WELCOME BACK REBECCA YOUNT

REBECCA YOUNT

Rebecca Yount is a native-born Midwesterner who always had a desire to travel. Now in a third professional career as the author of the Mick Chandra mystery series, she and her husband arrange free home exchanges in England, Scotland, and France. The Mick Chandra books take place in England.

In ebook format, the first three books of the Mick series are available from all major vendors. They have garnered 4, and mainly, 5-star reviews. There are currently 7 books in the Mick series, with #8 on the way. She can be reached at: RebeccaYount.com and Rebecca Yount author.
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GUEST POST

UNEARTHING THE TREASURE:

Why I Love The Ravenhoe Cauldron

 When I was a child, nothing excited me more than the prospect of a visit to the Ohio Historical Society Museum.  In the 1950s and 60s, waterparks and such were rare in central Ohio. So if we wanted to do something special, we had to seek other amusements. That might entail a double feature at the movies, a walk in our lovely county park, or a pick-up baseball game in an open field. But the crème de la crème of outings was a day at the museum.

My friends and I had different reasons for loving the museum, but we all agreed on one thing: the mummy was the star.  Yes, the mummy.  One.  That was all the collection could boast at the time.  But, boy, was she a doozy!

To this day, I remember being transfixed by her slender figure, her long, black tapered fingers peeking out from the linen wrappings, and her disproportionately large feet. I don’t remember her name, but she was the 19-year-old daughter of a prominent high priest.  Her contemporary portrait, displayed above her sarcophagus, revealed the full-body right profile of a beautiful young woman, a single bare breast exposed.  My, how the boys hooted over that.

But I had other priorities.  This centuries-old deceased young woman inspired me to fall in love with archeology.

As a 10-year-old, I dramatically announced to my redoubtable father, “One day I’m going to become an archeologist.”

“Oh, yeah?  Spell it,” he challenged me.

I did.  Correctly.

It was not to be.  Instead, I devoted some twenty+ years to being a concert pianist and then, in order to eat and pay my rent, worked in education policy development in Washington, D.C.  On early retirement, I fulfilled another dream: I became a fiction writer.

So, by way of a long introduction, this is where the third book in my Mick Chandra mystery series comes in: The Ravenhoe Cauldron, my favorite among the completed seven.  Why?  Because the story centers on archeology.

Some years ago I had intended to write a novel for young adults that featured an ancient Celtic setting.  But I just couldn’t get it to come together, so I put that project aside.  However, I had already completed a considerable amount of research for the book.

As I added books to my Mick Chandra mystery series, I stumbled upon an idea to write an installment in which Mick and company must find a missing 2,000-year-old gold Celtic ceremonial cauldron that was stolen from a local museum in Colchester, England.

Eureka!  Talk about mining gold. I was able to finally use all of that research about Celtic culture and history that I had previously set aside.  As I wrote The Ravenhoe Cauldron, it was apparent that I was vicariously living my childhood dream of being an archeologist.  When the fictional diggers mine the pits for Celtic artifacts, I’m right there with them, digging away as well.

I had great fun researching the book at the archeological site in Colchester.  Also, it was fascinating to conduct further research at the Colchester and British Museums.  Both collections feature a wealth of Celtic artifacts, many rendered in solid gold.

The Ravenhoe Cauldron also addresses two additional intriguing topics: the antiquities black market and fake busting.  Both of these I had to learn from the bottom up, which involved a massive amount of additional research.

The sale of stolen antiquities ranks among the top four most lucrative international crimes. And there are only a handful of credible fake busters in this world who can detect the real from the forgeries.

Here’s where good research enriches a story.  What is one way a fake buster can detect ancient gold as opposed to newer gold?  By tasting it.  Gold, unless it’s absolutely pure, contains a certain amount of copper and other impurities.  Over time the combination of these impurities can cause slight corrosion. Therefore, the older the gold the more coppery-metallic the taste. Experienced goldsmiths refer to this taste as “sour.”

Jamie Geller, Mick’s undercover agent, makes the mistake of tasting the gold on an artifact that a dealer is trying to fence.  By doing so, he gives himself away as an agent for the police.  Typically, collectors of stolen antiquities want a fast deal and mistakenly assume authenticity.  As Thomas Hoving, one of the world’s most sought-after fake busters, wrote: “Need, speed, and greed” are paramount in the illegal antiquities trade.

I have come to appreciate that writing fiction is not unlike digging for treasure.  As I write, I am excavating amazing discoveries.

So it would seem that I have become an archeologist after all.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The garotted corpse of Stanislaw Janus, a notorious antiquities thief and forger, is discovered in an excavation pit at an archeological site near Colchester, on England’s east coast. A former curator of pre-Roman British artifacts at the British Museum, Janus had turned to crime and was fencing forgeries on the international antiquities black market. Just before his murder, Janus had engineered the theft of the priceless Ravenhoe Cauldron from the Colchester Museum. The nearly 2,000-year-old solid gold vessel had been unearthed by archaeologists …… in the very pit where Janus’ corpse was discovered.

