Sunday, December 31, 2017

Schedule for January 1 - 5, 2018


Schedule

Mon., Jan. 1 - Happy New Year
from Vision and Verse
Tues., Jan. 2  - “The Search for Elan Vital”
By Parker Kaufman
Wed., Jan. 3 - Interview with Multi-Genre Author
Gary D. Henry
Thurs., Jan. 4 - Albrecht Durer, German Painter,
Engraver, and More!
Fri., Jan. 5 -  BLUE LAKE 
By Carol Ann Kauffman 

Friday, December 29, 2017

Madison's Christmas by Carol Ann Kauffman



Christmas is Madison’s favorite holiday, but this year is different. She has to face it alone, without her father and her best friend/boyfriend Bob, amid the problems of running her own high-stakes business and dealing with family issues.

Can the spirit of Christmas lift a heavy heart?


Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/lys6yqj


5.0 out of 5 stars Another warm story !February 4, 2014
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Carol has a wonderful way of bringing love to the forefront. I have enjoyed several of her books,and am looking forward to reading more.You can feel that the characters all have a connection from book to book. Keep writing Carol .


5.0 out of 5 stars A Charming little story!January 24, 2014
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
I found Madison's Christmas to be an extremely easy going read. I laughed and had fun reading this story. Made me feel good when I finished. The author sure knows how to bring her characters to life!


5.0 out of 5 stars ReadingJanuary 15, 2014
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
I love the book and have recommended to members of my family. I would recommend this book to book lovers.


4.0 out of 5 stars Besides being a cute Christmas story...January 4, 2014
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Besides being a cute Christmas story, this novella is an excellent exploration of the demand of career on modern women and how we can get locked into job and social expectations. Madison is known as the "Dragon Lady" for her tough expectations for her employees, an attitude that helps her run a high-profile security business. She's reeling from the loss of her father and a co-worker, so perhaps that's why she doesn't correct a new employee when he doesn't realize she's the boss lady and instead treats her like an attractive, desireable woman. Now can Madison admit to the deception and get the guy? It's Christmas, the time for miracles!


5.0 out of 5 stars The best Christmas read!December 21, 2013
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
This is a lovely story I highly recommend. Carol's wonderful writing is a joy to read. You won't be disappointed.


5.0 out of 5 stars Not your typical Christmas reading...December 20, 2013
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Kauffman creates an interesting organization headed up by a protagonist with several layers--she's strong, successful, and almost Byronic in that she can help other women so easily yet has a hard time helping herself. I was curious what personal hardship caused Madison to found a woman's outreach program and how that factored into her difficulties with intimacy and supposed need for control, and I liked the idea that new love can heal old wounds without replacing the people for which we felt the hurt.
Telling the truth in fiction makes it believable. I felt like Kauffman presented a Christmas scenario that speaks to those millions who experience grief around the holiday season and gives them some hope that things can change for them--if they have a little faith.



4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful little read...December 15, 2013
By 
Sandra J. Capicotti (Jupiter, Florida) - See all my reviews
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Refreshingly sweet and funny. A perfect love story for the holidays. This is not your typical boy meets girl plot.


5.0 out of 5 stars SweetDecember 13, 2013
By 
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
And short. Tight well done story that moves along nicely. I did enjoy it and will look for more by this author.


5.0 out of 5 stars Ooops you did it again...December 7, 2013
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Thoroughly enjoyed this short story with the theme of Christmas in the background. It was fast paced and an easy quick read. The character's were well developed and identifiable. The pacing and action of the characters made me think that this would be an ideal Hallmark movie. Kudos to you Carol Kauffman; you've done it again!


4.0 out of 5 stars Madison's Christmas Is A Lot of Fun!!November 12, 2013
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Madison's Christmas (Kindle Edition)
Madison's Christmas is a very funny, heartwarming story of love and loss at the happiest of holidays. It tells a sweet story of a woman who loses both her father and lover in a matter of a few months. Because of this, she doesn't want to celebrate the holidays and finds every reason to work, although she promises her sister she will be there to celebrate. An office mix-up causes a case of mistaken identity and shows Madison that we never know when love will enter our life again and the importance of never giving up. I enjoyed this short story very much and it is definitely a must read for Christmas lovers everywhere.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Interview with Author Joseph Carrabis



Joseph Carrabis
I divide my time between Nashua, NH, and the landscapes of my imagination. More often the latter.





