Friday, May 11, 2018

Mother's Day Special - Echo of Heartbreak, A Recipe for Life FREE Today



Echo of Heartbreak, A Recipe for Life is FREE Today! it is the perfect gift for anyone who has a daughter, or anyone who has a mother.

Echo is a short story written  in the form of a journal from an ill mother written for her yet unborn daughter. It has recipes and advice on everything from wardrobes to boyfriends. It is a touching story of a mother's love for her child.

The beautiful cover is by Beth Maddox of Cover It Up Designs.
Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/n2eblyu 

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Interview with Indian Author Prakash Vir Sharma


Prakash Vir Sharma
Kolkata (Calcutta – City of Joy)
Bengal, India


Welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors, Prakash.What have you written?
Traditinally published:
“Mahakte Panne” – a co-authored poetry collection in Hindi language
“Pratibimb” – a co-authored short stories collection in Hindi language
Self-published:
“Kathputli”
“Life in Shackles” (Amazon UK bestseller)
Mindset And Passion – The Psychology of Success (Amazon India bestseller)

What is your favorite genre to write? 
Fiction and non-fiction

Favorite food. 
Pure vegetarian, even I never touched egg.

Tea or coffee. 
Both but prefer tea.

Pizza or ice cream? 
No pizza please, I love ice-cream.

Wine or beer? 
Anything you offer, LOL

Where would you like to visit? 
Europe

Favorite musical artist. 
Do you listen to music when you write?  
What?
I love classical music, Jagjit Singh is my favorite singer. I prefer to write in calm and peaceful places, love to write sitting on river banks, sea beaches or in parks.
For me, “writing is the idle state of meditation.”

What makes you laugh?
Being a passionate social thinker, I am happy to write success stories and see people succeeding in their struggle.

Favorite work of art or sculpture. 
I love Indian Philosophy and religious scriptures.

How old were you when you started writing?
I started writing for newspapers at the age of 19.

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
I did not outlined my first two books “Kathputli” and “Life in Shackles” but I started outlining “Mindset and Passion – The Psychology of Success” and currently working on three books.


Describe your perfect evening.
My perfect evening means a get together with all of my family members who are usually out of my home town for work and come occasionally to visit our mother.

Where do you get your inspiration?
I am a social thinker. I raise unheard voices through my writings. I get inspiration from socio-political and socio-religious issues. I write on improvement of government system.

What do you do when you get a writer's block?
This is possibly a confusing term. Though it exists but not for a few hours or days only. It's not permanent in nature. Thus, all it needs is a temporary remedy.
People often have many fields of interest or many tasks to complete or many jobs to be done. And, nobody faces writer's block anywhere except writing, right? So, one may utilize that time in learning, interaction with readers and fellow authors, research for future projects, promotion and marketing of existing books. If none of these sounds good, there are many other options like music, party, meditation, charity services or social media etc.
I spent most of my time in learning or on social media.

Who is your favorite author?
Rhonda Byrne.

Best book you ever read.
The Secret.

Last book you read.
Mind (a sci-fi novel).

What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
I am working as Senior Manager with India's top ranking steel manufacturer. I am not planning to be a full time writer but I have dozens of rough drafts and planning to publish at least three books per year.


Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
If we talk about 'the only one person', obviously it was my father because of his courage, patience and sacrifice.


If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
Many times I feel that I can't live with myself. If I could sit down to have a conversation, definitely, I will talk to my inner-self.


What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Educate yourself through self learning and experience. Develop a clear understanding to save yourself from so-called expert's trap or refrain yourself from being victim of suggestions.
On this subject, I am releasing a book in April'18, "W to M of publishing - Why Authors Fail."



Do you have some links for us to follow you?
























Tuesday, May 8, 2018

The Art of Chinese Artist Z.L. Feng

Z. L. Feng

Z. L. Feng is an artist from the Shanghai area. He is most noted for his extraordinarily beautiful watercolors.  He is known for his precision in painting watercolors. The sheerness of color against the strategically clean lines in the landscapes is very difficult to accomplish. 


Amid the sheer color layers, brilliant aquamarine skies, and the precise drawing lines, he likes to place a black-barked tree in the setting.  Some say these dark images sprinkled in these gorgeous paintings is inspired by the cultural symbolism of his native China. 





His favorite paintings show the gorgeous fall colors in the trees by the riverside. He says they remind him of the temperate New River Valley region in southwest Virginia.




I claim nothing here as my own. I think more people should see Feng's beautiful watercolors.







"With watercolors, you cannot cover your mistakes. So you must know what you are doing."
                      - Z. L. Feng





Links:
http://www.radford.edu/zfeng/Biography.htm

Monday, May 7, 2018

Christmas at Star Lake by Carol Ann Kauffman


Christmas at Star Lake
Madison Rand Book 2
by Carol Ann Kauffman



Madison Rand runs Rand Solutions, an unusual and very helpful agency in the beautiful town of Silver Maple, New York. The police inform her that her highly qualified, specialized employees are targeted by a professional killer and being picked off, one by one. To save their lives, Madison closes down her business, sends them all away, and retreats to a friend’s cabin at Star Lake to figure out who is after them and why. 

Danger follows her to the cabin in the woods at Star Lake, where an old ghost from her past reappears on Christmas Eve, hellbent on revenge, and the madman tracks her through the underground caves at the lake. 


Shots are fired. A body drops to the ground. Is it Kyle Miller, the love of her life, who followed her to the cabin to propose on Christmas Eve? 

The air is thick with treachery and deceit. The body count is rising and old friendships are put to the test. But Madison Rand believes in miracles, especially at Christmas time.


Amazon. Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/ncizhl9


Dear Gentle Readers,
Christmas at Star Lake is the second book in the Madison Rand Trilogy. The first one, Madison's Christmas, should really be read first to understand the relationships between the characters. The final installment in the series in due out in November. 
Hugs,
Carol

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Schedule for May 7 - 11, 2018

  
Schedule
Mon., May 7 - Christmas at Star Lake
A Mystery Set at Christmastime
Tues., May 8 - The Watercolors of Chinese 
Artist Z.L. Feng
Wed., May 9 - Interview with Author
Prakaash Vir Sharma
Thurs., May 10 - Moving from Darkness into the Light
by Texas Collage Artist Parker Kaufman  
Fri., May 11 - Mother’s Day Special
Echo of Heartbreak, A Recipe for Life
By Carol Ann Kauffman