Despite being on parental leave to care for his four-month-old daughter, Detective Inspector Michael “Mick” Chandra is put in charge of the case, his family leave suspended by New Scotland Yard’s commissioner. Mick must find Janus’ murderer as well as locate the missing cauldron, but his task will not be easy. Interpol reveals that Janus assumed multiple identities and remained maddenly out of the reach of law enforcement agencies. Nathaniel Wyatt, his former colleague at the British Museum, describes Janus as the “Steppenwolf” — charming one minute, vicious the next.

Mick calls upon the Yard’s Arts and Antiquities Unit for help in this complex case and as it turns out, he will need all the help he can get, as the case becomes increasingly fraught with danger and risk.

A diverse cast of characters illuminates and obscures Stanislaw Janus’ past: Dr. Cassandra Palmer, Chief Curator of the Colchester Museum, who had known Janus for more than a decade; Dr. Gill Metcalf, director of the archeological dig who openly disdains Janus; Alissa Woo, Metcalf’s beautiful graduate assistant, who originally discovered the cauldron at the Colchester site; Nathaniel Wyatt, Janus’ former colleague, who believes the cauldron will never be recovered; and Anderson Peale III, noted wealthy collector of Celtic artifacts, who may not be as reputable as he seems. Added to this cast is Janus’ star-crossed mistress, Regina, who passes onto Mick her lover’s personal diary.

Familiar faces from the two previous Mick Chandra books return as well: Jessica Beaumont, the American-born pianist who is now Mick’s wife; Mick’s friend and chief informant, Jamie Geller; and Mick’s no-nonsense partner, Sergeant Elizabeth Chang.

And then there is the mysterious rust-encrusted key sent through Mick’s home mail slot bearing a note that reads: “The key to the Ravenhoe Cauldron.”

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Crime
Published by: Self
Publication Date: June 30, 2013
Number of Pages: 401
ISBN-13: 9781467559348
ASIN: B00DQCUKTU

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WELCOME FRANKIE Y. BAILEY

FRANKIE Y. BAILEY

FRANKIE Y. BAILEY is an associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany (SUNY). Bailey is the author of mysteries as well as non-fiction titles that explore the intersections of crime, history, and popular culture. Bailey is a Macavity Award-winner and has been nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Agatha awards. A past executive vice president of Mystery Writers of America and a past president of Sisters in Crime, she is on the Albany Bouchercon 2013 planning committee.
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Q&A with Frankie Y. Bailey

On Writing and Reading
1.  Do you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
As a criminal justice professor, I do research on crime and American history/culture. This gives me an endless supply of historical and contemporary events to draw on for inspiration as a fiction writer.  In my Lizzie Stuart mystery series, my character is a crime historian, and I use my own research in those books. In The Red Queen Dies, the debut of my Hannah McCabe series, Albany history plays a crucial role. But because  my new series is set in a parallel universe (alternate reality), my treatment of current events has a twist. The when, if, and why of events in my fictional world is somewhat different  than the world we know.  That will become more obvious as the series goes on. I’m having fun with my own version of world-building – an Albany/a world that is a lot like the one we know, but not quite, and now and then not at all like.

I go to the real places that I use as settings. Occasionally what happens while I’m  “on location” ends up being fictionalized in a book. With The Red Queen Dies and my police detective, Hannah McCabe, I draw on experiences such as attending an autopsy and doing ride-alongs and interviews with female police officers and their partners, as well as information I’ve picked up at conferences such at the Writers’ Police Academy.

I think all writers draw on our personal experiences in the sense that we write about what we care about or consider funny or troubling or worth pondering.

2. Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the story line brings you?
Writers often describe themselves as plotters (who outline), pantsers (who write by seat of pants), or hybrids. I’m a hybrid. I look for something that resonates with me and that I want to write about. In The Red Queen Dies, it was the recurring role that Albany played in the Lincoln-Booth saga. Booth and Lincoln were in Albany on the same day in 1861. A couple of months later, while performing in Albany, an actress stabbed Booth during a lover’s quarrel.  I kept thinking about that episode and what might have happened if the actress, Henrietta Irving, had killed Booth. That led me to my title character, a fictional Broadway actress, who comes to Albany to work on a play about Irving.  I had a chilling piece of Albany history and an Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass theme that worked for my world of 2019.  I outlined as far as I could and began to write.

But, at some point, what most writers – including me – hope is that the characters will begin to take on a life of their own and that they will begin to say and do unexpected things.

Re the ending – because I’m writing a series, I have an overarching series plotline that develops as the series does.  Think of television crime shows in which the murder being investigated is solved each week, but what is happening in the lives of the main characters continues to evolve and play out. I know how that will progress.  But what I’ve found is that the identity of the killer in a given book sometimes changes as I get to know the characters and understand what they want and what they’re willing to do to get it.

