ART: British Landscape Impressionist Artist Hazel Thomson

 I was captivated by the beautiful landscapes of British Artist Hazel Thomson . They are part realism, part Impressionism, with a fresh, modern feeling. Her paintings ooze with the love of nature that resides in a happy heart. 

Follow Hazel on Facebook

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SCHEDULE: July 20-24, 2026

Monday, July 20- ART:

British Landscape Artist

Hazel Thomson

Tuesday, July 21 - BOOK REVIEW:

An Opening Nightmare

by John Gaspard

Wednesday, July 22 - INTERVIEW:

Author Chris Rose

Thursday, July 23 - TV TIME:

Pursuit of Jade

(Netflix)

Friday, July 24 - BOOK:

MacKalvey House

by Carol Ann Kauffman

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BOOK: July Fireworks Sky, A Cat Collier Mystery by Carol Ann Kauffman

 July Fireworks Sky

Link: https://tinyurl.com/y8mgcpb2 

Cat Collier finds herself in a disturbing, life-altering situation after her brother’s trial for murder. No one expected this, especially Cat. The outcome will have far reaching effects for not only herself, but Carter, Spencer, and others. Will Cat finally find the honesty she’s looking for? 

#femaledetective   #relationships   #mystery  #girlsleuths

EXCERPT:

Carter looked around and spied a young man wearing an old black hoodie with a college insignia on the back. 

“Psst! Hey! I’ll give you $50 for your hoodie.” 

“You nuts, man? Do you think I got this beauty at Goodwill?”

 “$100 then,” said Carter. 

“I don’t know. I really like this hoodie. It’s broke in just right. It’s my fave.”

 “$150.” “Mmmm.” “Are you in a hurry?”

 “No.”

 “Okay, $150 to rent your favorite hoodie. I’ll give it back as soon as I’m done. See that pair by the window?”

 “The hot babe and the old guy?” 

“Yes. Hot babe is my girlfriend. And I want to sneak up close behind them to overhear their conversation. And I need your hoodie to do it.” 

“Hot babe’s cheating on you with the old guy?”

 “Maybe.” 

“Ahh, that’s sick, man. Sure. Here. I’ll wait over there,” Hoodie Guy said. He gave Carter his hoodie. Carter slipped him cash. Carter pulled the hoodie up and walked quietly to the front of the coffeeshop with his head down. He slid into a chair facing the back of the shop, but close enough to his grandfather to eavesdrop. 

“Yes, Yvette, I realize he’s still angry at the world. But he’ll settle down soon.” 

“But he’s so miserably unhappy.” 

“I know it seems that way right now. But it’ll pass.” 

“I hate to see him so sad.” 

“Yvette, Erick changed for the worst when he moved to Heaton Valley with Mary Catherine Collier and chummed around with that immoral degenerate Detrick Bittmor.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

“He became so giddy and giggly. Those are not good traits in a New York City lawyer, or any man, really. Didn’t you see it?”

 “No. He was never giddy or giggly around me. He was… quiet.” 

“Well, it was annoying at best. He’d go on and on about the beautiful shade of blue of the sky and the pretty clouds. He’d rave about how delicious the food tasted that he bought on the corner from a street vendor. He dressed like a hippie-beatnik-flower child. Pink shirts!”

 Erick Carter Larsen looked down. He pulled the hoodie tight across his chest to cover his Ralph Lauren Classic pink dress shirt. 

“And he was always smiling. No, over-smiling. All the time. It was like he joined a cult or something. Damn it, my brilliant, serious-minded lawyer only grandson turned into a silly pre-teen girl. Aren’t you glad he’s back in town?” 

“Yes.” 

“Don’t you two spend time together?” 

“Well, yeah. We go out to dinner or see a show. He escorts me to all my work-related functions.” 

“That’s good.”

 “He’s not in the least bit affectionate toward me.” 

“Was he ever? Erick was never one to wear his heart on his sleeve.” 

“Yeah, that’s true. But he pulls away from me whenever I try to… touch him.” 

“We had to step in and do something. We had to do something to get him back on track before he wasted his whole life skipping through the park, marveling at the pretty clouds and butterflies, and holding hands with Little Red Riding Hood. 

“Our plan was a simple one. You go to Heaton Valley and seduce him in his office while his hick-town girlfriend watched from the adjacent doorway. She leaves him because she sees she can never compete with a drop-dead gorgeous woman like you. It worked perfectly, even better than we planned. I’m sure he loves you, Yvette. How could he not? You’re beautiful.” “Yes, that’s true,” agreed Yvette. 

