.) Tell us your website, MySpace, Blog, any urls so the readers can find out more about you.

I am all over the place. Here are the main URLs:

http://www.kathrynlively.com
http://www.deadbarchetta.com
http://www.facebook.com/livelywriter



13.) Now for something fun:
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate, the more the better!

A walk in the woods or comfy indoors front of a fire? Walk in the woods.

All time favorite book? Hard to pick, but I’ll go with To Kill a Mockingbird.

Favorite color? Purple

Do you like science fiction, fantasy or horror?
I like all three, but tend to read more fantasy and horror than sci-fi. I once went through six of Mercedes Lackey’s novels in two months.

All time favorite actor? Kenneth Branagh. Never get tired of seeing his Henry V.
Actress? Hard to say. I try to watch Kate Winslet’s movies when I can, but I also enjoy watching Meryl Streep’s films, too.

Favorite TV show? M*A*S*H. I think I’ve seen every one.

Favorite Movie? Dr. Strangelove. I see something new every time I watch.
What makes you laugh out loud? The silliest things. My daughter could say something goofy and set me off for minutes.
If you could go anywhere in the universe where would that be? Someplace quiet, a deserted beach with white sand.

A secret desire? More time to write, but that’s not really a secret.
Thank you, Kathryn, for dropping by and letting me interview you.

Kathryn Lively is an award-winning writer and editor, and executive editor of Phaze Books. She is an EPIC Award nominee and has edited EPIC Award nominated titles for Phaze Books, Whiskey Creek Press, and FrancisIsidore ePress. She also maintains a pen name, L.K. Ellwood, for other mysteries.
Kathryn assists businesses with
Virginia Beach social media services, and also works as a freelance writer.