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Thursday, August 25, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tracy Krauss! John 316 marketing network summer tour
Tracy Krauss is an author, artist, playwright, director, worship leader, and teacher. Originally from a small prairie town, she received her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Saskatchewan Canada
Back Cover
What’s a girl to do? Joleen Allen is on the hunt. For a man, that is. Unfortunately, every time the mother of five meets a prospect, he falls for one of her daughters instead!
Meanwhile, her ex-husband, Harold, is back in the picture after a stint in prison, and he’s looking for revenge. He’ll do anything to see Joleen’s reputation and her relationship with their children ruined. Harold has devised an elaborate plan to slander Joleen and ruin her financially, and will stop at nothing – even murder – to see it through.
At forty-four, Joleen has seen a thing or two. She became a mother at sixteen, and her five highly independent children are now grown. Jasmine is a successful ad executive, but has a drinking problem. Jill is a tough cop, while middle child Jennifer surprises them all with her tenacity. Jinger is a self-centered glamour girl, and the baby of the family, Jade, is utterly spoiled.
All the interesting men they meet get tossed around by this pack of barracudas. Adding to the mix are some drug deals, a kidnapping, insurance fraud, and secrets from the past, making life very complicated, indeed.
With grit, humor, action, intrigue and romance, My Mother the Man-Eater is a redemptive story about a woman whose search for meaning in life sends her straight into . . . the arms of God.
Inspiration and why I love it
My Mother The Man-Eater was a lot of fun to write. Believe it or not, it was originally inspired while I was playing the Sims! (Who says gaming isn’t a productive use of your time?) I had created all these characters, but there suddenly came a point where I said, “I’ve got to stop playing and write this down!” As soon as I started writing, I realized the potential for a redemptive element. I immediately thought of the prophet Hosea and God’s instructions to marry a prostitute. God uses unlikely people for His purposes all the time. This was the premise for my heroine’s character – a promiscuous woman whom God could use despite herself.
I love the quirky characters, the complexity of the relationships in the story, and the way so many elements weave together. I like complexity - and surprises – when reading or watching movies etc. and this seems to come out in my writing as well.
Website: www.tracykrauss.com
FB fanpage: http://tinyurl.com/Tracy-Krauss-Author-Fanpage
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TracyKrausswrtr
Amazon: www.kraussamazon.com
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Marva Dasef, mystery writer!
Marva is offering a prize drawing for one person who comments on each blog on the tour:
http://mgddasef.blogspot.com/p/mad-release-schedule-and-prizes.html
Marva Dasef is a writer living in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and a fat white cat. Retired from thirty-five years in the software industry, she has now turned her energies to writing fiction and finds it a much more satisfying occupation. Marva has published more than forty stories in a number of on-line and print magazines, with several included in Best of anthologies. She has several already published books and a few more scheduled for 2011 and 2012 from her super duper publisher, MuseItUp.
Follow the tour!
What do I love about this book?
Its setting (eastern Oregon high desert) and its theme of the consequences of prejudice of a type that most readers might not even be aware. Drop in a nice romance, and I hope it's a book that will appeal to a wide audience.
What did I learn in the process of publishing it?
What did I learn in the process of publishing it?
I learned that there are fabulous small publishers available for writers. MuseItUp has been a revelation and a joy to work with. From Lea Schizas, the publisher, my editors, Anne Duguid and Penny Ehrenkranz, and the cover artist, Suzannah Safi--what a class act from beginning to end!
MISSING, ASSUMED DEAD
Prejudice, murder, insanity, suicide: Every small town has its secrets.
Back Cover Copy:
When Kameron McBride receives notice she’s the last living relative of a missing man she’s never even heard of, the last thing she wants to do is head to some half-baked Oregon town to settle his affairs. But since she’s the only one available, she grudgingly agrees.
Excerpt:
Kam gasped and jumped down the embankment toward the creek, stumbling through the underbrush. She heard the pickup tires screech and glanced back. Scruffy had gotten out and headed down the slope behind her. She moved faster, gripping her hair spray. A strap broke on her sandal, and she kicked it off. Ignoring the brambles poking into her legs through her jeans, she moved as fast as she could, the terrain preventing her from flat out running.
