Running from a life of poverty, 16-year-old Cotton Ramsey escapes the Savannah River bottomland to New York.
Twenty years later, she has changed her name and runs a large pharmaceutical
company, which belonged to the family of her late husband. When Beau Simpson,
her first love, arrives to deliver the news of her daddy’s untimely death, the
life she struggled to leave behind calls her home.
Victoria,
what do you love about this new story?
I love the setting. I want to
someday explore the Savannah area and the history there.
Share
one thing you learned while researching for this book.
The trail the Confederate Gold took
before it disappeared and became a long sought after legend.
Introduce
us to the main antagonist.
Not to “giveaway" the mystery, he’s
full of himself and thinks everyone is beneath him. He’s gotten in over his
head and needs a way out.
What
do you hope readers will tell others when they’ve finished the book?
That the book is an exciting,
contemporary mystery.
What’s
next for you?
I have a cozy mystery about half
finished. I hope to get back into the writing mode and complete it in 2019.
About
the Author
Victoria Pitts Caine is a native
Californian and lives in the central portion of the state. Her varied
interests
include genealogy and exotic gemstone collecting both of which she’s
incorporated into her novels.
The author has received recognition
in both fiction and nonfiction from Enduring Romance top 10 picks, William
Saroyan Writing Conference, Byline Magazine, Writer’s Journal Magazine, Holt
International Children’s Services Magazine, and The Southern California
Genealogical Society. Her first novel, Alvarado Gold, was published in 2007
followed by three more as well as novellas and short stories in anthologies.
Victoria is a former staff
technician in air pollution control. She is the mother of two daughters. Now
retired from the work force, Victoria and her husband enjoy travel, cooking, and
are self-appointed “foodies.”
“A comedic romp from small town to big city in search of missing money,
hair catastrophes, and love. A truly fun read”—Cynthia Hickey, author of the
Shady Acres Mystery series.
What happens when a New York stockbroker crashes his car into Eve
Castleberry’s North Carolina beauty shop...on the same day the young widow’s
defective hair products are causing wild hairdos? Soon Eve finds herself
helping the handsome stranger hunt the thieves who stole his client’s
cash...and hot on the trail of two of the F.B.I.’s most-wanted criminals!
Romance blossoms amid danger, suspense and Eve’s hair-brained plan to get back
the money.
Brief interview with the author:
Gail, what do you love about
this book?
There are quite a few things that make this book dear to me. First of
all, my mother’s beauty shop inspired it. Secondly, the small town setting
where everyone knows everybody else gave me the opportunity to introduce
characters who accepted and cared about one another. The setting also allowed
breathtaking scenes in the North Carolina Mountains. Top that off with being
able to write about romance and mystery, two genres I enjoy.
What are two things you learned
while writing it?
Since I spent so much time in my mother’s shop, I was familiar with
operating a salon and have kept up with the changing hairstyles and ways of
creating them. However, I didn’t know how to mix hair dye.
Even though I’m familiar with the setting, I learned about different
kinds of foliage and flowers out during spring in the North Carolina Mountains.
They include oak and sycamore trees, wild azaleas and mountain laurel bushes.
What kinds of things did you
need to research to write about your villains?
There are several villains, two are into stealing cars and one is into
corporate espionage. Mainly, I had to research the conditions under which the
F.B.I. would come aboard to help solve a crime and learned the villains needed
to cross state lines.
What are you reading over the
holidays?
I have several fun Christmas books on my TBR list. I’ve read and loved Meow Mistletoe. It was such a fun book.
I also plan to read Sarah Helps Santa
by Gay Lewis. I’ve read and enjoyed several of Ms. Lewis’s Sarah books.
Tell us about your next book.
Thank you for asking. Cooking up
a Mystery is another book set in Triville, North Carolina, with many of the same fun characters that appear in Hair Calamities and Hot Cash.Cooking up a Mystery introduces Laney Eskridge, who worked to put her husband through dental
school. Then he left for another woman. She’s already on edge from the
emotional scars and her parents’ deaths when she hears unexplained noises in
her new tea house. She and a customer, Eric, who has a fear of commitment fall
for each other. However, she’s overwhelmed by the long hours at work, and she’s
already been betrayed once. She cuts ties with Eric and plunges into making her
business pay off. He discovers she’s in danger and vows to protect her, but can
he make a lasting promise? Can she trust him? They overhear a threat that could
cause national turmoil, but will anyone believe them?