“Erick is an intelligent young man. You know, sooner or later, he would have come to his senses on his own,” said Granddad Larsen. “We just gave him a little nudge.” 

“A little nudge?” shouted Carter as he spun around to face his grandfather. 

“A little nudge! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve ruined my life. You destroyed my happiness. And in the process, you’ve hurt Cat, a sweet and gentle soul who wouldn’t understand this kind of treachery, especially coming from my own dear grandfather.” 

“Erick, what are you doing here?” asked Yvette. “And what is that dirty, disgusting thing you’re wearing? Bleth!” 

Carter ignored her and focused on his grandfather. 

“So this was all your idea, Granddad?” 

“Calm down, Erick. You causing a scene.”

 “I don’t care.” 

“You were way off track. Your mother would’ve…” 

“Leave my mother out of this. Your hatred for my father was one of the reasons they weren’t together.” 

“Is that what Bittmor told you? That’s a boldface lie from that delusional psychotic. Your mother had more sense than to waste her life on the likes of him. He’s full of dirty tricks. He’s devious.” 

“Oh, really? He’s devious? He’s full of dirty tricks? So are you!” 

“Calm down, Erick. Your mother only wanted the best for you.” 

“Well, she’s gone now, and we’ll never know what she wanted for me and how much of an impact your interference had on her relationship with my father. But you have absolutely no right to interfere in my personal life. Cat and I were happy together. Very happy. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to put on my daisy crown and love beads and ride my unicorn back to Heaton Valley in my pink shirt to see if I can fix this horrible mess you two nasty creatures created.”

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TV TIME: Thrash (Netflix)

 I love disaster movies. They make a bad day better by comparison. Thrash combines a flood and sharks in a unique way and, although the critics hated it, calling it mind less and pointless, we enjoyed it. 

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INTERVIEW: International Bestselling Fantasy Author James Quinlan Meservy

 James Quinlan Meservy

Southeast Idaho

USA

 

Good morning, James, and welcome back to Vision and Verse, the site for contemporary authors and those who love them. We are always happy to see you. What have you written?

Oh my goodness, I have several stories in several genres. The main series I am working on is a YA Fantasy, The Realm of the Light, Rai Saga. At the moment there are 4 novels, 2 novellas, and an anthology of short stories. Book 5 of the series is a WIP, and I have no current timetable for its release.

The titles in the Realm of the Light are:

The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1

Denizens Among Us, The Realm of the Light Book 2

Perfectly Evil, The Realm of the Light Book 3

Shades of Mortality, The Realm of the Light Book 4

Viscount on Sternboard, A Realm of the Light Novella

Cross of Roses, A Fantasy Thriller from the Realm of the Light

Within the Shadows, Rai Saga Anthology Vol. 

For a full list of my other titles, please see my blog. https://jqmserv.wordpress.com/books-by-james-quinlan-meservy/

 

What is your favorite genre to write?

My favorite genre to write if Fantasy. Right now I am working on an Epic Fantasy adventure, but I also had a lot of fun writing Cross of Roses, A Fantasy Thriller, and I hope to return to a fantasy/thriller blend in the future.

 

Favorite food.

Well, my favorite food I tell my wife and kids is any hamburger I don’t have to cook myself.

 

Oh, James, I am beginning to feel the same way.  

Tea or coffee?

I do not drink coffee, so I guess tea by default. I actually do rather enjoy hibiscus tea, but also like some other herbal teas.

 

Pizza or ice cream?

Pizza.

 

Wine or beer or soda or what?

Right now I am really into drinking Caffeinated Sparkling Water.

 

Where would you like to visit?

Ever since I was in Russia, I have really been interested in taking a trip on the Russian Transcontinental Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow, take the subway from the train station to Red Square, get back on the subway to the train station, and go to St. Petersburg and spend like a month just vacationing.

I would also like to spend a month vacationing at the Louvre in France. I don’t really have much interest in visiting anywhere else in France, but I would love to see everything on display at the Louvre.

 

Fav Favorite musical artist.

For  For as long as I can recall, my favorite musical artists have been  Garth Brooks and the Moody Blues.  

 

Do you listen to music when you write?  What?

I wr  When I write, I put in both ear plugs, and work in complete silence.

 

What makes you laugh?

