A New Cover for BELTERRA

Dear Gentle Readers,

My first full-length sci-fi romantic novel, BELTERRA, was in need of a facelift. The original photo I used on the cover was one I had taken on a trip to Tuscany in 2006. It was wine country in the Italian countryside. I was standing in the vineyards looking down into a lush, verdant valley below.

The original title of this book was Terra Nova, Italian for new land. At that same time, a new sci-fi series debuted called Terra Nova, so we changed the title to Belterra, short for Bella Terra, Italian for beautiful land. And the photo really seemed to work with that beautiful land concept.

However, the story does take a dark turn or two, and when I was looking for a new cover, I asked for something a little different.

And this is what we got...a beautiful cover, but a little dark, and a little bit scary. I hope you like the new cover as much as I do.

Hugs,
Carol

Interview with Artist David Sywalski

Oh, what a treat I have for you this morning, Vision and Verse Readers!  The very talented and ever-elusive stone sculptor David Sywalski is with us this morning.  For those of you living under a rock, (stone sculptor humor here), David Sywalski is an outstanding American stone sculptor. I first found his work on the internet, browsing the art sites as I often do. His work is widely recognized in the New England area, where he calls home. But his popularity is increasing and his work has received worldwide attention.

 Hello, David!

Hi Carol. I hope all is well with you....things have finally settled down here a bit.  We almost had snow last night.   
                     

Thanks for the weather report.  David, I love your work. Can you tell us when you decided to become an artist?
It was in my high school years during the 1980's, I was sitting at a long desk that I had made with my dad, out of an old antique upright piano it had a very luminescent lacquered surface. I was studying music and art at the same time. 
For some reason I mulled this question over and over in my mindMusic/Art.....    Music/Art..... and this went on for a while. Somehow the art won out. I have been on that path ever since. I have worked for many other sculptors and artists over the years and learned a great deal from them. For now I do my own work and pass on all of my knowledge to aspiring sculptors....and I give away tools sometime too. I believe that you are what you do every day, and you become what you do, and for me that means sculptor.

I'm thinking on auctioning off a small sculpture carved in Basalt about eight inches. What do you think about that ?? 

I think that's smashing! (Get it?  A little more stone sculptor humor?) 

A busy man of few words, he is gone already. I will attempt to get him back at a later date for a little more of the amazing David Sywalski.

Leger's Birthday by Lacey Dearie

With Billy Johnston arrested for his recent crime, Leger and the clowder assumed he would be behind bars and they could all move on with their lives. However, it was not to be and after being released he becomes the victim of a revenge attack. Naturally, Nicole is at the top of the list of suspects but Leger knows she is innocent and sets out to find the real attacker in the hope that this will divert everyone's attention away from Nicole. What he finds out however, may bring him face to face with an old enemy he had hoped to never see again. Meanwhile, in need of a distraction from her recent troubles, Nicole decides to plan a birthday party for Leger. He doesn't want any fuss until it looks like the attacker might show face at the party. Then he welcomes the opportunity to meet this young man once again.

Amazon Buy Link:http://www.amazon.com/Legers-Birthday-Leger-Sleuth-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B01AMLXXZK/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453473061&sr=1-1&keywords=leger%27s+birthday

From Lacey's Amazon Author Page:

 Following

Biography

Lacey Dearie is the creator of the best-selling Leger - Cat Sleuth Mysteries Series about a talking Glaswegian cat detective. She loves observing cats and their idiosyncrasies and has a particular fondness for black cats with amber eyes or pretty calicos. She would own a house full of pets if her allergies allowed.
After being educated autonomously from the age of 15, she spent a decade working on a portfolio of freelance articles which were published in various British women's magazines, as well as running a successful blog from 2005 onwards. She took a break to study and start a family, then decided on her return to writing to focus on fiction.

She is the author of chick-lit novel and Amazon UK Top 100 best-seller, The Tangled Web (currently available only in paperback from Createspace), chick-lit fairytale Cherry Lips, two nonsensical short stories about amorous foods and the soon to be released Candlelight Lane Mysteries which blend culinary cozies and magical realism. She is fiercely proud of her status as an "independent author", is a very vocal advocate of indie media and has, in the past, been a contributor to Canadian indie publication, The Silo.

In her spare time she loves to travel and is a regular visitor to Cyprus - a place that has influenced almost every story she writes as much as her home country, Scotland. She has a personal blog dedicated to lingerie and fragrances, studies perfumery and is mildly obsessed with ska.

Lacey loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted on Twitter as @laceydearie or on her Facebook page www.facebook.com/laceydearie.

January Black Ice by Carol Ann Kauffman

Dear Gentle Readers,

This is the cover of my newest romantic mystery short story, January Black Ice. I love the cover! It's by the same new graphic artist who did the new Belterra cover. 

When a writer changes genres, it makes our editors and publishers crazy. They say things like, you just found a following with romance readers, why are you confusing them?

I say, my readers are smart and not so easily confused. Yes, it's a story with mystery, but it has a fun romance, too.

You can follow the adventures of Cat Collier from January Black Ice to February White Lies if there is sufficient interest in the first book.

Book Link: http://tinyurl.com/zmv3jeq