She heard the crashing of bushes behind her and put on more steam. She knew the pickup would have reached her car by now, but she’d be coming up on the passenger door, slightly downhill from the driver’s side. She switched the hair spray to her left hand and pawed into her purse for the keys. Finding them, she dropped the bag on the ground to free her hands and kept moving.
When she reached the Chrysler, the driver had already skidded down the embankment and was standing on the driver’s side. Thin compared to the other man, but his arms were solid muscle under the tats. She rushed to the passenger side, jerked open the heavy door, dived in, slammed the door and hit the lock button on the key fob.
The driver pounded the window with his fist. The scruffy one had caught up and pulled on the passenger side door handle. Kam hit the panic button on the fob. The deep and seriously loud Chrysler horn went off with honking bursts. Both men jumped back from the car.
The driver yelled, “I’ll fetch the rifle.” He scrambled to climb up the embankment.
Kam’s heart almost stopped. Even the shatterproof windows wouldn’t stand up against a hunting rifle. She looked around the car wildly, her breath coming in sharp rasps, and then launched herself over the console and into the rear. Sweat ran from her armpits, soaking her blouse. She ran her shaking hands across the top of the seat back hunting for the latch. She hoped the Chrysler had fold down back seats.
If she could just reach the tire iron, she’d have a weapon. If this stupid car even had one that is.
She felt the latch pin, grasped it and pulled it up. It clicked. She grasped the seat back in both hands and pulled it down. On her belly, she crawled halfway into the trunk searching for the spare tire well.
by Marva Dasef
Twitter Handle: @Gurina
MuseItUp Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/Missing-Dasef
MuseItUp Author page: http://tinyurl.com/MIU-MarvaDasef
Book Trailer:
Endorsements:
This action-packed mystery is rich with colorful characters, a tight plot, and a warm romance. Recommended! ‹L.J. Sellers, author of the Detective Jackson mysteries>
A town with too many secrets makes Kam a target for a killer. Filled with wonderful characters, twists and surprises, here's a novel I couldn't put down until the end. <Lorrie Unites-Struiff, author of Gypsy Crystal>
Thursday, August 4, 2011
LeAnne Hardy and Glastonbury Tor
Meet LeAnne Hardy, author of Glastonbury Tor. I feel like I've met a sister after learning some of her history and a fellow Mary Stewart fan. I first met LeAnne when she was on my group site, theBarnDoor.net on July 6. Read her touching story behind the picture, left. She'll also be on ReflectionsInHindsight on August 23, talking about her great wealth of stories.LeAnne says:
I fell in love with King Arthur my freshman year in high school by way of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s romantic poetry (Idylls of the King) and Lerner and Loewe’s delightful Broadway score (Camelot—give me Julie Andrews over Vanessa Redgrave any day!) Someone loaned me a copy of Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, and I was hooked for life on the Matter of Britain, that cycle of stories passed down from the Middle Ages about ancient British Kings, fighting to save civilization after they had been abandoned by Rome.
I am a librarian by training. My husband and I have served for many years in several countries as missionaries in theological education. Once when we needed to be in Oxford, England, for a week of meetings, he suggested we take a few days of vacation and explore some of the Arthurian sites.
We drove out to the coast of Cornwall where the winds sweep over the cliffs at Tintagel and the waves crash on the rocks below. It is Arthur’s birthplace if you believe Tennyson. Of course, if you believe the archeologists, there was no castle in that location until long after Arthur’s time. I prefer Tennyson.
We drove back toward England and Somerset—the “Summer Country,” so low it was under water during winter rains until monks at Glastonbury Abbey began the work of digging drainage ditches. Today’s towns were all once islands that rose just a few feet above the surrounding bogs in the Vale of Avalon, where the Lady of the Lake took King Arthur in a barge to be healed of his wounds. From there he will return in England’s time of greatest need (if you believe the stories.)