About the Author
Award-winning author Gail
Pallotta’s a wife, mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach
sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A former regional writer
of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she’s a Grace Awards Finalist
and a 2017 Reader’s Favorite Book Awards recipient. She’s published several
books, poems, short stories and two-hundred articles. Some of her articles
appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Visit Gail's website at www.gailpallotta.com.
Hello! I’m Tolu’ A. Akinyemi and this is one of my tour stops during my one-month book tour for Dead Dogs Don’t Bark and Dead Lions Don’t Roar. This virtual book tour is organized by Write Now Literary Book Tours. The tour runs Nov 5-30, 2018. Authors book your own tour here.
Genre:Poetry
Introducing Tolu’ Akinyemi
Tolu’ Akinyemi was born in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria and currently lives in the United Kingdom. Tolu’ Akinyemi is an exceptional talent, out-of-the box creative thinker, a change management agent and a leader par excellence. Tolu’ is a business analyst and financial crime consultant as well as a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) with extensive experience working with leading Investment banks and Consultancy Firms. Tolu’ is also a personal development and career coach and a prolific writer with more than 10 years’ writing experience; he is a mentor to hundreds of young people. He worked as an Associate mentor in St Mary’s School, Cheshunt and as an Inclusion Mentor in Barnwell School, Stevenage in the United Kingdom, helping students raise their aspirations, standards of performance and helping them cope with transitions from one educational stage to another.
Tolu’ has headlined and featured in various Open Slam, Poetry Slam, Spoken Word and Open Mic events in the United Kingdom. He also inspires large audiences through spoken word performances, he has appeared as a keynote speaker in major forums and events in the United Kingdom and facilitates creative writing masterclasses to all types of audiences.
In March 2018 he was endorsed by the Arts Council England as an "Exceptional Talent."
About The Book
Dead Lions Don’t Roar is a collection of inspiring and motivating modern day verses. Addressing many issues close to home and also many taboo subjects, the poetry is reflecting of today’s struggles and lights the way to a positive future. The uplifting book will appeal to all age groups, anyone going through change, building or enjoying a career and facing day to day struggles. Many of the short verses will resonate with readers, leaving a sense of peace and well-being.
Dead Dogs Don’t Bark is the second poetry collection from the acclaimed author, Tolu’ A. Akinyemi. With a similar tone and style to Dead Lions Don’t Roar (Tolu’s first poetry collection) this follow up masterpiece is nothing short of pure motivation. The poems cover a range of topics that many in life are aware of, that the Author himself has experienced and that we all, whatever our age, need support in. Beautifully written, the poems speak volumes to all age groups as they feature finding your inner talent, celebrating your individuality and distinct voice. The poetry collection has didactic elements for evaporating the effects of peer pressure and criminality amongst many others. Also covering mental health, relationships, career focus, and general life issues, the poetry is bitter sweet, amusing and thought provoking in turns.
Newly
single food critic and newspaper reporter Traci Hightower is done with dating.
After the man of her dreams left her at the altar on their wedding day and ran
off with the woman she thought was her best friend, Traci resolves to focus on
work and resigns herself to being a bachelorette for life.
Marc Roberts is a political reporter who is
known as Mr. Nice Guy, the one who always finishes last. However, Marc’s
compassion and kindness are of invaluable help to his newly widowed sister Gina
Braxton who is trying to raise her two kids in the wake of her firefighter
husband’s death.
Traci and Marc may be the perfect match, but
they don’t know it yet. With God’s guidance and the help of Gina’s matchmaking
skills honed by her career as a bestselling romance novelist, there is hope for
a happily ever after for these two broken hearts.
I love
that the hero and heroine of my book are both print journalists and that I was
able to draw on my real-world experience as a newspaper journalist as I wrote
Marc and Traci’s story!
Introduce
us to your easiest character to write.
My easiest
character to write was Traci’s best friend Carla. She’s fun, kind, smart, sassy
and sweet. She’s a good friend to Traci, the kind of friend you can count on in
just about any situation. They met at work, bonded and became best friends over
time.
What do
you hope readers will tell others when they’re finished with the book?
I hope
that readers will tell others that this book made them laugh out loud, smile
and maybe even cry tears of joy.
Was there
a particular book that moved you to tears lately?
The only
book I ever read that moved me to tears was Don’t Die, My Love by Lurlene
McDaniel. I read it when I was a pre-teen. It’s a truly touching, beautiful
story that I still remember as an adult.
What’s
next for you?
Well at
the time after A Second Chance was published in January 2017, I was starting to
write my most recent release, which is Love in Pictures. So that is what was
“next” back then! I’m writing my answers to this question in the year 2018. See
my book promo for Love in Pictures on Lisa’s blog to find out what’s next for
me as of November 2018.
