Tuesday, January 7, 2014
COMING WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2014
Hello Readers. Welcome to 2014 at Vision & Verse. Just a reminder that tomorrow will be the first installment of "What's Up Wednesday". We hope you enjoy this new feature...and please leave us your comments to let us know how we're doing. See ya tomorrow!!
Image above, winter photograph, Indianapolis, Indiana, late 1940's taken by a friend's father.
Author Interview with Nitin Sharma
NITIN SHARMA
Gurgaon (Near New Delhi), INDIA
Welcome to Vision and Verse this morning, Nitin. It is a pleasure to have you with us this morning.What have you written?
I have written ‘Group Discussion: More than 100
topics covered’, a guide for MBA aspirants and job-seekers. Fortunately, it
became a success and gave me a reason to write more such books. Apart from it
I’ve authored an educational story for children with an objective to make studies
easier for them. Currently I’ve been working on a comedy, a fantasy and a word
power book.
What is your favorite
genre to write?
Fantasy, horror and comedy.
Favorite food:
(Hard to answer because I’m a foodie!) I love Italian, Indian and Chinese food. Especially those dishes in which the natural tastes of ingredients are kept preserved.
(Hard to answer because I’m a foodie!) I love Italian, Indian and Chinese food. Especially those dishes in which the natural tastes of ingredients are kept preserved.
Tea or coffee?
Green tea and coffee.
Green tea and coffee.
Pizza or ice cream? Ice cream
Niagara Falls in the US and Canada, The Great
Barrier Reef in Australia, Mount Fuji in Japan, and would also love to see beautiful
English countryside.
Favorite musical
artist.
Enrique, Michael Jackson and Kishore Kumar
Enrique, Michael Jackson and Kishore Kumar
Do you listen to music
when you write? What?
No, I let my imagination sing for me when I’m
writing.
What makes you laugh?
Children and their innocent acts. Besides that- The
Simpsons, Just For Laughs, Will Ferrell, Tom
Sharpe.
How old were you when
you started writing?
I was 25. Before that I was a devoted reader.
Describe your perfect
evening.
Watching sunset by the sea.
Watching sunset by the sea.
Where do you get your
inspiration?
From books.
From books.
What do you do when you
get a writer's block?
I postpone writing for a while. Writer’s block
usually subsides with time.
Who is your favorite
author?
There are many. To name a few- Stephen King, Charles
Dickens, Dale Carnegie, JK Rowling.
Best book you ever
read.
A very tough question indeed, LOL. I can’t compare
‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Harry Potter’ books and ‘How to Stop Worrying and Start
Living’.
Who is the one person
who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
Dale Carnegie, the man whose books gave me hope
whenever I was dismayed, has definitely influenced me a lot.
If you could sit down
and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who
would it be and why?
I’d love to ask Mr. Nelson Mandela what gave him the
strength during all his years in prison. Unfortunately, we lost him. Fortunately,
we still have his books to read.
What advice would you
give someone who aspired to be a writer?
If you have something to say to the world, if you
can create something unique, go for it. All the best!
Do you have any links to share with us?
Do you have any links to share with us?
Monday, January 6, 2014
WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY'S
Hello Readers.
In an effort to add a little something different to the usual Vision & Verse fare, I'm going to introduce "What's Up Wednesdays".. On designated Wednesdays each month you'll find a number of random posts dealing with a variety of art related subjects...things from gallery exhibits, design & architecture, quotes, sayings, art news & art trivia...just a hodge-podge of fun stuff that I hope you all will enjoy. So watch for upcoming announcements for "What's Up Wednesdays".
And please, keep your comments coming, we greatly appreciate them and want to know what you think of what we do here.
Peace,
Parker Kagan-Kaufman
In an effort to add a little something different to the usual Vision & Verse fare, I'm going to introduce "What's Up Wednesdays".. On designated Wednesdays each month you'll find a number of random posts dealing with a variety of art related subjects...things from gallery exhibits, design & architecture, quotes, sayings, art news & art trivia...just a hodge-podge of fun stuff that I hope you all will enjoy. So watch for upcoming announcements for "What's Up Wednesdays".
And please, keep your comments coming, we greatly appreciate them and want to know what you think of what we do here.
Peace,
Parker Kagan-Kaufman
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Waiting for Richard
Excerpt from Waiting for Richard:
Down at the police station, Skye settled in with books of
mug shots, looking for the man from the parking garage, the short, scruffy, longish-haired, messy, blonde
guy with the large nose and the bad complexion. She looked at page after page, book after
book of mug shots.
“No, not in here.”
“Would you like to talk with the precinct artist?”
asked Detective Samson.
