V&V GIVEAWAY #6 THE GRAND FINALE

Ok folks...here we are at the last giveaway of our 6 day celebration...the Grand Finale.  The work above is titled "Night Music" and is an 8.5 x 11 inch frameable composition of cardstock, computer enhanced images and colored pencil.  It is another original work by Parker Kaufman. To enter your chance to win this piece, just leave a comment on your favorite post.  The winner will be announced Monday, Oct, 21, 2013...so Good Luck!!

Interview with Author Brenda Sorrell

Brenda Sorrels

Dallas, TX and Wilton, CT

Welcome to Vision and Verse this morning, Brenda.  It's a pleasure to have you with us from Dallas.

I live in Dallas but spend four to five months in Connecticut mainly over the summer - this is where I do a lot of writing!

What have you written?
I have written one novel called The Bachelor Farmers and my second one is about to come out sometime this fall.

What is your favorite genre to write?
I write women’s fiction.  The two books I have written are set in the 1930’s and 40’s so they would be historical fiction.

Favorite Food
I don’t eat meat, so my favorite foods are fresh … vegetables of all kinds - anything green! I love seafood though, and I do have a soft spot for French …

Where would you like to visit?
Since I live most of the year in Dallas, my favorite thing is to come to the east coast.  I love New York City, but Connecticut is beautiful and tranquil.  It’s the perfect place for a writer.  I also like traveling on the east coast for all of the history, etc.  I love seeing historical houses and gardens.  Also, Wilton, Ct. has Weir Farm, the only national park devoted to American painting.  It’s a treasure and is a wonderful place to hang out with a blanket and a book!  Future desire:  I’d like to go to Maine.  Charleston, SC, is on the list as is Gettysburg.  Did I mention Paris?

Favorite Musical Artist?  Do I listen to music when I write?  
Fun Question!  I love all kinds of music … mostly from the 70’s!  I wrote one of my blogs about a Boz Scaggs song called Harbor Lights.  The blog title is The Artist Within.   Here is the link  http://www.brendasorrels.com/blog/2013/04/18/the-artist-within-2/
I love troubadours like James Taylor, Harry Chapin, John Denver,
Don McClean, Lyle Lovett.    I never listen to music when I write.  I prefer quiet … anything else is too distracting.

What makes you laugh?
My husband!  Seriously, he’s the funniest person I know and a great story teller!

How old were you when you started writing?
I’ve always loved to write and took writing workshops even in my twenties.  However, I didn’t get serious about it until I was in my thirties.  I wrote a children’s book and then later I wrote a novel which I would call a romantic comedy.  Both books are in my desk drawer and I hope to revisit them some day.

Where do you get inspiration?
Great question!  I was always told in writing classes to “write what you know.”  I didn’t understand what that meant until I started writing short stories to improve my skills.  The inspiration came from both sides of my large extended family.  For instance, the inspiration for The Bachelor Farmers came from my mother’s side of the family.  She was one of fifteen kids growing up on a farm in western North Dakota.  There were dozens of stories throughout the years about all of these aunts and uncles, but two “bachelor uncles” came to mind.  Family is also the source of inspiration for my new book, The Way Back ‘Round.  There is a synopsis on my website at: www.brendasorrels.com
When writing The Bachelor Farmers,  I was also influenced by Edith Wharton’s novel, Ethan Frome, which I’ve read many times.  The ambience of that book, the snow, the isolation, the dark beauty of the landscape had a big impact on me.  There was something haunting about it - romantic even.  I decided to write a love story involving two brothers and I wanted to set it in a beautiful place.  Northern Minnesota worked well and was also inspirational to the story.  There is beauty to the land up north, the bitter cold, the austere wildernes … a purity.

What do you do when you get writer’s block?
The only experience I’ve had with writer’s block is when I’m writing my blog.  I have committed to posting once a month and every time my deadline gets close, I feel an anxiety of sorts.  I almost never know what I’m going to write about until the minute I sit down and start writing.  Sometimes I take a walk in nature and just let my mind wander.  I’ll come back to the computer and begin with a thought.  I will write a terrible first draft and read it to see if there’s any substance there - most of the time I will be on my way and things turn out fine.  It’s strange though, because I have plenty of ideas for books, but my blog makes me crazy!