I don’t know if I have ever thought about it. I rarely laugh. 

 

How old were you when you started writing?

Well, I started writing seriously when I was in my mid-twenties when I decided to turn my old short story into a novel.

 

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?

I used to just write and let the story take me wherever it wanted to go, but the more I write Epic Fantasy, the more I start to take notes and lightly outline what I write and keep a chart of characters.

 

Describe your perfect evening.

Any evening I am not a work. I work Monday-Friday 3:00 PM – Midnight in a dehydrated potato warehouse in Southeast Idaho. For it to be perfect, as long as I am home with my family, it does not matter what we are doing.

 

Where do you get your inspiration?

Mostly from my dreams, but sometimes from conversations with people. For example, as I was preparing Denizens Among Us for publication, I had this dream about Vulktyramous getting his revenge, and I worked on the idea until Perfeclty Evil was born. But, my contemporary fiction short story, Definition of Evil was born out of a conversation I had with a cousin.

 

What do you do when you get a writer's block?

Dream, plot, do character interviews, or shelf the project until I know how the story is meant to go.

 

Who is your favorite author?

Charles Dickens.                             

Best book you ever read.

You know, I don’t honestly know. My favorite book I ever read was A Christmas Carol. The first time I read that book, I learned that books were more than just homework assignments. But, by way of storytelling, world building, and shifting points of view, I may say that Bleak House by Charles Dickens may be the best. Though, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Brom Stoker, and several others may also qualify as the best.

 

Last book you read.

I just finished listening to the Hell Hole series by Daniel Firestone. It was an interesting read.

 

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

Well, I am not a fulltime writer, I work as a forklift operator in a potato warehouse in Southeast Idaho, but if I were not doing that, I would be a fulltime writer and author coach. It is my dream to be paid to be creative and help others be creative. 

 

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?

My maternal grandfather. I do not have a good relationship with my own father, and Grandpa was like a second father to me.

 

If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?

Arctyrus Hunter from my Realm of the Light Series. He always avoids our interviews, and I really could use his first hand insights, instead of having to guess what he was thinking based on interviews with his equals.

 

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?

To read. Read everything. And learn from the author while you read.

I am not a fan of The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. There are several things I did not enjoy about that series. But when I stopped caring about what I enjoyed and started reading to learn how Jordan crafted a New York Times bestselling series, I became a huge admirer of Jordan’s work.

 

 

Do you have some links for us to follow you?

Wordpress:
https://jqmserv.wordpress.com

FB Author Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/James.Quinlan.Meservy/

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/JQM_Serv

Pintrest:
https://www.pinterest.com/jqmserv

Instagram link:
https://www.instagram.com/jqmserv

Amazon Author Link:
https://www.amazon.com/author/jamesmeservy

Goodreads Link:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15205860.James_Quinlan_Meservy

YouTube:
Https://youtube.com/channel/UCA3vFyWQV4CdVp4XWJT3Rkw

Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/druDar

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BOOK REVIEW: Vanished in Bitterroot Mountains by James Kipling

 

Many mysteries claim to be unputdownable these days. I have personally put down a number of them. This unpretentious murder mystery by James Kipling makes no such claim, but it is!

I have stayed up later than I wanted to, picked the book after a middle of the night bathroom trip, and postponed cooking dinner to read more of this FBI procedural about missing agents in the Montana wilderness. 

Asa,  an FBI agent is sent to Montana to investigate the disappearance of two agents who were close to solving a drug case. She finds much more than what is expected. 

Extremely well written with great characters! This was one of the best books I’ve read this year. 

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ART: Contemporary German Artist Thiemo Tausendfarben

If you like Gustav Klimt, you will love the work of Contemporary German Artist Thiene Tausendfarben. Her work has the same vibrant color tones and stunning representation, but also has a softer, dreamy quality. Her work is stunning lo beautiful.

 

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SCHEDULE: July 13-17, 2026

 

Monday, July 13 - ART:

Contemporary German Artist

Thiemo Tausendfarben

Tuesday, July 14 - BOOK REVIEW:

Vanished in Bitterroot Mountain

by James Kipling

Wednesday, July 15 - INTERVIEW:

International Bestselling Author

James Quinlan Meservy

Thursday, July 16 - TV TIME:

Thrash

(Netflix)

Friday, July 17 - BOOK:

July Fireworks Sky

by Carol Ann Kauffman

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Vision and Verse does not store any personal information, such as email addresses or home addresses. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.