About the
Author
Alexis A.
Goring is a passionate writer with a degree in Print Journalism and an MFA in
Creative Writing. She loves the art of storytelling and hopes that her stories
will connect readers with the enduring, forever love of Jesus Christ.
Bailey Edward, along with her
two friends, Shannon and Jessica, become interested in genealogy after studying
the begats in the Gospel of Matthew. Since her mother’s parents were killed in
a car accident when her mother was in college, Bailey knows very little about
her mother’s side of the family. She has only met one of her three uncles.
As the women thumb through Bailey’s
grandmother’s photo albums, they discover a few hidden pictures of a girl who
closely resembles Bailey. But her mother only had brothers. Who is this mystery
person? And why has no one ever mentioned her?
Determined to find out, Bailey begins
to peek in some ancestral closets, which others with power and influence would
prefer to remain closed. Anonymous threats force her to seek the help of
Detective Chase Montgomery, whom she had dumped after one date. But will his
involvement go beyond a professional interest, and will these amateur women
sleuths complicate his investigation into a fifty-year-old murder?
ONE LEAF TOO MANY
Book One in a New cozy mystery
series, The Relatively Seeking Mysteries.
And a new one from Michael Stevens, The Making of Pioneer Wisconsin, is also just out. The book features a dreamy image from the original
mural of the centennial celebration of Wisconsin's statehood for a cover.
Pioneer Wisconsin is the story of Wisconsin settlers in three sections told
through letters, biographical material and a few photographs and other art.
Stevens includes a prologue analyzing cultures in conflict as the European
settlers encroached upon traditionally native tribal people's lands in the
territory.
The main text is divided into
three sections, Journeying West, Being in Wisconsin, and the aftereffects of
immigration, or "I prefer America." Stevens chose letters from
settlers representing the four main quadrants of Wisconsin; people who came by
all means possible in the first half of the nineteenth century. Photographs,
woodcuts and other artwork from the society's collection help to illustrate the
text and letters which are retyped, not reproduced.
One early informative missive
is from the first attorney to practice in Waukesha who removed his family from
Vermont in 1838. His letters are almost as a diary of the journey to their new
home, partly by steamship along the Great Lakes.
Many of the letters are lengthy, full of angst, triumph, despair
and instructions. Descriptions often compare the climate in Wisconsin to the
home country, whether it's the eastern US or overseas.
Brief biographies of the letter writers are included. For example,
the Reverend Jeremiah Porter was a missionary evangelist, eventually landing in
Green Bay in the mid-nineteenth century with a goal of promoting the temperance
movement. His letter to a colleague which includes some of his reasons for his
passionate attempt to ban alcohol sales is poignant.
The Making of Pioneer
Wisconsin: Voices of Early Settlers is a nice addition to other pioneer collections in local
histories. Reading about life from the people in their own words is a moving
experience. Recommended for those who like immigration and settlement stories.
It is not a long book at 162 pages and nicely laid out. End notes which
contains references and an index included.
Other books I've viewed and reviewed this year include:
Twice The Dream is an inspiring family drama about two sisters following their musical dreams together. Just as the sisters begin to discover their wings and take flight, a sudden family tragedy strikes. In the aftermath of tragedy, they discover that their dreams were the only thing that held the family together.
1. How
was it to write and direct your first feature film, Twice the Dream?
A: It sincerely was
a dream come true, in every sense. The cast and crew were
all so incredible and really put on their "A" game. At the end, we
all felt like family! Some of us of course, literally being family. ;P Haha and
by that I mean, my husband was one of the producers, and was also the director
of photography. My mom is amazing at art and making props, so she was in charge
of the art and prop department. A lot of my lifelong friends helped as well,
and my brother. So it truly was a dream come true making the movie I
love, with the people I love. It was nothing short of magic!
2. What were some high
points during the creative process?
A: There were so many
high points, everything from writing the screenplay, to setting up that perfect
shot. When writing the script, there seemed to be something so special about
being so into the story, and so sucked into that world. But,
as soon as we got on set, it was incredible to see those characters and scenes
come to life. I would say that was a high point- seeing these characters come
to life, living, breathing, and interact with each other. It was really fun
working with the actors as well, and collaborating with them. The cast truly
understood their characters- just as much as I do. Sometimes, maybe even more.
