Home Sweet Home by Elizabeth Cash

Home Sweet Home

by 

Elizabeth Cash

Release Date: October 2017

Goodreads

Monsters don't hide under your bed or in your closet.

They don't jump out of the darkness and scare you.

They don't masks and tattered clothing.

They don't wait for you to fall asleep to give you nightmares.

They stand in front of you. 
Smiling. Holding your hand.

My monster has dictated my entire life. 
He lurks in the scariest part of my mind 
because I refuse to acknowledge who he is.

I haven't seen him in seven years, 

but just the mere thought of him
 brings me to my knees in fear.

I used to think he loved me at one point, 

but that thought is never enough
 to salvage what he has left of me.

An ounce of love from him

is worth a pound of hate from the Devil himself.

Wanna know what I used to call this monster?

Dad. 

Amaryllis in August

Dear Gentle Readers,

The Amaryllis is  Christmas flower, but our Amaryllis is having it's own Christmas  in August. The plant doesn't stay there on the edge of the lower deck, because a good wind would send it right into the water. This was for photo op purposes only.

I don't remember this plant blooming last December, but now in August  it is just beautiful. All in all it had four giant red flowers.

Amaryllis grows from a bulb. It's a native of South Africa It is sometimes called Jersey Lily or March Lily, but it's not really a lily. They are great as indoor bloomers from December to March. They're fun to grow. They send out a huge leafless stalk sometimes over two feet tall. Funnel-shaped flowers appear at the top and can range from one to twelve, but we usually get three. This year it was four huge, gorgeous blooms, spreading out in all directions. I didn't think to take a photo until the first two flowers dropped off. 

At the end go the growing season, it goes dormant. We allow the stalk to wither naturally and then put the pot on the bottom shelf in the sunroom, where it gets heat, humidity, and some water, until it pokes it's head out again, ready for another blooming season.

Gardening is an art form, so this is an art post this week. Sometimes it's hard to get those artist types to answer your emails asking for an interview or to promote their work. They are busy. Some are not wordy. I understand and offer you an Amaryllis. 

Hugs,
Carol

Interview with Author Kyla Ross

Kyla Ross

Utica, MI 

Good morning, Kyla, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the place for Art and Authors. Can you tell us a little about what you've written?

A Trinity of Wicked Tales- Jilted is a splatterpunk horror anthology. Dark Designs from Kyrobooks is a free collection of dark fiction flash and short stories. When We Swing is a dark erotica novel.

What is your favorite genre to write? 

Dark fiction. Anything that has heart pumping suspense that leads to a thrilling jaw dropping twist.

Favorite food. 

Homemade ravioli, pizza, mushrooms, peppers, onions and spinach. The last few can be sautéed in olive oil and I’d eat them out of a bowl.

Tea or coffee? 

Caffeinated tea (very high caffeine concentration) and a Frappuccino with a triple shot of expresso.

Pizza or ice cream? 

Pizza (Supreme please!)

Wine or beer? 

This is hard. Merlot is my favorite but I really enjoy craft IPAs and pale ale. Wheat ale with berries is good too.

Where would you like to visit? 

Italy, England, Amsterdam, Japan, and South Africa. And, oddly, Antarctica. I was considering studying marine biology for a while because of my obsession with the large bodies of water. It would give me a reason to go to the south pole.

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

I love all types of music. And I listen to music religiously as I write. Right now, my list includes Drake, Jeezy, Nivana, A Tribe called Quest, A Perfect Circle, Sound Garden, Jill Scott, and Deftones. Deftones is probably my favorite right now. I also listen to Lily Allen, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ludiovico Einaudi and Tall Black Guy.

What makes you laugh? 

Family Guy, American Dad, Archer, Venture Brothers, and anything considered adult animation. Oh and then there is The Eric Andre Show (hilarious). I’m in love with the Adult Swim line up.  

Favorite work of art or sculpture.

I like the painting Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

How old were you when you started writing?

I wrote as a kid and wrote technical documents over the last nine years. I started writing fiction a year ago and haven’t stopped since.

Describe your perfect evening. 

A margarita in one hand and a Richard Laymon novel in the other as I chill on the beach.

Where do you get your inspiration?

My goals. I can’t sleep unless I reach them.

