The first Wednesday of every month is officially IWSG day. IWSG was formed by Ninja Captain Alex Cavanaugh. Members post about their doubts and fears, discuss struggles and triumphs, and offer words of encouragement to others who are struggling.
Twitter handle: @TheIWSG
Hashtag: #IWSG
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.
August 5 posting of the IWSG are Shannon Lawrence, Diedre Knight, Liza, and Pat Garcia!
Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post.
These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience
or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it
inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Remember, the question is optional!
August 5 question - As a writer/author what is something you regret? Or something that you wish you'd done differently in your writing process?
Let me count the ways. I did too much genre hopping. Went the agent route a couple of times and it wasn’t a good fit. And I'm still looking for a good marketing niche. You know, the usual suspects.
July/August Reviews in no particular order.
* Disclaimer. If I run into an occasional typo, I ignore them and don't factor them into my review.
Ms. McKenzie always weaves a fascinating tale and this YA is no exception. It’s a mix of history and fantasy which the author blends seamlessly.
Young Calista Moonwater has always been shunned by the town folk and she has no idea why. Now on top of that, the dead are talking to her and making demands that if she does try to fulfill will be extremely dangerous. Punishments of her time include stocks, floggings and death. Needless to say, none of these hold any appeal for Calista. But this young woman leads with her heart and is determined to help who she can, where she can, no matter the danger.
Aid comes from several unlikely sources. Sources that are willing to stand by her side, no matter the consequences as she faces what could very likely cause her and her friends their lives.
THAT MOONWATER WISH is a wonderful story filled with the author’s own brand of magic. Highly recommended for those who enjoy YA fantasy.
C. Lee McKenzie fans won’t be disappointed.
Available at Amazon
CHRISTMAS IN DILLFORD is a small-town cozy mystery about a young woman who leaves her job in the city to come home and take care of her sick mother.
Arriving in Dillford, Ann Cramer finds herself confronted with complex issues that have no simple solution: her mother’s health, what is going to happen to her mother’s bakery and what does Ann’s future hold. But all that pales when her sister goes missing and Ann fears foul play.
Lucky for Ann, she has friends that will stand beside her when she needs them most as she goes in search of her sister and, along the way,discovers where her heart is and where she belongs.
McNiven has written a delightful Christmas story that Christian romance and cozy mystery readers will especially find endearing.
Available at Amazon
A mystery thriller that leaps from one tangled puzzle to another as Detective Ashley Blackthorne Barrett of the Badger Ridge Detective Agency is put in charge of a murder investigation that has a startling tie in to an old unsolved murder. Adding to the complexity of the case, her brother is in trouble and it relates directly to her murder investigation.
Woven into the story is Ashley’s love for her dogs, her distrust of men and the evolution of her relationship with her team and her brother.
A must read for those who delight in detective and PI mysteries, with a little dysfunctionality, among the characters, thrown in.
Available at Amazon
This is such a warm, feel-good tale. The story takes place in a special garden. A garden for those in need of sanctuary, be it man, beast, fowl or fairy. The guardian of the garden has magical powers and is known as the Storyteller. It is he who welcomes those in need into his special place, where all who enter find a lovely home and a place to heal, be it physical or emotional. With his selfless devotion to the troubled souls he has saved, from trauma, pain and heartache, he is repaid with a strong bond of love; and the guardian, who has long been lonely, has a family again.
A happy ending for all.
Besides its wonderful storyline, one of the things that set this book apart is the formatting. At the beginning of each chapter is a black and white image that relates to this lovely tale.
I truly enjoyed the read and highly recommend it for anyone who needs to escape from reality, if only for a little while.
Available at Amazon
Book 2 of Espionage Thriller Series.
This is an edge-of-your-seat, keep-you-turning-pages thriller. THE DISSONANT is based on What Ifs? What if we, or another country, built a weapon so powerful it vaporizes anything in its pathway? What if a power-hungry government official got his hands on it and sold it to the Russians? What if the Russians used it at a Nato meeting where the President and his entourage are present? AND What would be the new world order?
Highly recommended.
Now my question to Herzog readers...Who do you think Saul Herzog really is? For those of you who aren’t familiar with him, he’s purported to be a pretty big deal in the publishing/filmmaking industry, but he has gone to great lengths to maintain his anonymity.
Available at Amazon
THE SWALLOW is the third in the Espionage Thriller Series and every bit as good as THE DISSONANT.
Through subterfuge and violence, the Russians have bought and paid for the new American president, who the American people are welcoming as a hero, having no idea he is hand-in-glove with the Russians. Now Roman Adler, Foxtrot and Oksana must find a way of taking back the country without starting a civil war.
Highly recommended.
Available at Amazon
From Achillea to the lovely Zinnia, this little book delves into the folklore and mysticism of plants. It belongs on every writer’s shelf who specializes in folklore, history (fiction or non) that include customs and superstitions or any writer who just needs to dip in to plant folklore for a specific scene. Readers who love plant folklore will enjoy it too. A must have resource tool.
Available at Amazon
I found this book fascinating, in part because while the story is a work of fiction it’s based on ‘the semi-autobiography MP, by the same author.’ I’d find myself wondering during different scenes, is this fiction or non. I also was intrigued by AN AMERICAN MP IN KOREA because I grew up in the 60s when Vietnam had our world in turmoil and young men I knew were signing up or afraid they’d be drafted. One young man I went to school with, enlisted and ended up in Vietnam. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it back.
This story tells the other side of the coin. The soldiers that ended up in Korea instead of Vietnam. Not as bloody or violent, not as many lives lost, but a cold war where soldiers still died and not much was heard about it in the states.
The author does a wonderful job of making the story come to life and giving us a behind the scenes look at what soldiers, particularly MPs, in South Korea were dealing with during this era: espionage, bigotry, friends cut down while they were barely more than boys, and how a young man learns to rise above the crippling reality of war of any kind.
Kudos to the author on a book beautifully written and for sharing this chunk of history with us.
Available at Amazon
AND
Did you know, the conception of HUNGER GAMES came from Suzanne Collins channel surfing between shots of the war in Iraq and reality TV.
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Suzanne Collins - HUNGER GAMES 10TH ANNIVERSARY SCHOLASTIC INTERVIEW