Good morning, Joseph, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the place for Art and Authors. What have you written?
I published several trade-technicals back in the 1980s, self-published some marketing neuroscience books, Reading Virtual Minds Volumes I-III, in the 2000s and 2010s, a collection of short stories, Tales Told 'Round Celestial Campfires, and a novel, Empty Sky, in the past few years. "Empty Sky" is currently out of print as I've learned a great deal about writing since I released it and am using my new learnings to improve the story-telling and -crafting. I've had my short stories, poetry and children's stories published in print magazines and online. I'm currently shopping another novel, The Augmented Man, around with agents and publishers. My short stories have been nominated for both Nebula and Pushcart.



What is your favorite genre to write?
Interesting question. My business card reads "Autobiography in the guise of fiction, fantasy,scifi, magic realism and other associated Dark Arts".


Favorite food.
Tough one. Probably anything spicy.


Tea or coffee?
Coffee. But only if it's freshly ground from finely roasted beans. I apprenticed to a coffee broker once and it spoiled me.


Pizza or ice cream?
Pizza. I routinely make hand-made pizza (including the crust) for friends. Unless it's the ice-cream Susan makes by hand for dessert after we've had pizza.


Wine or beer?
Depends on what it's with, who I'm with and the type of day we've had, and I more often will have a glass of wine than a bottle of beer.


Where would you like to visit?
Ha. Anything off axis.


Favorite musical artist.
Another tough one. Depends on my mood and the genre. I've been playing Bach two-part inventions since my early teens and I still learn something new each time I sit down to play one. Buddy Holly, ELP, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, any heavy organ music (helped repair and rebuild pipe organs when I was a teenager), Buxtehude, Beethoven, Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff (thank goodness I have large hands!), Michael Hedges, Willie&Lobo, Max Lasser, Ottmar Liebert, Prince, David Bowie, Andreas Vollenweider, ... Right now I'm listening to Marshall Crenshaw. I'm pretty eclectic based on two things: I learn from the music or it transports me.
Do you listen to music when you write?  
All the time and that includes the sounds of nature (often work on my backporch which abuts forest).



What makes you laugh?
Myself most often. A good joke (so subjective!).


This is an Art and Author blog, so I obliged to ask: Favorite work of art or sculpture.
Another toughy. Hmm...My honest to god first response was "The Andromeda Nebula, The Horsehead Nebula, The Crab Nebula, The Heart Stars, ..." Eventually I got to "the aurora borealis, the ocean, ..." And of course Susan is in there. Human made, though? Do cityscapes count? Buildings? Monuments of hope or charity? And do we count "favorite" as "interesting" or "amazed by" or "beautiful to look at" or ...?


How old were you when you started writing?
I think it was late single digits although I'm sure I was making up stories before that. My sister got me started.


Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
Both. It depends on what I'm working on. Often stories come to me fully realized and I'm just recording them. Sometimes I get the last scene, nothing else and write towards that last scene. Sometimes I get an idea and then several scenes come to me over about a week. This happened with Ritchie and Phyl. I wrote the first scene then made notes on the rest (an outline in scenes).


Describe your perfect evening.
Susan and me on the backporch, our dog and cat sleeping on the futon, watching the darkness envelop the woods as they come out to say hello.


Where do you get your inspiration?
Everything and Everywhere.


What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I don't get it often and when I do I can usually trace it back to the cause, alleviate the problem and continue writing. An example is Labor Relations.


Who is your favorite author?
Another tough question. It depends on what I'm reading for. And about. Craig Johnson's fairly consistent as far as storytelling and storycrafting go. I've always enjoyed his Longmire novels and short stories both as stories and writing examples. I've recently discovered Katherine Mansfield and am in awe of her skills (that theme of "learning" is cropping up again, it seems). James Dickey is a master poet. Once I get started on his stuff it's tough to put down. Langston Hughes and James Baldwin woke me up. Painfully and needfully. Ursula LeGuin. And I'd be ashamed if I didn't mention James Tiptree, Jr./Alice Sheldon. She woke me up, as well. Algis Budrys is a steady influence. Again, eclectic. We haven't even gotten into the ancients and near-ancients (everything from myths, fairytales and folklore from around the globe to Verne, Wells, Lucien, Shelley, Homer, ...) all of whom teach so much.