Who is your favorite author?
Another great question, but almost impossible to answer!  I love many, many writers in several genres.  For the classics though, I would choose Edith Wharton.  I believe I’ve read Ethan Frome about six times and every time I read it, I enjoy it even more.  I also loved The Age of Innocence and The House of Mirth.  I love other writers as well, John Irving comes to mind for his great characters.  I think Elizabeth Berg does great dialogue and I’ve read her books.  There are many other writers too - Meg Wolitzer, Monica Ali, Ann Packer, Chris Bohjalian, Annie Proulx, Ann Patchett, Richard Russo, Sue Miller, Margaret Atwood … there are just too many to list.  If you want to be a writer you must read.  I believe this was a quote by Stephen King!

Best book you’ve ever read?
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
I would have to share the credit between my mother and father.  I was fortunate to have had great parents.  I got life-long treasures from both of them.  My mother showed me how to lighten up and not worry.  “People are out there having a good time.  They’re not worrying about you so you might as well stop moping around,”  she’d say when I got down about something.  She always gave people the benefit of the doubt, but if you crossed the line, there was no going back.  She was quiet but held great opinions and could convey these with a look.  My father showed me the bigger picture.  He was creative and believed in education.  They were both affectionate and loving.  I was very lucky.

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’m going to pick Louisa May Alcott, who wrote one of my favorite stories, Little Women.
I’ve read a couple of books about her, and I am in awe.  Though Little Women is said to be semi-autobiographical about her childhood with her sisters in Concord, Mass. - she did not have an easy life.  Her father was a Transcendentalist who subjected the family to many of his utopian ideals such as perfection and self-denial.  At one point he even dragged his family to a “utopian community” for a year.  His contemporaries included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Louisa was influenced by all of them.  To say that her upbringing was unconventional for the times is an understatement!  Louisa’s father was unable to provide for the family, so she and her sisters had to step up and work as teachers, seamstresses, writers, or whatever.  Louisa’s writing was an escape from some of the pressures of her life.  She was an abolitionist and a feminist who never married.  At one point she wrote under a nom de plume and created wild stories - not as wholesome as what she became famous for.  She was an intelligent and amazing women, living in her times (1800’s) doing the best she could with what she had …

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Go for it!  At some point you have to decide that this is what you want to do.  After that, take the first step.  Put it out there and don’t let fear stop you.  I did a blog posting:  How I Wrote a Book … and you can check it out at: http://www.brendasorrels.com/blog/page/2/
One of the most important things I did was to find someone to be my editor.  This could be a friend or someone you hire - but you need this person to guide you and support you.  You will grow, but as you write, you will become so close to the work that sometimes it’s difficult to see the big picture.  You need another pair of eyes to help keep you focused and on track with the story that you want to tell.  I highly recommend finding an editor.

Links?
www.brendasorrels.com
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bachelor-Farmers-Brenda-Sorrels/dp/1105424421/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377749670&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Bachelor+Farmers
www.facebook.com/brendasorrels
https://twitter.com/
http://pinterest.com/brendasorrels/boards/

The Artist Within @ Brenda's Blog
www.brendasorrels.com
One of my favorite songs is “Harbor Lights,” by Boz Scaggs. If any of you have ever had this experience, you’ll understand. This song resonates so deeply with me that sometimes I tear up just listening to it, it’s that.

Promise you will come back when you're ready to release your new book later in the fall.  You are a delight and we at Vision and Verse wish you much success with your writing career. 
Okay, I will.

Vision and Verse Giveaway #4

The Giveaway for today, Friday, October 18, 2013 is Belterra by Carol Ann Kauffman.  This ebook is her bestseller from 2012, a science fiction romantic adventure with over 1200 downloads so far!  Leave a commnt on any post today to be eligible to win.  Good luck! 

Our Favorite Movies

Our Favorite Movies

Good Morning, Gentle Readers!  
We’ve had a few people ask us some questions to answer here on our blog.  Here is the first.