3. Your routine when writing? Any idiosyncrasies?
My routine has changed over the year as I went from being unpublished to published. I started out writing/publishing nonfiction as an academic scholar. I have continued my academic research.  Right now, I’m working on a book about clothing, crime, and justice.  My academic research requires time spent in libraries and archives. I also get to read books, watch television and movies, and surf the Internet. Luckily, that research overlaps with the research for my fiction, or vice versa. I write every day. I move back and forth between home and school. What I’m working on depends on deadlines. I try to make as much use as possible of weekends, evenings, and summer. I like to have blocks of time to write rather than a few minutes here and there. But I do a lot of “pre-writing” in my head – for example, bits of dialogue between characters.

Before I can begin writing, I have to have a title. I re-write the first 50 pages over and over again as a kind of warm-up until I can get into the mood and rhythm of the book.

4.  Is writing you full-time job? If not, may I ask what you do by day?
See above.

5. Who are some of your favorite authors?
I usually name dead authors or authors in other genres to avoid leaving out any of the great crime writers who I could mention. I love characters who use wonderful language to describe their emotions. That puts Shakespeare at the top of my list. I did three quarters of Shakespeare as an undergrad. Crime fiction – Rudolph Fisher (The Conjure- Man Dies), Richard Martin Stern (The Johnny Ortiz series), Dick Francis (horse racing).  Classic romantic suspense – Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney, Victoria Hope. Mainstream fiction from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Toni Morrison . Trying, without success, to keep up with bestsellers.

6. What are you reading now?
For research, books about being an undertaker, funerals, and superstitions about death and dying. I’m also reading – slowly – Moby Dick, a book that I’ve often started but never finished. I reference Moby Dick in my work in progress.

7. Are you working on your next novel? Can you tell us a little about it?
The working title is Cock Robin’s Funeral.  I love the ballad of Cock Robin and used that as my starting point. This is the second book in my Hannah McCabe series. The time is January 2020, and a funeral director is murdered, shot with an arrow from his own crossbow. This book picks up with and continues to develop a subplot involving several of the main characters. Murder, politics, betrayal, climate change, and a city struggling to cope.

Fun questions:
a. Your novel will be a movie. Who would you cast?
No idea for Hannah McCabe.  But her father, Angus, was inspired by one of my favorite veteran actors, the late Darren McGavin. I loved him as the investigative reporter in “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” and as the grumpy father in “A Christmas Story”. In my alternate reality, he would be alive and well and able to play the role of Angus.

b. Would you rather read or watch TV/movie?
Because my research focuses on crime and mass media/popular culture, I’ve had to learn to read  while watching TV/movie.  If a TV show or movie catches my attention, I stop reading and watch. But, of course, some books or TV/movies, are so good they deserve undivided attention.

c. Favorite food?
Depends on whether I’m trying to be healthy or really indulging. Oatmeal with pears, walnuts, and almond milk vs. fried oysters.

d.  Favorite beverage?
Hot apple cider with lots of cinnamon.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The first in a new high-concept police procedural series, set in Albany with an Alice in Wonderland theme.

Frankie Bailey introduces readers to a fabulous new protagonist and an Alice in Wonderland-infused crime in this stunning mystery. The year is 2019, and a drug used to treat soldiers for post-traumatic stress disorder, nicknamed “Lullaby,” has hit the streets. Swallowing a little pill erases traumatic memories, but what happens to a criminal trial when the star witness takes a pill and can’t remember the crime? Biracial detective Hannah McCabe faces similar perplexing problems as she attempts to solve the murders of three women, one of whom, a Broadway actress known as “The Red Queen,” has a special interest in the story of Alice in Wonderland. Is the killer somehow reenacting the children’s tale? This smart, tough mystery will appeal to fans of high-concept police procedurals.

READ AN EXCERPT

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Mystery & Detective
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: Sept 10, 2013
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 978-0-312-64175-7 / 978-1-250-03717-6

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

 

WELCOME BACK CAROL E. WYER

CAROL E. WYER

After completing a degree in French and English at Keele University, Carol Wyer became a language teacher in Casablanca, Morocco. She ran the EFL department at a private UK school (a non-magical Hogwarts), set up Language 2000 Ltd, teaching a variety of languages, including basic Japanese, and translated documents. Recurring medical problems forced her to give up teaching and become a fitness instructor. Thanks to older age, she now writes novels, articles and books that poke fun at getting older. Known for her light-hearted take on life, Carol has written two award-winning novels and now also tours giving talks on how to age disgracefully.
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ABOUT THE BOOK

Is your Grumpy Old Man getting under your feet? Is he wrestling with retirement? Are you wondering if you should bundle him up and entrust him to basket-weaving classes? Then this book could be the answer to your prayers. This light hearted guide is packed full of lively ideas, anecdotes and quips. Not only does it set out to provide laughs, but offers over 700 ideas and ways to keep a Grumpy Old Man occupied. From collecting airline sick bags to zorbing, you will be sure to find an absorbing pastime for your beloved curmudgeon. There are examples of those who have faced extraordinary challenges in older age, fascinating facts to interest a reluctant partner and innovative ideas drizzled, of course, with a large dollop of humor. Written tongue-in-cheek, this book succeeds in proving that getting older doesn’t mean the end of life or having fun. It provides amusing answers to the question, “How on Earth will my husband fill in his time in his retirement?” It offers suggestions on what might, or most certainly might not, amuse him. Ideal for trivia buffs, those approaching retirement, (or just at a loose end) and frustrated women who have an irritable male on their hands, this book will lighten any mood and may even prevent the odd murder.
Read my review here.