Glastonbury sits on three hills rising above the Somerset Levels—Wyrral Hill, where Joseph of Arimathea and his party are said to have rested, “weary all”, after fleeing the first century persecution of Christians in Jerusalem; Chalice Hill, above the spring that runs red with iron where folk say Joseph dipped the Holy Grail he had brought; and the Tor, whose conical shape seen from the Mendip Hills that rim the vale was once believed to cover the entrance to the ancient Celtic underworld.
But amidst the tangle of ancient tales that undergirds every inch of this town, it was the violent dissolution of the abbey under King Henry VIII that most caught my imagination. I was beginning to think like a writer (although I would never have publically claimed that title) when I stood in the museum, reading the placards about how the abbot defied the king and suffered for it. I thought, Now THAT would make a good story.
I had started writing in my spare time when Ben Bradley, a hockey player who wanted to learn to jump and spin, popped into my mind. His story later became Crossovers, but that day when I stood in the abbey museum Ben’s story was locked in a computer file lest someone discover that I had the audacity to try to write a novel for young people. I was reading a book about writing and publishing fiction, and trying to do the exercises on my own. I had even started a second manuscript, but I knew I couldn’t begin yet another project. So I typed the opening paragraphs to capture my idea, filed them under “future projects”, and went back to plugging away at learning my craft.
I finally broke into publishing when we moved back to the US for a few years for my husband to work as a consultant for theological schools in various parts of the world. The Wooden Ox was published first (about an American family kidnapped by rebels during the Mozambican Civil War.) It was followed by Between Two Worlds (about a girl raised in Brazil and stuck in the States the year of her important fifteenth birthday) and a picture book set in Africa, So That’s What God is Like. Contracts signed, I began looking at my “future projects” file. Those opening paragraphs leapt out at me. I wanted to read that book! The trouble was, I had to write it first.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Meet Bernard Boulton on the John 316 Summer Tour!
Bernard Boulton has been a reader since at the age of five when his cousin Yvette placed a book in his hand and introduced him to the wonderful world of books. Throughout his life he has read fiction and non fiction books that has gripped his imagination and made him believe in greater things.
Bernard’s reading sparked a desire in him to one day produce his own story. As he got older the spark became a vision and the vision is about to be manifested through his first novel.
Bernard attended the Cleveland Ohio Public School System graduating from East High in June 1985. He attended Cuyahoga Community College, Warren Bible Institute, Moody Bible Institute and he graduated from Christian Life School of Theology where he received an Associate degree in Theology.
Bernard gave his life to Jesus at the age of eight and entered the preaching ministry at the age of seventeen. He is a widely traveled preacher with a relevant word and he has ministered in the Word through out the United States and Haiti. He has pastored churches in the states of West Virginia, Texas and Virginia. He is the pastor of the New Mine Creek Church in south Virginia.
Bernard’s hobbies include reading, traveling and supporting his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bernard’s reading sparked a desire in him to one day produce his own story. As he got older the spark became a vision and the vision is about to be manifested through his first novel.
Bernard attended the Cleveland Ohio Public School System graduating from East High in June 1985. He attended Cuyahoga Community College, Warren Bible Institute, Moody Bible Institute and he graduated from Christian Life School of Theology where he received an Associate degree in Theology.
Bernard gave his life to Jesus at the age of eight and entered the preaching ministry at the age of seventeen. He is a widely traveled preacher with a relevant word and he has ministered in the Word through out the United States and Haiti. He has pastored churches in the states of West Virginia, Texas and Virginia. He is the pastor of the New Mine Creek Church in south Virginia.
Bernard’s hobbies include reading, traveling and supporting his hometown team the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bernard, why did you write your novel?
I wrote Do You Wanna Be Made Whole because I wanted to tell a story about men from the perspective of a man. I wanted to reveal a man's process for dealing with tragedy, heartbreak and the consequences of poor choices. I love this novel because it is my production. Born out of my imagination.
Where can readers find the book?
The book can be purchased at my website, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles and it is available as a e-book on my website and at Smashword.