1. What is your favorite movie?
Carol:  They say a writer is a whole bunch of people living in the same body, and each one of those people inside of me has their own personal favorite!
First there’s Star Trek, the 2009 reboot of the series with Chris Pine and  Zack Quinto.  These characters were written and portrayed as close to the old TV series as I’ve ever seen.  And I’ll admit it, I’m a Trekkie.  Loved those old guys.  Love these new ones.
But I also really love Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant from 1963.  Saw this one on TV.  The storyline, a beautiful widow in Paris is being pursued by bad guys for some unknown reason and is drawn to Cary Grant.  The suspense, the music, Cary Grant, the great acting, the beautiful locations, Cary Grant, the romance!  Ah! Terrific.
Then there’s the made for TV movie from the BBC, Spies of Warsaw with David Tennant this year.  It’s espionage, international intrigue, Nazis, romance, and David Tennant in the shower.  Taken from a novel by the incredible Alan Furst, it was beautifully done, from the music and meticulous costuming to the acting and scenery.
I laughed all the way through Connie and Carla, the 2004 Some Like It Hot-ish, critic-hated, seriously underrated movie with Nia Vardolos and Toni Colette playing two mildly talented singers who witness a mob murder and have to go into hiding as men dressed as women.  It’s airport lounge entertainment like you’ve never seen before.  If you missed this one because the critics told you it was bad, rent it.  You’ll find yourself singing “Don’t Cry For Me, Argentina” while you’re doing up the laundry.
But my very, very favorite was an old 1973 sci-fi thriller I found on TV one cold, Ohio afternoon called The Day of the Dolphins starring George C. Scott.  It’s about a scientist working on dolphin intelligence with a pair of dolphins named Alpha and Beta, (‘”pha” and “be.”  And they called George C. Scott “pa.”)  These sweet dolphins are trained to carry packages underwater to ships and attach them magnetically to the underside.  So one day the dolphins get stolen by the bad guys and now carry bombs to blow up a ship carrying the president of the United States.   And all this is just the backstory to the love shared between these dolphins and their humans, and between each other.  A hard decision must be made to prevent something like this from ever happening again.  It was a daylong cryfest for a kid with abandonment issues.  

Parker:  Hello Readers.  I tend to gravitate towards the lesser known more obscure films.

"MR BROOKS",  is a 2007 psychological thriller starring Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, and William Hurt.  Earl Brooks (Costner) is a celebrated businessman and serial killer who is forced to take on a protege Mr Smith (Cook) who is blackmailing him, and he has to deal with his alter ego, Marshall  (Hurt) who convinces him to indulge in his "habit".  The story gets more complicated when an obsessed police officer Tracy Atwood  (Moore) decides to reopen the investigations into his murders.  At one point Smith demands that Brooks take him along on a killing.  Smith panics, urinating at the scene and leaving behind his DNA. Jump ahead where Brooks/Marshall  find it necessary to get rid of Smith in a manner that would leave police to believe he was the serial killer and that the case is now closed.  Lots more twists and turns that you just have to see the movie to find out.

"THE WHALES OF AUGUST",   a 1987 movie starring Bette Davis and Lillian Gish, is the story of two elderly widowed sisters nearing the end of their lives, spending a summer at a seaside house in Maine.  Libby (Davis) and Sarah (Gish) find themselves reflecting on their past and the times they spent at the summer house in their youth.  It brings back the bitterness, jealousies, and misunderstandings that prevented them from enjoying a closeness for all those years.  Libby is the more infirm, bitter, and cold sister while Sarah is softer, more tolerant, caretaker and as the film progresses the chasm in their relationship  widens because of resentment on the part of Libby, so Sarah slowly distances herself.  Now you're going to have to see the movie to find out how it turns out.

"DARK CITY",  is a neo-noir science fiction film from 1998.  Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Southerland, Jennifer Connelly, and William Hurt are the key characters in this story.   John Murdoch (Sewell) suffers from amnesia and finds he's accused of murder.  Murdoch attempts to discover his identity so as to clear his name, all the while running from police and haunted by a mysterious group known only as the "STRANGERS".

Murdoch wakes up in a bathtub in a hotel with amnesia.  The room phone rings and he answers a call from Dr Daniel Schreber (Southerland) who tells him to hurry and leave the hotel to avoid a group of men coming after him.  In the midst of the call Murdoch discovers the body of a brutally ritualistically murdered woman and a bloody knife.  Murdoch flees just as the STRANGERS arrive.  He eventually learns his name and finds that he has a wife named Emma (Connelly).  He is also being sought by police inspector Frank Bumstead (Hurt) as a suspect in a series of murders, even though he doesn't remember killing anyone.  While trying to avoid the STRANGERS Murdoch discovers he has psychokinetic powers just like the STRANGERS, called  "tuning"  and uses them to escape from them.