Read an excerpt

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Non-Fiction, Humor
Published by: Safkhet Publising
Publication Date: 1st June 2013
Number of Pages: 106

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WELCOME DR. JOSEPH WENKE

DR. JOSEPH WENKE

JOE WENKE is an outspoken and articulate LGBTQ rights activist. He is the founder and publisher of Trans Über, a publishing company with a focus on LBGTQ rights, free thought and promoting equality for all people.  Wenke is the author of Mailer’s America and You Got to be Kidding! The Cultural Arsonist’s Satirical Reading of the Bible. His next book, Papal Bull: An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church, will be published this fall along with his first novel, The Talk Show.

Wenke began his career as an editor at the Foundation Center in New York City.  He was a speechwriter at Avnet for Tony Hamilton, the founder of the global electronics distribution industry, and wrote speeches for George Conrades, the head of IBM U.S. As a senior vice president at Caribiner International he served as the company’s lead communications strategist and head of global accounts.  He partners with Gisele Xtravaganza in Gisele New World, which produces events for the ballroom community. Wenke is the owner and managing partner of Xperience, a multi-million dollar marketing communications and production company with offices in New York, Boston and Detroit.

Wenke received a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in English from Penn State and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. He is a columnist and frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.
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ABOUT THE BOOK

When it comes to the Bible, author, satirist and cultural arsonist Dr. Joe Wenke has a lot of questions. Why did God turn Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt? Were there no other seasonings available? How come no one noticed that Samson’s hair grew back and he was super strong again? Who lost Jesus’s baby book? The story of the Devil tempting Jesus—did the Devil or Jesus report it? And why does the Holy Spirit like to show up as a bird?

As irreverent as the musical The Book of Mormon, YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! THE CULTURAL ARSONIST’S SATIRICAL READING OF THE BIBLE (TransÜber, LLC; November 2012)  is an engaging, provocative and often hilarious investigation into the bestselling book of all time. Written to “cause trouble” and provoke deeper thought during a time when religious fundamentalism is gaining strength around the world, Wenke, a marketing executive, former corporate speechwriter and keen observer of human gullibility, lures readers out of their mental closets and tempts them to more closely examine the stories they think they know about the Bible.

Drawing upon the same pool of incendiary and cerebral humor as Bill Maher, Jon Stewart and the late, great George Carlin, YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! follows a trail of talking angels, fratricidal siblings, divinely sanctioned massacres and surprised lepers from the Old to the New Testament pointing out the impossible, the illogical and the unrealistic. Among the stories laid bare, are:

• Noah’s Ark: How big was that boat—and who cleaned up after the animals?
• Jonah and the Whale: Just how does one survive being digested for three days?
• The Three Wise Men: If they were so wise, why did they get lost?
• Jesus, Miracle Worker: Where did Jesus learn how to perform miracles—at Hogwarts?

YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! is a call for humor to restore our sanity and our ability to think for ourselves. Just as it was written in the Bible—or was it?

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Non Fiction, Humor, Religion
Paperback: 206 pages
Publisher: Trans Uber LLC
Publication Date: October 1, 2012
ISBN-10: 0985900202
ISBN-13: 978-0985900205

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WELCOME GORDON BENNET BLEIL

GORDON BENNET BLEIL

Gordon Bennett Bleil is a financial educator, former banker, bank consultant, entrepreneur, business executive and business owner. He has been a professor teaching in MBA programs and he holds an MBA in finance from the University of Southern California. Gordon hosted a radio show in finance entitled The Path to Financial Freedom and has authored courses in personal financial management. He is renowned for his ability to present complicated material so that it becomes simple and understandable.
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GUEST POST

Budgeting 101

The mere mention of the word “budget” causes stress and anxiety in some people analogous to telling them that they would have to go to the dentist.  For some reason any mention of managing your money seems to be intimidating.  Maybe it’s because so many books approach budgeting as a rigorous and intimidating process.

But it doesn’t need to be that way at all. A budget is simply a spending plan to let you stay in control of your finances. If it is done correctly it can be an invaluable aid to help you meet your goals. A budget should be useful and flexible so that you will continue to see is a benefit rather than an impediment.

There are essentially six steps to preparing a good budget. Let’s explore them.

Step 1— Decide why you want a budget.
If you do not know why you need a budget it is useless to try to make one.  Many people make their first budget when they find out they are spending more than they are making and need to fix it.  Others want to save more for retirement. Whatever it is you simply need a goal before you start budgeting.