“No, not really.
I’m all criminaled out right now.
I’d like to go home and call Rita’s brother and then go get her things
together to take back to the hospital.
We have each other’s spare key.”
“Okay. Maybe
later. Officer Metz will take you home.”
“Thank you.”
Later Skye drove passed Rita’s house, first just to look
around. Not seeing anything out of the
ordinary, the second time she pulled in and parked in the driveway. She went into Rita’s bedroom and gathered her
robe and slippers, and a few nightgowns hanging in the closet. Then she made her way to the chest freezer in
the basement. The plastic cream puff
container was right there on the top.
Skye took the container and put it in the plastic bag she brought down
with her, and went back upstairs. Using
Rita’s address book by the phone, she called her brother Ron. No answer.
She hung up on the answer phone message.
It’s very impolite to tell someone his sister’s in the hospital with a
gunshot wound to the head and in a coma by leaving a message. This kind of thing needs to be done
correctly, slowly, with compassion and a little finesse. First, there’s the ‘hi, how are you’
part. Then, the ‘Ron, I need to tell you
something’ part, followed by the ‘Rita and I went out to dinner last night and
she thought she was being followed’ part.
And finally, there’s the ‘Rita’s in the hospital, someone shot her, how
fast can you get here’ part. One just
couldn’t leave all that in a message.
Skye sighed and called Ron back.
“Ron, this is Skye McKenna, Rita’s friend from work,
remember me? Um, Ron, we need to
talk. It’s about Rita and it’s really
important. Can you call me back on my
cell phone 263-7544-1066? Thank you,
Ron. Talk to you soon.”
She gathered Rita’s things and the plastic bag with
the cream puffs together and went home.
She folded Rita’s things neatly and put them in a tote bag. Then she sat down at the kitchen table and
opened the cream puff container, about a dozen small cream puffs and an
envelope inside. Skye pulled the letter
out of the envelope and smoothed it out.
‘Dear Rita,
Her cell phone rang.
Might be Ron. She jammed the
letter in her pocket and answered the phone.
“Hello”
“Skye! Good morning!
How are you today?” It was Randy
Ribretti, her old boss from the insurance agency. “I have a question.”
“Good morning, Randy.
What’s up?”
“Skye, Rita didn’t come in to work today and there’s
no answer when I call her house. I’m
swamped here. Can you come in and help
me out? I know you’re retired and are
happily writing children’s books now, but I really need you. How soon can you get here?”
“Randy, Rita’s in the hospital. She’s been shot.”
“What! Oh,
no! What happened?”
“We don’t know.
I tried to reach her brother Ron to tell him, but he’s not home. Randy, I can’t help you today. I’m on my way to the hospital to see
Rita. But I’ll come in tomorrow and help
you out. Now I have to go.”
“Of course, Skye, of course. What can I do to help?”
“Don’t know yet.
But I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Bye, Randy.”
“Thank you, Skye.
Goodbye.”
Now, back to the letter.
‘Dear Rita,
Hide this
key.’
She shook the envelope and out fell an odd-shaped
silver-tone key, unlabeled.
‘I borrowed some money from work to go gambling. I planned to replace it the next morning,
just like I always do. Except, this
time, I lost. And I lost big.
So I took a quick side job as a courier, easy money
for some shady deliveries. I saw a
chance to payback the Weller Corporation and not get fired and arrested. So I did.
But now I’m in a mess. And I‘m
pretty sure I’m being watched. Keep this
safe. It’s my only way out.
Ron’
Out of what? Well, Rita said she thought her kid brother
was in trouble. She wasn’t kidding. And what would this key unlock? Ron gave no clues. Just hide this key. Skye went to her jewelry box and retrieved a
long chain. She threaded the key on the
chain and fastened it around her neck and hid the chain under her blouse.
“It’s very safe in there,” she said. “Nobody’s been fondling these breasts for a
very long time.” She popped a cream puff
in her mouth, put three in a small plastic bag to bring to Rita, returning the
rest to the freezer. She picked up
today’s newspaper, gathered her things, and went to the hospital. Skye got to the hospital and went in to see
Rita. She was lying there, looking pale
and lifeless.
“Rita? Hey,
Ri, it’s me. I did as you asked about
the cream puffs. I brought you a
few. I’m sitting them right here so when
you open your eyes again, you’ll see them and know that I heard you and took
care of the matter. I have a call in to
Ron, but as yet he hasn’t called me back.
I don’t want you to worry. I’m
sure your kid brother is okay. All I
want you to do is concentrate on getting better, okay? And don’t worry about getting behind at
work. I’m going in for you tomorrow
morning and I’ll handle everything. I
talked to Randy, so he knows. He’s
concerned and supportive, as always. You
know Randy, a hell of a great guy for an insurance salesman.