It is perpetually night in the city where people become temporarily comatose at midnight.  At that time the STRANGERS stop time and physically rearrange the city, and change people's identities and memories.  I wouldn't want to ruin the ending for you...so you'll just have to see the film to find out what the happy ending is.

"THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE",   is a 2009 romantic drama starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.  I have to say this is probably my most favorite film...it is a love story, and I love a great love story, about a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably and his artist wife who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences.

Henry (Bana) begins time traveling at the age of 6, jumping back and forth in time relative to his own timeline.  He never knows when he'll leave, where he'll go, or how long the trip will last.  He also can't take anything with him so wherever he ends up he arrives naked.  He develops ways to survive finding food, shelter, and clothing.

Henry's timeline eventually converges with Clare's (McAdams) and soon he finds himself traveling back to her childhood where they are complete strangers.  There are many time changes throughout the film and it can be a bit daunting to comprehend.  I won't spoil it for you other than to say they do marry eventually....and you'll just have to see it to find out the rest.

Tell us, Happy Readers, what's your favorite movie?

THE WINNER OF GIVEAWAY #3 IS....

Congratulations to "RocketWoofer1" !!  You are the winner of the Vision & Verse #3 Giveaway.  Please send your contact/delivery information to  VisionVerse2013@att.net  so that we can get your art card shipped to you as soon as possible.  Thank you "RocketWoofer1" for you comments and support.

Interview with Author Khalid Muhammad

Khalid Muhammad

Pakistan

Author Information:
Khalid Muhammad is an entrepreneur and teacher, who, in 1997, moved to Pakistan after 27 years in the United States – an anomaly in this world, as migration tends to be the other way around. In Pakistan, he worked for some of the nation’s largest technology companies before establishing his own business and teaching interactive marketing and entrepreneurship at a local university in Karachi.

Many of his students are loyally devoted to him, even though they have long since graduated and moved on with their lives. This is simply because Khalid manages to absorb information like a sponge, and is able to assess the knowledge and apply it, in context, to a goal or situation. He has used this ability to gain moderate success with his company, emagine, though it is clear that he is equally capable of writing a strong story as he is creating brands!

Also, I had found him to be a kind-hearted, grassroots statesman who cares deeply about his people and wants to make life better for all his countrymen.

Welcome o Vision and Verse, the place for Art and Authors this morning, Khalid.  It is a pleasure to have you with us.  What have you written and what is it about?
My first novel, Agency Rules, is due to release in November 2013. I have had a number of papers published in my professional career, but this is my first fictional novel.

Agency Rules is the story of a young man, Kamal Khan, who dreams of joining the intelligence services in Pakistan. The story takes the reader into a world of espionage in a highly volatile, nuclear-armed country, where external threats are not as dangerous as the internal ones. Kamal is an interesting character because he doesn’t fit the traditional spy mold. He joined the army at a young age, attained successes as a soldier and then became part of the intelligence services. Where he gets interesting is how he struggles with internal conflicts where his values and beliefs don’t match the objective that he must deliver for an intelligence success.

What inspired you to write Agency Rules?
The book is more inspired by a series of events in Pakistan. When we go backwards to the 1980s and the Afghan conflict, or the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, a series of events was started in Pakistan that the country still suffers with today. The Taliban, terrorism, and the drug culture are all remnants of that time and we have not been able to escape it because the US invasion of Afghanistan brought it to our doorstep again.

I also think that part of my motivation to write this novel was to help people understand that Pakistan is not a nation of terrorists. We have the misfortune of having self-serving politicians with no checks and balances, so the “anti-state” elements are able to prosper because many politicians and law enforcement personnel are involved for financial benefits.


What is your favorite genre to write?
That’s easy – spy thriller. I have tried my hand at a few different genres, but the spy thriller has been the right fit for me because it allows me to let loose the sociopath side of my mind.

Favorite food
I love Italian food. Odd right? I grew up in the United States and always found myself sitting in Italian restaurants when I had the time to go out and get a good meal. I do cook a great deal when I am at home, but when I cook, it’s usually barbeque. I love Pakistani food, particularly the food associated with Pathan culture.

Where would you like to visit?
You know, I was quite blessed in my professional career and was able to travel around the world, so picking a place that I would like to visit is a bit more difficult now. I personally have loved being in Pakistan because every city and village has a great deal of history dating back to the times of the Mughals and Ottomans, ranging from the values to the architecture. But, if you were to put me on the spot, the one place that I would love to visit is Sicily.