Step 2 — Gather data
You need to know what you are spending now and for what you were using your money.  This is often the toughest part of the budgeting process.  If you asked most people to reconstruct from memory what they spent the last month they would unlikely get closer than about 80%.

The importance of this cannot be over emphasized. One of the reasons for a budget is to identify money that is being wasted or spent unnecessarily. Money is very liquid so we may draw a parallel to water in a bucket.  If the bucket has a hole all of the contents will certainly leak out. We want to keep that from happening.

So for one month count  every penny you spend. Then at the end of the month add pro rata amounts for any expenditures which do not occur evenly each month.  Be especially careful with charge cards that you do not add the amount of the primary transaction and the amount on the credit card. If you do you will be double counting.

When this is done you should have a pretty accurate idea of where your money is going. You may have some surprises. At one money management seminar a lady who did this discovered she was spending $1700 a year in the company vending machines. Now there is nothing immoral in this but maybe it is not the best way to spend your money. Maybe she wanted to make some changes.

Step 3 — Organize the data
Raw data is not very useful.  So we have to organize it into categories. There are mandatory expenses, discretionary expenses, hybrid expenses, and escrowed ones.

Mandatory expenses are those which have to be paid before anything else can be paid. The mortgage payment is an example.

Discretionary expenses are those which can be suspended for an indefinite or short period of time. An example would be going to the movies.

Hybrid expenses are those which have characteristics of each of the previous two.  An example is the grocery bill. Some of the grocery bill is mandatory and some of it is discretionary.

Escrow expenses are monies which you set aside for bills that do not occur evenly throughout the year. An example would be your property taxes.

Now record the data into these categories. It is a good idea to record this information on columned paper with three columns so that you can make changes.

Step 4 — Analyze the data and propose changes
Now it is time to look at the data in some detail. For each item determine what you spent and what you would like to spend and put the amount in parallel columns. Then determine whether the amount has to go up or down.  Maybe you want to put more money into retirement and less money into eating out.

Obviously the amount of money going out has to equal the amount of money coming in.  If part of the money coming in is increased indebtedness you may want to consider correcting that.  Someday increased debt has to be paid back and that will increase still another category.

Step 5 — Calculate all of the changes you want to make
For all of the expense items simply determine any changes that you have to make.

Step 6 — Put your spending plan (budget) to work for you
How you do this is completely up to you. A few tips may help you out. Money for different purposes should be handled differently. Wherever possible mandatory expenses should be set up as an automatic debit to a checking account. Money for different purposes should also be physically separated. It can be in different bank accounts, or it could be an envelope system.

The envelope system works very well. You simply put the allocated amount of money for each category in a separate envelope. When the money is gone you stop spending. This way it keeps you from overspending for something you had not planned to do. Escrow money should not be mixed with the grocery or entertainment funds.

There are many sites on the Internet which can give you additional specifics on budgeting and systems to do so. All of the forms necessary for a budget can be downloaded free from the author’s website www.ptff.net.  Another thing that may be of interest to you is the Financial Freedom Risk Assessment quiz that can also be found on that web site.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Give Yourself a Raise is a complete how-to guide for finding more money to reduce the stress in your life and lead you to­ financial freedom. Suitable for beginners and professionals alike, it will lead you to more contentment about money!

Unique to this book are:

·      Financial Freedom Risk Assessment Quiz—take it and evaluate your own risk!

·      Goals made easy—the complete foundation for personal money management

·      Freedom Money Management System™—harness the power of electronic banking to organize your personal finances

You will also learn how to:

·      Control impulse spending

·      Eliminate family conflict

·      Get out of debt and stay out

·      Practice spending strategies to stretch your income

·      Stop wasting money

BOOK DETAILS:

Categories: Personal Finance-Budgeting, Personal Finance-Money Management
Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Elate Press
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
ISBN-10: 0988149184
ISBN-13: 978-0988149182

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WELCOME BACK JON LAND

JON LAND

Jon Land is the author of more than 30 thrillers, including the bestselling Caitlin Strong Texas Ranger series that includes Strong Enough to Die, Strong Justice, Strong at the Break, Strong Vengeance and, coming this August, Strong Rain Falling. This past fall he resurrected his longtime series hero Blaine McCracken in the E-Book Original Pandora’s Temple, which became a bestseller on both Apple and Amazon and was nominated for a Thriller Award as Best E-Book Original. A follow-up, The Tenth Circle, is slated for release in time for the holiday season. Jon’s first nonfiction book, BETRAYAL, meanwhile, was a national bestseller and was named Best True Crime Book of 2012 by Suspense Magazine. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island and can be found on the Web at jonlandbooks.com.
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Q&A with Jon Land

CM: Do  you draw from personal experiences and/or current events?
JL: Great question to start!  Never on personal experiences, all the time on current events.  I live a pretty uninteresting life which is just the way I like and I’ve always said writers are mostly much better off writing from their imagination.  My very good friend Steve Berry says, “Don’t write what you know, write what you love.”  I couldn’t agree more.  Current events, on the other hand, form the very fabric of modern thriller fiction.  STRONG RAIN FALLING, for example, involves a massive attack to be launched against the nation’s power grid—there’s nothing more current than that.  And current, in the thriller form anyway, normally means scary.  The challenge is writing about something that could be about to happen, to stay ahead of the curve instead of behind it.