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

I throw a pitching session in the mirror. I write. No matter how bad it sounds, I write. I also read best sellers.

Who is your favorite author? Richard Laymon and Sam Sisavath (right now. This tends to change often.)

Best book you ever read. 

Endless Night by Richard Laymon; the entire Purge of Babylon Series by Sam Sisavath; A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess; Needful Things by Stephen King.

Last book you read. 

Completed? A thriller I beta read for a fellow author. What I’m reading now? Funland by Richard Laymon, Dead by Morning by Kayla Krantz, The Secret of Ventriloquism by Jon Padgett, Stage 3: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller by Ken Stark and Heart- Shaped Box by Joe Hill.

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

Be a scientist (chemist or biologist) or make scary movies.

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

There’s more than one. My siblings, mom, and aunt. They’re crazy positive and remind me of what I set out for when I become doubtful or annoyed. They are a joy to be around. I love my family.

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

My grandmother. I’d like to know how she feels about how her family turned out. Is she proud? Is she OK?  (I hope the answers would be yes.) 

I am sure she is, sweetie. You are an inspiration!

What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer? Don’t give up or get discouraged and take criticism. It’ll make you better in an industry that is overflowing at the seams. 

Thanks for being with us this morning, Kyla. We at Vision and Verse wish you continued success in all your writing endeavors. Come back and see us again...soon. And tell us a little about WHEN WE SWING.

Okay, I will.

Do you have links for us to follow you? 

Links:

Website: https://kyrobooks.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kyla-Ross/e/B01N4T91M2/

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

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/kypub2007

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KylaRossfiction

Hans Zatzka Paintings

Hans Zatzka was an Austrian fantasy painter.  He was born on March 8, 1859 in Vienna, Austria.  His father was a construction worker and his mother was the actress Hilde Socher.  He showed artist talent at a young age. He attended  the Academie des Beaux Arts under many famous painters of his time. 

 

Hans worked as a fresco painter in 
churches and other institutions until
1885, when he was commissioned
to create the ceiling fresco The Naiad of Baden at Kurhaus Baden.


Many of his pieces were religious 
paintings or altar pieces dedicated
to Austrian churches.





  At that time, there were heavy penalties for breaking contracts imposed on artists, limiting the amount of work they could sell, and their profit. So... Han created works under many different names, among them P. Ronsard, 



Pierre de Ronsard, H. Zabateri, Joseph Bernard, and Bernard Zatzka. He may have thought this was a shrewd move at the time, but later some people didn't believe those paintings were actual his work.

In the late 19th century, some of Hans Zatzka's work was photographed and made into posters and postcards to be sold commercially.  







In the 1920s, Zatzka's style became all the rage throughout 
the European continent. Their was a big resurgence in Hans Zatzka's work and style.


All information is from Wikipedia and other online sources. Links to learn more about Han Zatzka are:

Pinterest - Han Zatzka

www.austrian-paintings.at/‎

www.liveauctioneers.com › 

yathra123.blogspot.com/2012/.../beautiful-paintings-by-hans-zakzka.ht...

January Black Ice by Carol Ann Kauffman

 

January Black Ice is the first installment in the Cat Collier Mystery Series, serial short stories. Mary Catherine (Cat) Collier is a small town obituary writer for a failing newspaper. She does all their research online. She has a college degree in elementary education, but jobs in the local school systems are scarce. Cat has her own shoebox of an apartment and dreams of someday opening her own investigation business.

One day she gets a phone call from the city's oldest, most famous, well-known lawyer, Derrick Bittmor. He asks her to investigate a stranger in town, a young man who sits on a park bench and stares up at Bittmor's penthouse apartment. This young man looks like Bittmor. 

Joining January Black Ice are February White Lies, March Blues, and April Yellow Moon. I am presently working on Lavender Mists of May.

Amazon Buy Link:

http://tinyurl.com/zmv3jeq

Schedule for August 7 - 11, 2017

Schedule for 

August 7 - 11, 2017

Mon., Aug. 7 - January Black Ice

by Carol Ann Kauffman

Tues., Aug. 8 - Hans Zatzka Paintings

Wed., Aug. 9 - Interview with

Author Kyla Ross

Thurs., Aug. 10 - Amaryllis in August

Fri., Aug. 11 - Home Sweet Home

by Elizabeth Cash