I’m sure that has a great deal to do with the mobster movies that I have watched for years, but from what I have read, Sicily is full of history and tradition. I think it is the perfect balance to the places that I have been since moving to Pakistan.

I appreciate that, Khalid.  My family is from southern Italy and we are all not  mobsters.  Beautiful scenery, great food, and wonderful loving people.  Okay, back to the questions.  Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?
I don’t think I have a favorite musical artist anymore. Music has changed so much since I was in my 20s and 30s. I hate the boy-band, programmed pop that wins Grammys today. There is no feeling, soul or message in any of it. It’s just teenie-bopper music.

When I write, I do listen to music. I love classic rock and hard rock. Put on some Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or Metallica and I go to a different place in my mind. It’s that place where I get the best writing out of my soul.

What makes you laugh?
Fox News. Can you really be that stupid and biased and still pretend to be a news organization?

Very funny!  How old were you when you started writing?
I wrote my first short story when I was 15 as a class project. I wrote my first poem for a competition at 17, didn’t win. I didn’t take up serious writing until I graduated from university and entered the professional world. With a degree in marketing, you really do become a storyteller, which most people don’t understand. I finally started to write a novella when I was 35, I think. I’m 43 now and finally got a story together that works and I am proud of enough to publish.

What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I stop writing. When I can’t get a scene to flow clean out of my mind into words on paper, I put it away and work on other things. I have learned that my writing process is not forced. I can’t write x number of words every day because I have to. When I do that, I end up editing so much out of the writing that it would just have been easier to not write it at all. My breaks can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

Who is your favorite author?
I don’t have a single favorite. I love to read spy thrillers so Tom Clancy, John le Carre, Fredrick Forsyth, Daniel Silva, Ian Fleming and Robert Ludlum are big influences. But at the same time, I really enjoy the new voices in the espionage world like Tom Rob Smith, Matthew Farrugia, and Matthew Reilly.

Best book you ever read.
Wow… best book? That would actually be a tossup between Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Afghan. Both are fantastic stories with characters that you can really identify with, if you are a true spy fan.

I like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, also!  Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
It’s not one person, but one type of person. Throughout my life, I have had the misfortune of knowing and being associated with people who hated themselves so much that they took it out on others. These people did everything they possibly could to demotivate, insult and damage me. I’m sure that they thought they were self-confident and high achievers, but the image that showed to the rest of the sane world was very different. Some of them were family, some were friends, but each made a significant impact on my life and thought processes.

I guess if I were to thank anyone for where I am today, it would be those people. If I hadn’t encountered them, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve all the things that I have in my personal or professional life. It was their hatred that motivated me to prove them wrong, so I guess I owe them a thank you for being such losers.

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
If you want to have sleepless night where you are thinking about a fictional world and how to make it more real; if you dream fantastic stories and live a normal life; if you struggle with personal insecurities, but would love to have an alter ego that would kick everyone’s ass and rack up the body count, then you are already part way to becoming a writer.

The only advice that I can really give is it takes time. No one has a best seller inside them on the first try. It takes time to get the story, characters and your own writing style down. I think I wrote 3 novellas that just didn’t click with me for one reason or another and never got beyond the Word document. When I wrote Agency Rules, it was a novella, but I put it away for a few weeks and then read it as a reader instead of the author and the story jumped out of the page, which led to me re-writing almost 75% of the novella to turn it into a full novel.

Take the time to get the story right.

Links?
Facebook – http://facebook.com/khalid.muhammad and http://facebook.com/AgencyRulesPK
Twitter – http://twitter.com/AgencyRulesPK
Booksite – http://agencyrules.com

Thank you for joining us this morning.  We wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors, Khalid.

VISION & VERSE GIVEAWAY #3

Hello loyal readers!  The 3rd V&V giveaway is for the art card pictured above.  It is another original work by Parker Kaufman.  The cardstock composition is 6 x 9 inches.  Remember to leave a comment to enter for a chance to win it.  Good luck!

Vision and Verse Giveaway #2

The Giveaway for today, Wednesday, October 16, 2013 is a copy of Carol Ann Kauffman's newly updated with a fresh new cover, Blue Lake, the novel that started it all for Carol.  This eBook is presented in kindle format, but remember, you do not need a kindle to read it.  Amazon offers a free kindle app that works on your computer, laptop, iPhone, iPad, or tablet.  Leave a comment in the comment section below this post, or any post today to be entered to win.