CM: Do you start with the conclusion and plot in reverse or start from the beginning and see where the storyline brings you?
JL: I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer in all respects.  I operate on the theory that if I don’t know what’s going to happen next, then the reader can’t possibly know.  I can get away with this because I trust my characters to take me where they want and need to go.  I’m normally about 100 pages ahead with where I’m headed in my mind, never much more than that.  And the result, unfortunately at times, is my first drafts tend to need lots of work.  In fact, I’d venture to say that one of my greatest strengths as a writer is actually rewriting, often based on my own objective read of what I’ve created. For me, first drafts area about getting it down and getting it done.  Each successive draft hones and polishes the material further.  I throw a bunch out, I add a bunch more—sometimes even entirely new characters, subplots and scenes if I sense a weakness or flaw.  I’m also blessed with a terrific editor, Natalia Aponte, who’s always pushing me to do better, to make my Caitlin Strong books, and all my books for that matter, both structurally and emotionally complete.  The thing I like to stress here is that no process works for all writers.  We all have to find what works for us.

CM: Your routine when writing?  Any idiosyncrasies?
JL: Hey, you love those two-part questions, don’t you? (laughs)  When I’m doing the hardest work of all, a first draft, I normally write in two shifts for two-three hours each that normally produces around 15-20 pages total.  I’ll average 75-80 pages in a week and closer to the end will get over 100, so figure I can finish a first draft in around 7-8 weeks, a really fast clip.  And part of the reason I’m able to do that is I’ve got two tricks I’ve come to rely on:  First, I always leave a scene or chapter off in the middle, not the end, so I have a running start when I go back to work.  There’s a tendency to want to stop writing at the end of a chapter just like there is when reading.  I never stop there.  Even if I get just the first couple paragraphs down, enough to provide direction, I’m good to go when I get back to the keyboard.  I also always have a few books put aside by my favorite authors.  Before putting my fingers to work, I’ll read 15-20 pages of their book (see below for more info on who!) just to get me in the right mindset, to remind me of what a great story reads like so I’m ready to write my own.

CM: Is writing your full time job?
JL: Yes, it is. That’s probably the shortest answer to a question I’ve ever given, so I better go on a little.  I’d always planned on becoming a lawyer.  But I got bit by the writing bug in college and fell in love with the process as well as seeing my name in print.  That’s the thing about me:  I actually love the process of writing.  I can’t explain why or how I do it exactly.  I just know I love where it takes me.  It’s like therapy.  When I’m not writing, I go into withdrawals.  It’s like a legal drug.

CM: Who are some of your favorite authors?
JL: Well, THE EXORCIST was the first book I read cover-to-cover in a single day, a single setting actually.  Reading Robert Ludlum’s THE HOLCROFT COVENANT (along with THE MATARESE CIRCLE) taught me more about what makes a great thriller than anything else. THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL taught me the importance of a great “What if?” question.  THE STAND showed me the wonder of taking the reader out of his or her world and into the world we fashion on the page.  MARATHON MAN made me realize just how much caring about the characters means.  I can quote portions of that book, just as I can from the others I mention here and far more.  As far as strictly favorites, Lee Child and James Lee Burke are the authors I most look forward to, with plenty of others not far behind.  David Morrell, who never writes the same book twice.  Stephen Hunter, who’s a maestro when it comes to action scenes.  Michael Connolly for writing books that are impossible to put down.  And I’ve recently discovered John Hart who seems incapable of writing a bad sentence or creating a character who doesn’t command our interest.

CM: What are you reading now?
JL:  Lee Child’s second book, DIE TRYING.  I’ve been saving it forever but the time finally came!

CM: Are you working on your next novel?  Can you tell us a little bit about it?
JL:  Again, with the two-part questions!  (laughs)  The next book’s already done.  It’s called THE TENTH CIRCLE and it’s the follow-up to PANDORA’S TEMPLE once again featuring Blaine McCracken, my original series hero I’ve fallen back in love with.  Beyond that I’m actually working on three books:  a sequel to my bestselling THE SEVEN SINS, a terrific project I’m doing in tandem with the great Heather Graham, and I’m just about to start STRONG DARKNESS, the next book featuring Caitlin that takes her and Cort Wesley Masters to a very dark place potentially.  I’m going to take her right up to the edge, but hopefully not so close that she slips over.

CM: Your novel will be a movie.  Who would you cast?
JL:  Bruce Willis for Blaine McCracken—that’s the easy one.  For Caitlin, let’s see, Eva Mendez maybe.  Hillary Swank.  Jennifer Garner.  Maybe I should Google “strong actresses in their mid-30s and see what I get!  In film, the budget to a large extent is determined by the box office value of your store.  So if I wanted the biggest budget I’d have to say Angelina Jolie, but she might be a bit old.  Hey, Sandra Bullock is too old too but she lives in Texas so who knows?