How can we get in touch with you?
I can be contacted at BERNARDBOULTON@YAHOO.COM, Facebook, Twitter (IDEALWRITER).
Visit my blog at WWW.BERNARDBOULTON.BLOGSPOT.COM.
An excerpt from my book is at http://www.bernardboulton.com/books/dywbmw_excerpt.html
Enjoy the book trailer here if you can't see it below. It's gorgeous, worth your three minutes.
Bernard Boulton, Pastor of New Mine Creek Church http://WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NEWMINECREEK
Author of DO YOU WANNA BE MADE WHOLE? and JAKE AND ERIC in HOME AGAIN, STORIES OF RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Meet Tom Blubaugh - Night of the Cossack - on the John 316 Summer Tour
Tom Blubaugh is a freelance writing living in southwest Missouri with Barbara, his wife. They have six children and fourteen grandchildren. Tom has written non-fiction most of his adult life, but has recently written a historical fiction titled Night of the Cossack, published by Bound by Faith Publishers. This is Tom’s first novel. He co-wrote a devotional journal in 2009 for Barbour Publishing titled The Great Adventure. His other writings include articles for a denominational magazine and an insurance publication. He also self-published a book, Behind the Scenes of the Bus Ministry, in 1974.
Tom started writing poetry at the age of fourteen. His vision of turning them into lyrics for rock and roll songs for popular artists didn’t develop. He considers writing to be a God given talent and feels he should continue developing it. His first novel was published at his age of 69. Tom says it’s never too late. He is now writing a sequel.
Tom spent twelve years as an insurance agent and eleven years as a financial planner. He is the past president of Jericho Commission, Inc. and still serves on the board of directors.
Nathan Hertzfield was forced into the life of a Cossack soldier. He was stripped of his identity and found himself on a path of life or death decisions. Follow him as he works through emotions when he is confronted with fear, anger, separation, sorrow, betrayal, love and the unknown. Will he be able to stay ahead of the tsar’s secret police?
Join Nathan on his exhilarating journey through parts of Russia and Europe during the early 1900's. Don't miss the adventure and suspense in the riveting story, Night of the Cossack.
Amazon.com reviews of Night of the Cossack
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Meet Eddie Snipes, I Called Him Dancer, on the John 316 Summer Tour
What made you write I CALLED HIM DANCER? Have you ever danced, taken lessons?
The only dance lesson I’ve received came when I was walking in the woods. A yellow cloud surrounded me and I began swatting yellow jackets like a break-dancer. Upon reflection, I don’t think I had the grace needed to make it big, so I quit after my first lesson. No more bees for me.
The inspiration for I Called Him Dancer came from a song performed by Tralena Walker and co-written by Tom Webster. I attended a meeting at the Atlanta Writers Club. Tralena and Tom were guest speakers. The topic was on how to write a story in lyrics for songs. Not my cup of Formosa Oolong, but at least it was entertaining. After performing the song, "Dancer" either Tom or Tralena said, “We’ve been looking for someone who will turn the song into a novel. We think it would make a great story.”
Until those words were spoken, I was a passive observer. I looked up and words were swarming around me like those yellow jackets. They attacked my head while I lay screaming on the floor. Okay, maybe I didn’t scream – but my mind did. In an instant, the story unfolded in my mind and I knew this was something I was to write.
I knew nothing about dancing (other than what the bees taught me). Tom and Tralena gave me the lyrics and I started researching and writing. I have to admit that I worried about the dancing scenes, but I knew things took shape when people began asking how I became so knowledgeable about dance. I thought back to the bees and said, “It’s just something that hit me while walking in the woods.”
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
When I was a child, I got my first book. I flipped through the pages, then tore it apart. I didn't know it at the time, but that's exactly what you do when editing a manuscript.
I hated writing when I was younger. I only did what I had to do, and sometimes not even that. Writers block was more like writers dementia. My mind didn't return to me until after... hmmm. What were we talking about?