Interview with Author Barbara Mojica

Barbara Mojica

Craryville, NY USA

Good morning, Barbara.  Welcome to Vision and Verse, the place for Art and Authors.  We're happy to have you here.  What have you written?

I have written lots of historical papers during my undergraduate and graduate studies in history. A few years ago, I published an article on The History of Forest Park in Queens, NY. Currently I write biweekly articles under the banner of PASSAGES for a local news magazine, The Columbia Insider. Recently, I published the second book in my children's nonfiction picture book series, Little Miss HISTORY Travels to... I have a few more books waiting to be illustrated and published. Long term plans include collating articles for a local history book. and converting my books to e book format.

I love the Little Miss HISTORY books and concept.  May i suggest she go to Monticello and Mount Vernon?  What is your favorite genre to write?

My favorite genre to write in is children's nonfiction. It allows me to marry my passion and knowledge of history with skills from a long career in teaching and school administration and apply them to make learning about history and historical places a fun experience for both children and adults.

Favorite food.

My husband is a great cook, but I think that I love his pancakes with honey the most!

                                                                          

Where would you like to visit?     

I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of travel in my lifetime visiting more than thirty foreign countries and about half of the United States. There are still many places I haven't seen; I would love to see the pyramids in Egypt.

Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?

I like oldies from the fifties, sixties and seventies and enjoy most music except

rap and hard rock. Hard to decide on a favorite artist...I really enjoy listening to

Lionel Ritchie and Celine Dion. Sometimes I listen to music when I write; when

I am in the mood. I can concentrate on my writing with or without background

noise.

What makes you laugh?

That is a funny question! I am not at all ticklish. In fact, I am not easily amused. I am not much for watching comedy on TV or in the movies. My husband is a great storyteller and he does make me laugh. Recently, we attended a comedy show in NYC, and I have to admit, I did find some of the jokes amusing. Maybe my serious side is starting to crack.

How old were you when you started writing?

Apart from research, I did not seriously start writing until I retired from teaching about three years ago.

I'm also a retired teacher.  I recognized a kindred spirit.  Where do you get your inspiration?

I live in one of the most beautiful and historic areas in the United States. Just taking a look outside my window is breathtaking, and traveling to historical sites is easy for me as many of them are nearby; also my love of children, my career and six grandchildren have provided the impetus to make learning about history a fun and educational experience.

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

Because I write nonfiction, that is not usually a problem. I base my writing on prior historical studies, personal experience, and research. When I become frustrated in my writing, I put the work aside for a few days then come back to it with a fresh perspective. What is most frustrating for me is editing the final product. My articles and children's picture books need to be concise and pithy. The challenge is presenting the information with just the right illustration. My husband, who is my illustrator and my publisher, works with me to make it happen. He is a genius at combining text and story.

Who is your favorite author? Best book you ever read.

I have lots of  favorites like Jean Auel, James Patterson, Stephen King, and John Grisham. I believe the best book I ever read was The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.

I love that one, too!  Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?

The most influential person in my life (in regard to my love of history) was my high school, history teacher Dr. Joelyn Iannone. She made world history come alive and encouraged me to come out of my shell and become determined to attend college. I decided to switch my secretarial program and work diligently to become the first person in my family to graduate college and complete graduate degrees.

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 think it would be Jesus Christ. I would have liked the opportunity to know and understand Him better. I do not think he would have envisioned Christianity as it has evolved today. I would ask him what he really meant by his words and how he would have liked them displayed in people's lives.

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

Writing is a difficult profession, especially for one who does it full time to earn a living. I am fortunate to be retired from one career and pursuing writing as a new one. While I do work at it seven days a week, I am lucky enough to work at home (eugenus® STUDIOS) and have my husband working with me side by side. We collaborate on all aspects of the writing process together from writing, researching, illustrating, editing, layout design, and publishing. That makes the process a lot less stressful.

Connecting with other fellow authors is a pleasure too as I do most of the marketing of our books. Social media provides a wonderful network of support for writers. My advice for fellow authors is to reach out, give and take, and learn from each other. Writing is a growth process, whether you are a new author or a seasoned one. I write to inform and make learning history enjoyable, and take great satisfaction in broadening my knowledge by sharing with other authors and readers in the process.