CM: Would you rather read or watch television or a film?
JL:  Okay, confession time:  this is the golden age of scripted television and I can’t get enough of shows like THE WALKING DEAD, BREAKING BAD, JUSTIFIED, MAD MEN, DEXTER, GAME OF THRONES—the list goes on and on.  But here’s the thing, the crucial disclaimer:  I love those kind of shows because their novelistic in structure.  Watching them week to week is like watching a novel.  That’s why I don’t “binge watch” the way a lot of people are these days.  I prefer to look forward to the next week’s episode in the arc, to be kept in suspense.  Call it practicing what I preach.

CM: Favorite food?
JL: Nothing beats a great steak, but lobster comes close.  And I have a bagel for breakfast almost every day.

CM: Favorite beverage?
JL:  Iced tea—no doubt about it.  Been that way for as long as I can remember.  Of course, since I’m a writer, I probably should have said scotch, or maybe bourbon. Hell, anything that makes me forget what a tough business this is truly is!

Thank you Jon for stopping by today and answering my 2 part questions!! (chuckling)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Mexico, 1919: The birth of the Mexican drug trade begins with opium being smuggled across the U.S. border, igniting an all-out battle with American law enforcement in general and the Texas Rangers in particular.

The Present: Fifth Generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong and her lover, former outlaw Cort Wesley Masters, both survive terrifying gun battles. But this time, it turns out, the actual targets were not them, but Masters’ teenage sons.

That sets Caitlin and Cort Wesley off on a trail winding through the past and present with nothing less than the future of the United States hanging in the balance. Along the way they will confront terrible truths dating all the way back to the Mexican Revolution and the dogged battle Caitlin’s own grandfather and great-grandfather fought against the first generation of Mexican drug dealers.

At the heart of the storm soon to sweep away America as we know it, lies a mastermind whose abundant power is equaled only by her thirst for vengeance. Ana Callas Guajardo, the last surviving member of the family that founded the Mexican drug trade, has dedicated all of her vast resources to a plot aimed at the U.S.’s technological heart.

This time out, sabotage proves to be as deadly a weapon as bombs in a battle Caitlin must win in cyberspace as well. Her lone chance to prevail is to short-circuit a complex plan based as much on microchips as bullets. Because there’s a strong rain coming and only Caitlin and Cort Wesley can stop the fall before it’s too late.

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BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Thriller
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: August 13, 2013
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 978-0765331502
Series: Caitlin Strong, 5
(Can be read as a Stand Alone)

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
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WELCOME JULIA CAMERON

JULIA CAMERON

Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than thirty years, with over thirty books (including bestsellers The Artist’s Way, Walking In This World and The Right to Write) and countless television, film, and theater scripts to her credit. Writing since the age of 18, Cameron has a long list of screenplay and teleplay credits to her name, including an episode of Miami Vice, and Elvis and the Beauty Queen, which starred Don Johnson. She was a writer on such movies as Taxi Driver, New York, New York, and The Last Waltz. She wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning independent feature film, God’s Will, which premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival, and was selected by the London Film Festival, the Munich International Film Festival, and Women in Film Festival, among others. In addition to making film, Cameron has taught film at such diverse places as Chicago Filmmakers, Northwestern University, and Columbia College. Her profound teachings on unlocking creativity and living from the creative center have inspired countless artists to unleash their full potential. Her site JuliaCameronLive.com is an online course and artists’ community.
Connect with Julia at these sites:

Q&A with Julia

It has been 20 years since the publication of your bestseller, The Artist’s Way, and your many fans have long been asking for a book like The Artist’s Way for Parents – why did you decide to write this book now?
My daughter, Domenica, has just had her first child. I wanted to pass on to her the tips and insights I myself had used.

What creative tools did you employ in your daughter’s upbringing?
I wrote Morning Pages, I took Domenica with me on Creative Expeditions, I supplied her with toys for solo play. Above all, I modeled the joy of creative exploration myself.

Why do you think parents lose sight of their personal creativity, and why is it important that they reignite it?
Parents often feel they must commit themselves 24/7 to nurturing their child. With this as a mission, they often neglect their own creative nurturing. When they commit to self-care as well as child care, they experience and transmit joy.

Spirituality is an important theme in this book. What is the connection between spirituality and creativity?
I often say that spirituality and creativity are one and the same. As we commit to deepening our spirituality, we awaken our creativity. As we commit to awakening our creativity, we reignite our spirituality.

You describe this book as a “toolkit” for parents and their children. What are some of the key resources that will they discover in its pages?
The Artist’s Way for Parents aims at awakening inner wisdom. Its essays and tasks provoke thought. Parents will learn the attitudes and aptitudes that best serve their child’s creativity. For example, they will learn how to cultivate safety, inventiveness and independence.