Best book you ever read.
The next one.



Last book you read.
Thirteen Moons/Charles Frazier (+++), Station Eleven/Emily St. John Mandel (---), The Darkening Web/Alexander Klimburg (-), No Is Not Enough/Naomi Klein (0). I rarely read a single book at a time. The last single book I read was Michael Crichton's "The Terminal Man"(+++).


What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
Something boring.


Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
Susan. She said "Yes".


If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
The Universe. To discover that all my questions are meaningless, irrelevant.


What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Write, write and write. When you think you've written something that's totally completely freakin' brilliant, put it aside for at least a month, preferably a year. After that time's gone by, pick it up again and decide if it's still totally completely freakin' brilliant. If it is, send it out. If it isn't, congratulate yourself for what you've learned (as in my pulling "Empty Sky" from circulation while I improve it. I should note that everybody who's reached out to me after reading it says it's great, wonderful, spell-binding. I'm the only one so far who thinks it can be improved.)

Links:
Amazon http://nlb.pub/jdcamazon

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JosephCarrabisAuthor/

Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3465227.Joseph_Carrabis


Twitter
https://twitter.com/JosephCarrabis


LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephcarrabis


My blog
http://www.josephcarrabis.com




Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Holiday Cocktail Recipes

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

Today I have for you the favorite holiday cocktail recipes for your holiday parties.  These are from FREE-N-FUN Christmas, a part of the Oriental Trading Co.  This site holds a plethora of ideas on decorating, homemade gifts for crafters of all ages, and recipes. If you are not familiar with this site, you still have time to acquaint yourself.

My personal favorite cocktail is the Peach Bellini.  I first had one in Venice long ago.  I don't know how THEY made it, but I use equal parts Prosecco and peach juice.  I have used white grape juice when I couldn't find peach juice.  Frozen grapes make good ice cubes in this version.  Try one.

Have a wonderful day!
Hugs,
Carol


Link:









Monday, December 25, 2017

Merry Christmas from Vision and Verse


Dear Gentle Readers,

We at Vision and Verse wish you the happiest of holidays. We hope the love and peace you feel in your heart this  season lasts throughout the coming new year.

We hope you've found something here on Vision and Verse that sparked your imagination or kick-started your own creativity. Or maybe, you found a new artist or author to follow!

As one of our readers, you are valued as part of our little artsy-writer community. We appreciate your interest and taking the time to stop by and see what's happening here.

Merry Christmas,
Carol


Sunday, December 24, 2017

Schedule for December 25 - 29, 2017


Schedule

Mon., Dec. 25 - Merry Christmas
from Vision and Verse
Tues., Dec. 26 - Holiday Cocktail Recipes
Wed., Dec. 27 - Interview with Author
Joseph Carrabis
Thurs., Dec. 28 - Lei Xue,
Chinese Porcelian Artist
Fri., Dec. 29 - Madison's Christmas
by Carol Ann Kauffman

Friday, December 22, 2017

The Captain and the Ambassador by Carol Ann Kauffman


Ambassador Tull Redmond is looking for a quick ride home back to Earth after ending her twenty-year mission as peace negotiator. All she wants is peace, quiet, and to be left alone. 

She boards the Earth Starship Giuseppe Verdi with its questionable leader, Captain Ben Jacobs anyway. It's the fastest way home. Her quarters has a full bath, a space view window, and a large, real bed! How bad could this rule-breaking, authority-defying Captain Casanova be?

High Council hates him, true, but his crew loves him. Surely, she's too old and tired to be drawn into this bad boy of the quadrant's personal circus.
 
Will Ambassador Redmond get the quiet, uneventful ride home she craves?



Amazon Review:

Again another scifi adventure, where your imagination take your readers to far away make believe places. Nice love story , interesting twists, nice ending. Good job, when is the next one coming!!!!!


Thursday, December 21, 2017

Olympian Heartbreak by Andrya Bailey

 Dear Gentle Readers,
      Olympian Heartbreak is the long-awaited sequel to Olympian Passion, the story of museum intern Sabrina and the ultra-sexy archaeologist Nikos, set in the world of Greek museum art. 


Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Olympian-Heartbreak-Love-Book-ebook/dp/B0758TYC2F/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510934100&sr=1-1&keywords=Olympian+Heartbreak




Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Interview with Literary Fiction Author Gary Guinn




Gary Guinn
The southern Ozarks of northern Arkansas
USA





Good morning, Gary, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the place for art and authors. What have you written? 
I’ve written four novels (two published, one shopping now, one in final revisions), short fiction, and poetry.


What is your favorite genre to write? 
Literary fiction is really my favorite genre to write. I love working with words to create beautiful sentences, images, characters.


Favorite food. 
Dry-rubbed (spicy) BBQ ribs. Or popcorn, with lots of butter and salt.


Tea or coffee? 
Coffee, black. I do drink hot tea occasionally and certainly cold tea in summertime.


Pizza or ice cream? 
Pizza all the way, especially pepperoni.




Wine or beer? 
I love red wine, a Cab or an old-vine Zin, but I’m a big fan of IPA’s. I’m also a brewer, so I guess I’d have to say beer takes it by a nose.





Where would you like to visit? 
My wife and I have seen a lot of the world. Greece is the place I’d most like to go back to and spend a long time. But I’d really like to spend some time in India or New Zealand.


Favorite musical artist. 
Norah Jones. Sexiest voice in the universe.


Do you listen to music when you write? 
Not usually. I tend to shut out everything and focus only on the story.  


What makes you laugh? 
Dogs make me laugh, especially puppies. Kittens also can be very funny. Dogs and kittens make me laugh in a way that is totally healthy, healing, therapeutic.


This is an author and art blog, so I am obliged to ask: Favorite work of art or sculpture.  
When I walked into a room at the Phillips Collection, Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party took my breath away. I had always admired it, but when it covered the wall in front of me, with its thick, bright swathes of color, it became a spiritual experience for me.


How old were you when you started writing? 
I started writing bad poetry in college, with friends who also wrote bad poetry. We went to coffee houses and listened to good poets, and sat around the apartment drinking wine and writing more bad poetry. Over the next twenty years I continued writing bad poetry until I began to write a good poem now and then. And in my ‘40’s, I began to write serious fiction.


Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write? 
My first novel, A Late Flooding Thaw, a literary/historical story set in the Arkansas Ozarks, started with a set of characters and an event and then grew organically. But since that time, I have done more planning on the three novels I’ve written.




Describe your perfect evening. 
I have two perfect evenings. The first would be for my wife and I to go out to dinner at one of our favorite places, share a bottle of wine, then share a romantic evening at home. The second would be to sit at home with a bottle of good wine and a good book and, over the course of the evening, finish both.



Where do you get your inspiration? 
My ideas for a story usually come from a person I see/hear, or a line that pops into my head, or something I see in the newspaper.


What do you do when you get a writer's block? 
I’ve never had writer’s block. I feel lucky in that way.


Who is your favorite author? 
Impossible to name just one, but I can say that the following writers have always thrilled me: John Irving, Louise Erdrich, Louis Nordan, and Raymond Chandler.


Best book you ever read. 
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss




Last book you read. 
Black-Eyed Susans, by Julia Haeberlin



What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer? 
I’d love to be an astronomer. The stars and planets and all the beautiful things in the night sky are highly romantic to me.



Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? 
Before I married, it would have been my father, whom I still often think of, wondering what he would think of some crazy development like cell phones. But since I married Mary Ann, there is no doubt she is the person who has most influenced my life in almost every way.



If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why? 
Charles Dickens. No, wait, Abraham Lincoln. No, wait, Jesus. No, Tolstoy. No, Albert Einstein. Picasso. Frank Lloyd Wright. Ghandi. Wait, Martin Luther King, Jr. Wait, wait, I’ve got it . . . Any one of these because each of them gave the world something beautiful that made the world a better place.



What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer? 
Sit down and think about the books you love, the books you have read more than once or might like to read again. If you can’t think of a handful of books that fit this criterium, then maybe rethink your aspirations. It will be tough to become a writer if you aren’t in love with literature. Look at your list of books, and then read a couple of them again, or read more books like them. As you read them, ask yourself why you love them. What is it about the writing that excites you or makes you sigh with happiness? Then begin writing stories that excite you in the same way or make you sigh with happiness.



Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Purchase Links: Sacrificial Lam
Purchase Links: A Late Flooding Thaw
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=Gary+Guinn&tn=&kn=&isbn=