Thank you for being with us today.  You are delightful.  We wish you and Little Miss HISTORY much success in the future.

Links?

My social networking sites:

Author website:   http://www.littlemisshistory.com

Author blog:        http://bamauthor.wordpress.com

Facebook:            https://www.facebook.com/Littlemisshistorycom?ref=hl

Twitter.                https://twitter.com/bamauthor

Goodreads:          http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6851359.Barbara_Ann_Mojica

Linked in:           http://www.linkedin.com/profile/viewid=223828685&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

Pinterest              http://pinterest.com/bamauthor/

Google +             https://plus.google.com/u/0/112118587425339968389

Book Links:

Link to Author Page and buying both books on Createspace

https://www.createspace.com/4409159

Statue of Liberty

https://www.createspace.com/4418427

Mt. Rushmore

Books are also available at Amazon, IndieBrag, Magicblox, Barnes & Noble and independent book stores.

AND THE WINNER IS....

Congratulations to William Kauffman, winner of the first Vision & Verse giveaway!!  Please send your contact information to artstory2013@att.net and we'll get your art card in the mail to you.  Thanks William.

Dear Parker,

     On this sixth month anniversary of our blog, Vision and Verse, I want to take a moment to say thank you.  Thank you for six months of staying calm while I panicked over formatting glitches, spaces that won't stay spaced, and mysterious unwanted font appearances.  Thank you for your constant support of all my wacky ideas and your ability to step in and fix whatever I inadvertently mess up, and always being pleasant and understanding and fun.  I could not have found a better blog-buddy on the planet.  It is a pleasure to work with you every day; it's really not work!

     Happy Sixth Month Luni-versary!

     Carol 

     

VISION & VERSE GIVEAWAY #1

Hello Readers!!  Today is the 6 month anniversary of Vision & Verse being online.  To celebrate, we are having 6 days of giveaways.  The first V&V giveaway will be for the art card pictured above.  The 6 x 9 card is an original work by Parker Kaufman.  Leave a comment on your favorite post and you'll be entered to win it.  Happy commenting!

FAVORITE WORK OF ART

It's difficult to name any singular work of art as my favorite, but I do have a list of those that are my top choices.  Above is "La Danse"  by Henri Matisse.  it is one of many that I rank in that list.

A preliminary version of this painting was done in 1909 using pastel colors and with less detail. (referred to as Dance 1)    Matisse was very fond of this painting and once referred to it as "the overpowering climax of luminosity." 

In 1910 Matisse painted "Danse"  with a companion piece "Music"  for Russian businessman and art collector Sergei
Shchukin.

The painting reflects Matisse's fascination with primitive art and uses the classic Fauvist color palette of intense warm reds against the cool blue-green background and the dancing nudes convey a feeling of emotional liberation and hedonism.

The work is generally regarded as a key point in Matisse's career and in the development of modern painting.  It is housed at The Hermitage in St Petersburg.

With that, we'd like to ask you, our readers, what is your favorite work of art?  Leave your comment and we'll try to locate photos of your favorites and post them here.

Information on La Danse courtesy of Wikipedia.

Interview with Author Lucy Walsh

Lucy Walsh 

UK 

Welcome, Lucy, to Vision and Verse.  We're thrilled to have you here this morning.  It is always a pleasure to have bright British authors on our blog.  You raise our collective IQ.  Now, what have you written?
I did a writing degree where I did loads of creative work for assignments along with my own writing outside of it. I’ve written short stories, short films and a feature length science fiction screenplay (called Plan 3). I’ve had a few short stories published in anthologies (which I also had the pleasure of editing). I’ve just started writing movie reviews and articles for GeekSmash.com and I’ve got a short play that, as far as I’m aware, is going to be performed in the next month. 

Which of these is your favorite medium?
I don’t really have a favorite medium because I usually fall head over heels for the story and its character despite its medium, but I would say that scriptwriting is my main forte and, if it’s possible, find easier to write in.

What is your favorite genre to write?

Science fiction! It’s the escapism that appeals to me but also that the genre allows you to explore and deal with big issues. At university, I did a lot of research into the genre and it ended with me choosing to do Plan 3 for my final major project there. It’s all about a planet’s destruction because of the rise of technology and racism, lots of deep stuff, but it’s all hidden away in a made up planet where this mad adventure takes place. It was great fun to write and I learnt a lot about myself and my writing from it too.