A few of the actors would come to me with some ideas, or thoughts on scenes,
and their character's journey, and sometimes would suggest certain lines of
dialogue. 9 times out of 10, we were always on the same page, and I
let them go for it. It was soooo cool seeing this!
3. What was your
favorite scene on set?
A: Every scene! Haha jk.
Although I did enjoy filming every scene on set, the concert scenes were the
most fun to film. Everyone was dancing, laughing, singing along. Those were my
favorite scenes to film... and we had three concert scenes! :)
4. Any learning moments you
want to share?
A: Making this film has
been a long journey, and throughout that journey, I have learned so much.
Ultimately, I think that one of the most important things that I have
learned would have to be to just trust myself and the stories
that you want to tell. Along the way, a lot of people will try to discourage
you- and that's just life. Just because someone else doesn't particularly get your
vision, doesn't mean that it's not good. If you have a story that you want to
tell, then you need to tell it. Don't let anyone else tell you
otherwise.
5. What inspired you to
tell this story?
A: Growing up, I
realized that there weren't a lot of inspiring, feel-good coming of age movies.
Movies that I really wanted to see at that age, stories that I could relate to.
It was always such an underserved market. (For the record, these types of moves
aren't only limited to that age group, because I still want to see these kind
of movies. They are for the young at heart.
So, at the tender age of
14, I started writing my story, "Twice The Dream." Something about this particular story had set my soul on fire. The characters
had absolutely consumed me, but in the best possible way. I knew it was my
mission to get this story told through film. I could hardly think of anything
else!
6. How is it being a
female in the film business?
A: Being a female in the
film industry is definitely tough. At times, it really seems that all of
the "suits" in Hollywood making the decisions are men. I sat in many
meetings like that. They would be interested in my story, but they would insist
on making certain changes- changes that would change the very heart of the
story. Although these offers were sometimes tempting, I would resist, remaining
stubborn. I've even been called a "B" word because of this. But you
know what? I think it's necessary. As women in this industry, we have to stick
up for ourselves. Luckily, I think this is changing. Slowly, but at least we
are getting somewhere. People are starting to realize that half of the population are women.
And as such, I think it's safe to say that we know what a large portion of the
population can relate to in film. Together, we are changing
this.
7. What advice would you
give to aspiring filmmakers?
A: My number one piece of
advice is to stick to the story that you want to tell. Don't
let any "suit", or colleague, teacher, or even a family member try to
convince you otherwise. You're set on the story you want to tell? Great! That's
the one you need to go with. Because as we all know, making a movie is hard
work. So you have to love your story so much, that you would
be willing to go on this journey with it. And another thing... never give
up.
8. Do you think your
experience as an actress helped in directing other actors? Why?
A: I absolutely think it
helped. Truthfully, I believe my experiences as an actress have helped me as a
writer as well. Since I'm familiar with the actors process, and the way actors
think, I found it fairly easy to convey direction to the cast. And they always
took that direction so well, and would totally understand where I was coming
from. We were always on the same page!
9. How did you finally get to make your movie?
A: I know the reason that I was able to achieve this dream is because I have been so fortunate to have such amazing support from my family and friends. They always have kept me going, and amazingly enough, they were the same people that saw my dream to the very end.
10. What is your next
step with Twice the Dream?
A: We are knee deep in
post production right now, finalizing the sound mix, original score, color
grading, etc. It's been a fun but long process in itself, but I feel like I've
learned a lot. We are currently exploring different distribution options.
Looking for the right partner! Our goal is to release it theatrically first.
(Even if it's a limited release) Following our theatrical run, we plan to
release it on various VOD platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, etc.
11. Do you have any
other projects on the horizon?
A: Oh, most definitely.
Since I'm crazy, I'm currently writing two different scripts- both
female driven like Twice The Dream, but very different genres.
One is a thriller and the other is a fantasy. I also am still working on my YA
fantasy novel series and re-launching that.
Dreams are important, but I know it's hard.
There are days, sometimes months when you feel like your dream might
be impossible. At times, it can feel like the whole world is against
you. During the pursuit of my dream, there were times when
it felt like I was going nowhere. Sometimes, it was very painful. Blood, sweat,
tears, and many other losses went into this pursuit. I would then ask myself,
"Is this pain really worth it?"There were
many times when I felt like I had absolutely hit rock bottom, and
that my dream may never come true.BUT.... Yes, that's a
"but." Here is the important part:I refused to give up. No
matter how long it took, or how hard it was. This dream was too
important to me. And I remembered why I had been holding on for so long.Moral
of the story is: NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP. Period. Dreams come true,
even if it takes over a decade.