Now, I brought today’s newspaper and I’m going to
read to you. I’m going to read to you
until I get hoarse or you get so damn sick of hearing my voice that you come
out of that coma and yell ‘Shut the hell
up!' Okay? Okay.” She began reading the paper.
Waiting for Richard by Carol Ann Kauffman is available on Amazon.com in kindle format.
LORD OF BLAKELEY
LORD OF BLAKELEY
Time After Time
Carol Ann Kauffman, Author
Parker Kaufman, Cover Artist
Synopsis:
LORD OF BLAKELEY is the story of Andrew, a simple farm boy
who rises to be the most powerful man on the planet. He marries a lovely princess, incurring the
wrath of a jealous, devious man.
It is the story of Princess Aleese, who is expected to marry
the son of her guardian, but instead sets out to find the man of her dreams,
this soulmate, this one true love of yours, and ends up in farm country.
It is the story of a sister and brother whose home world was
embroiled in a catastrophic civil war, and were sent away for their own safety
and protection.
It’s the story of time travel and mobile transport
devices. It’s about the legal system in
Chicago, rock planets, and blue magic.
It is, in typical Time After Time fashion, the story of
love.
Excerpt:
Chapter One
Stolen
in the Night
Location: Blakeley Province, Planet of Nord, Year 2075
“I’m going in to get her,” he said calmly and quietly.
“No, Lord Andrew, it’s too dangerous.
They’ll kill you, and not right away.
If that bastard Samuel Bishop and his men find you before you find her and
get back here, you know what they will do to you. You need to re-think this course of
action. At least let’s wait until
morning. Then Carmine will take a team
and go in and get her. You need to stay
here. We need you. You shouldn’t go. And you definitely shouldn’t go alone,” Jared
warned.
“No. I’m going in after her. Now.
Her safety always comes first with me, you know that. I’ll be able to find her, Jared. I know I
will. And rescuing MY woman is MY
job. Unlock the transport dock and have
a security team stand ready. What were
the last signals?”
“Three
in, four out.”
“Damn
it!” he said holding his head. “How did
they manage to get in here with the aperture closed? And nobody saw or heard anything?”
“Well,
Ruth said Lady Aleese was called out to help a baby burning up with fever. You were asleep. She didn’t want to wake you.” He shook his head in dismay. Yes, Aleese would go running out to
help. And no, she wouldn’t want to wake
him.
“Once
this link is opened, who knows what evil may come rushing through that
eye. Security team in place, now. I’ll be leaving as soon as possible.”
Jared
left to ready the transport dock and alert a security team. He was pushing buttons and flipping switches.
“Carmine,
we need a security team to the transport room right now. He’s going in after her. I couldn’t talk him out of it.”
“We’re
on our way, Jared. We knew he’d go.”
Within
minutes, Andrew, Lord of Blakely strode calmly and confidently into the transport
room, followed by a security team taking aim at the aperture. Andrew stood inside the transport dock.
“I’ll
be back within the hour with Aleese.
Stun anyone or anything else comes through this aperture, full stun, and
lock them up until I return. I will deal
with them personally. Tell no one I have
gone,” said Andrew.
“Weapons
on maximum stun,” Carmine ordered his team.
“I
understand,” said Jared. “When the Lord
of Blakeley goes tearing off alone in the middle of the night on a doomed,
dangerous, foolhardy mission to rescue his Lady who has been stolen in the
night, it promotes fear and panic among their loyal subjects who love both
dearly. This is a sad day for Blakeley,
Lord Andrew. We could lose the both of
you tonight.”
“Enough. Bishop is an animal. She’s terrified of him. I have to go right now.”
“It’s
a trap. You know it’s a trap. Bishop is using her as bait. They came sneaking in here and stole her away
in the middle of the night just to piss you off!”
“Oh! It worked.
And I’m going in. But it’s not me
he wants, Jared. He wants her. And now… he’s got her. But not for long.”
“Okay,”
sighed Jared. “Good luck. Be
careful. Go get her and bring her
home. Godspeed.”
“Thank
you. Open.”
Hold on, My Sweet Aleese. I’m coming to get you.
Jared
opened the aperture and Andrew ran into it.
The very next moment a shadowy form shrouded in a grey monk’s robe came
rushing out.
“Fire!”
ordered Carmine. All weapons fired at
the shadowy figure as it fell silently to the ground, gyrating from the
multitude of stungun blasts.
“Oh,
damn it! It’s Lady Aleese. Jared, can you call him back?”
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