Plenty of people succeed without a writing degree and it’s a very personal decision to make for your writing, but I’d recommend it to anyone who was interested in it. It was a brilliant decision for me because when I started I was desperate to learn about it all and develop, I hadn’t really met many other writers at that point so it was a natural decision for me to make when I was looking at universities. I think the big thing this course helped me to do was in the end write Plan 3, I’d wanted to write a science fiction feature since I was about fourteen. In the final year you work on a professional product which will hopefully help you to get a foot in the door. It also equipped me with everything I needed to know about writing and it’s definitely given me a grounding for all of my work and the way I work. I got my first contract a couple of months ago and went straight back to the lecture notes to check it!

Favorite food.
Black Olives – I used to hate them but then I hit twenty and haven’t been able to get enough of them since!

Where would you like to visit?
Rome - Italy is such an inspirational place to me, I’m desperate to experience one of it’s most famous cities.

Rome is beautiful and exciting.  I loved Rome.  Go to venice, too, if you can.  Venice will steal your heart.  Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?

At the moment, I’m fond on Bon Jovi and Nerina Pallot and a load of movie and television soundtracks (Doctor Who’s “Doomsday” will always be inspirational for me). When I started writing, I didn’t listen to music often. I found it too distracting but then I found that it helped me get into the right mood – but it can’t be music with lyrics when I’m writing because I find that invades the words I’m writing down, so I always listen to dramatic soundtracks. Whilst writing and developing Plan 3, I religiously listened to the Gladiator soundtrack. If it counts, my cat also comes and sits on me when I’m working so she often gives me a good few musical purrs to add to everything too.

What makes you laugh?

My best friend always comes out with the best-timed jokes and knows just when to crack them. As writing this, I’m chortling away to the scenes where the dwarves in The Hobbit invade Bilbo Baggins’ house – comedy (and fantasy) masterpiece.

How old were you when you started writing?

I have vague memories of writing and drawing made up stories or scenes from when I was a young child, but it took me quite a while to actually pen a story. I think I was about thirteen when that happened and I believe it was a story about a haunted lighthouse. Then a friend introduced me to the world of fanfiction, I’d just gotten into Docto Who and started writing heaps of my own adventures with the Doctor and Rose. It was great fun and it just developed from there I think and I started doing my own stuff.

I am a big fan of The Tenth Doctor  David Tennant and I love Billie Piper, too.  Where do you get your inspiration?
I’d say it was a mixture of things. My biggest source is from the television shows and books that I love. When I need it, I head to those and seek out my favourite scenes or moments but sometimes real life inspires me too. For example, my little brother managed to inspire my for a character (although he doesn’t know that yet…) and my cats have featured in a couple of things before.

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

A good break, sometimes just a walk outside will do but sometimes it can be a couple of days of doing no writing at all that eventually helps the problem.

Who is your favorite author?
H G Wells

Best book you ever read.
I’m fond on The Time Machine, it holds great memories for me and was just a really fun book. It’s very scientific too which just fuels all of my interests!

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
This sounds clichéd but my parents and my best friend – they’re all brilliant.

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 would love to speak with Russell T Davies. He was the head writer of Doctor Who and has done other great shows like Bob and Rose or Queer As Folk. His writing inspired me so much when I was beginning to write (and still does now) that I just want to talk to him. I’ve no idea what I would say actually, but I’d think of something and maybe give him a huge hug for helping to get me on this writing adventure of mine.

I love Russell. T. Davies.  He is by far the best writer of our time.  Torchwood, Casanova, and well as Doctor Who.  What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?

Go for it! Be patient, persistent and don’t let anything or anyone stop you from doing it. You’ll get there and when you do, even if you hit some obstacles, it’s the best feeling in the world. 

You are delightful, Miss Lucy.  Please come and see us again.

6 MONTH ANNIVERSARY OCTOBER 15, 2013

Rocky the Squirrel says "Don't be nuts and miss out on the 6 days of celebration and giveaways on Vision & Verse starting
October 15 thru 20."

Hi V&V Readers...can you believe we've been online 6 months? It's true.  And to celebrate we're having 6 days of giveaways just for commenting on your favorite posts.  We're giving away art, e-book downloads, and even an Amazon gift card!

Get ready for a great week ahead and Happy Commenting.