In 1998, I became active in prison ministry. Many of the men I ministered to were eager to learn. Someone asked me if I had my studies or notes on paper. I agreed to write out the next study and then my writing career was born. The problem wasn't that I couldn't write. It was that I didn't have something to say. Or didn't realize I had something to say. Over time writing transformed from a task to a passion.
Is I Called Him Dancer your first fictional story?
My first fictional story was written in high school. It wasn’t supposed to be fiction, but hey, the best fiction looks like the real world, right? I’ll tell you the story.
In high school, I had a class that was dedicated to writing a 30 page research paper. I chose the topic, The Arms race between the US and Russia. It was the 1980s when the Cold War was still on everyone’s mind. We spent weeks in the library researching our topic. I say ‘we’ in the general sense. My research was sports and other useless browsing. At the halfway point, we had to turn in our research note cards. The teacher graded them and as she returned them, she said, “Some of you aren’t going to pass this class.” She paused in front of my desk as she said this, and then dropped my notecards on my desk. She continued, “You cannot write this paper with less than 70 research cards.”
I counted my cards. Seven. A very weak seven. This information must have shocked my brain, for I didn’t even think about this again until the teacher informed the class that the rough draft was due in the morning. “Holy cow! It’s due tomorrow?” I said.
After school, I visited a few friends, ate dinner, and watched TV. It was now nearly bedtime. No more goofing off. I sat down and began to write. The information flowed. I clearly needed more research sources, so I interviewed military experts born mere minutes ago. But hey, Colonial Imagination was still a source. I wrote thirty pages – somehow. And I got a good grade in the class. After all, no one had more expert sources than I did.
I should have known then that writing was in my future, but it would be more than two decades before I discovered a passion for writing.
Tell us a little about your book, I Called Him Dancer.
For a moment, Michael danced on top of the world, but one bad choice turned his life upside down. The once promising Broadway star now washes windows for tips and lives among the homeless. When his former dance partner recognizes him behind the fray of whiskers, shame drives him away from her. Angry at God and the world, the Dancer refuses to allow anyone into his life. When everything is stripped away, three things remain: faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love.
I Called Him Dancer is a story about how one woman’s enduring faith and unconditional love drives her to reach out to a homeless friend, who has given up on life.
Who is your favorite character in I CALLED HIM DANCER?
The character that inspired me the most is Kenyon. Many readers have stated the same. He’s human, struggling to do what is right, and lives by a genuine faith. At times he wrestles between what he knows God wants him to do, and what he wants. Kenyon is down to earth, not preachy, yet his life has an impact on others.
In the story I tried to present Christianity in an honest light. Many who claim to be Christians show hypocrisy and drive others (like the Dancer) away from the faith. This is a real problem in the Christian culture. Kenyon shows what sincere faith looks like. He’s far from perfect, but his simple faith impacts those around him. Kenyon’s sincerity is something the Dancer can’t understand and it piques his curiosity.
What would you like your readers to take away from this novel?
I want people to look at the reality of how faith impacts the world around us. Hypocrisy is being pretentious about faith, and there is a difference between failure and hypocritical behavior. Christians shouldn’t feel dejected when they fail. It’s part of this life of reaching upward.
Also, we all know someone who appears hopeless and hostile toward God, but we don’t know what the Lord is doing behind the scenes. Ultimately, hope is what everyone should take away. Hope that readers are not alone in their struggles. Hope that our lives can make an impact – even with our imperfections. Finally, hope that the people we care about are never out of God’s reach.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can flash a light on the clouds that says, ‘Free chicken fingers,’ and I’ll play Batman music and come running. Some people prefer the simpler route of connecting with me on Twitter @eddiesnipes. My facebook username is eddiesnipes. It might seem like a strange coincidence, but my LinkedIn name is also eddiesnipes. Even more crazy is my website:http://www.eddiesnipes.com. On each of these, I just closed my eyes and typed out random letters. I might have peeked on a few letters.
You can get Eddie’s novel I Called Him Dancer for only 99 cents at http://www.amazon.com/I-Called-Him-Dancer-ebook/dp/B004ISLPUE/
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