This book is geared toward parents with children newborn through age twelve – does it get harder to inspire creativity in children as they grow older?
No. Children crave self-expression, and as they mature, their avenues for self-expression increase.

You encourage parents to write “Morning Pages” at the start of every day – can you explain a bit about the process and how parents, and their children, will benefit from this exercise?
Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, morning writing about absolutely anything. Virginia Wolfe advised wanna-be artists that they would need “a room of their own.” Morning Pages constitute such a room. As parents write their pages, they come in contact with their authentic feelings. This allows them to relate to their children without resentment. Instead, they find themselves tabulating the many tiny steps in their child’s development and their own reactions to them.

In what ways has our changing culture influenced people’s creativity over the years and generations?
Morning Pages are an old-fashioned tool. Writing by hand, we achieve a hand-made life. Writing by computer, we race along, ignoring our true feelings and perceptions. Emailing and texting, we tune out on our environment. As we focus on old-fashioned tools such as crafts, we awaken our child’s originality. Keeping our own technological indulgence to a minimum, we encourage our children to do the same.

How did your own parents encourage creativity in you and your siblings?
My parents encouraged creativity by supplying rich resources for our creative self-expression. They encouraged us to draw, paint, write and make music. They applauded our efforts. Their encouragement was pivotal in developing our love of self-expression.

Why is it so important for parents to awaken their children’s creative minds
Just as blood is part of our physical DNA, creativity is part of our spiritual DNA. Awakening our children’s creativity gives them the opportunity to become fully rounded individuals.

What is the most important takeaway for parents who are reading The Artist’s Way for Parents?

Readers of The Artist’s Way for Parents will find themselves cultivating their own creativity. They will see how their common sense and simple encouragement will benefit their children. They will learn the value of their alert participation in their children’s unfolding lives.

ABOUT THE BOOK

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Non Fiction, Parenting & relationships
Published by: Tarcher
Publication Date: August 15, 2013
Number of Pages: 288
ISBN-10: 0399163727
ISBN-13: 978-0399163722

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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

We think your readers would be interested in learning about the charitable promotion that Tarcher/Penguin is running now through August 15^th: To celebrate the release of The Artist’s Way for Parents, Tarcher/Penguin has teamed with the LilySarahGraceFund and the International Child Art Foundation to help underprivileged children everywhere gain access to the arts. For every copy of The Artist’s Way for Parents sold now through August 15^th, Tarcher/Penguin will donate $1 to these organizations. In addition, if the total number of copies sold within this timeframe (hardcopy or ebook) exceeds 1,000, Tarcher/Penguin will double its contribution. To make each order count, simply e-mail your receipt or an image of your receipt to: AWforParents@gmail.com.

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WELCOME J.M. LeDUC

J.M. LeDUC

Mark Adduci, writing as J. M. LeDuc is native Bostonian, who transplanted to South Florida in 1985. He shares his love and life with his wife, Sherri and his daughter, Chelsea.

Blessed to have had a mother who loved the written word, her passion was passed on to him. It is in her maiden name he writes. When he is not crafting the plot of his next thriller, his alter ego is busy working as a professor at The Academy of Nursing and Health Occupations, a nursing college in West Palm Beach, Florida.

J.M. LeDuc’s first novel, “Cursed Blessing” won a Royal Palm Literary Award in 2008 as an unpublished manuscript in the thriller category. It was published in 2010. He has subsequently written Cursed Presence and Cursed Days, books two and three of the Trilogy of The Chosen, as well as a novella, Phantom Squad. He is a proud member of the Florida Writers Association (FWA) and the prestigious International Thriller Writers (ITW).
Connect with J.M. LeDuc at these sites:

ABOUT THE BOOK

In a blink of an eye, Brent Venturi falls into the chasm of despair.

What do you do when everything is lost? When the person you loved is gone and all you have left is guilt? These are the questions that face Brent, the leader of the Phantom Squad and the latest in Noah’s line of descendants. His answer—go back to the beginning, back to where it all began—Mount Ararat.

The last known resting place of Noah’s Ark.

In his travels, Brent will meet Rowtag Achak, a Cree brave and Special Forces sniper who is on a similar path of self-destruction. Together, they will trace their steps from Palm Cove to Washington D.C., all the way to Armenia and the Khor Virap Monastery which sits at the base of Mount Ararat. Their travels will eventually take them to Alpha Camp and the Hindu Kush Mountains on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

When President Dupree and the Phantom Squad get captured by the Brotherhood of Gaza, time for introspection is over and time for action begins. Brent must find a way to get back to the man he was in order to save the people still left in his life.

What begins as a sabbatical of self-awareness turns into a mission of survival. His own, that of the squad and more importantly, that of the president of the United States. What man and nature takes away, only God can restore. The restoration of the Cornerstone.

To find the beginning, one must walk through the past and be willing to step into the future.

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BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Christian Suspense
Published by: Suspense Publishing
Publication Date: 06/25/13
Number of Pages: 330
ISBN: 978-1484188682 // 1484188683

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.