Friday, January 11, 2019

BOOK: January Black Ice by Carol Ann Kauffman



The Cat Collier Mystery Series
 
Mary Catherine Collier, better known as Cat, wrote obituaries for the small-town local newspaper, the Heaton Valley Herald. She interviewed the senior citizens as to their accomplishments, likes, and hobbies. She kept these on file in case they won the lottery or the Nobel Peace Prize or something, or more likely, got involved in a scandal. She was also the sole member of the research department. She liked the quiet solitude of research work and was extremely tech savvy.
 
While she was in college, she dreamed of teaching in the local school system. Heaton Valley residents were wholesome, dedicated parents who valued a good education and the local schools were held in high esteem. The teachers were happy to go to work every day. The children were happy and safe in their school setting. And the community as a whole took pride in all the many varied accomplishments of the students.
 
Then something happened. Schools lost their place of honor as bastions of education and safety. They became gripped with fear. Test-taking and building security measures replaced the absolute joys of learning and discover.
 
It was then Cat began to rethink her career decision. She decided that, if the Heaton Valley Herald ever went belly-up, she’d open her own investigation business. With her laptop, an internet connection, and a big cup of coffee, she could find out almost anything online. There was no longer the need for any actual physical investigation, no high speed chases, no tailing or stalking, nothing dangerous. Just quiet, simple clicks.
 
Then one day Cat was called to the penthouse apartment of the city’s very rich, most influential lawyer, Detrick Bittmor. He had a very personal assignment for her. It involved a mysterious young man who sat on a park bench every day at noon and stared up at Bittmor’s top floor apartment
 
Cat had a soft spot for this lawyer with a nasty reputation. There was something about this old man she liked, and even found charming.
 
Detrick Bittmor thought the young man on the park bench resembled a younger version of himself. He thought this young man could possibly be his son from an affair he had many years ago with a beautiful New Year lawyer. This man could be his only heir.
 
And old man Bittmor wasn’t getting any younger.
 
And so began… the Cat Collier Mystery series.

Amazon Buy Link:

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

INTERVIEW: Young Adult Author J.S. Frankel




J.S. Frankel
Osaka, Japan
...but I was born in Toronto, Canada, a looong time ago. J



Good morning, J. S. Welcome to Vision and Verse, the site for art and authors. Can you tell us a little about what you've written? 
I’ve written over thirty novels, mostly in the Young Adult Genre. Some of my best known works are the Catnip serial, The Undernet (a mystery thriller) and its sequel, Ether, Outcasts, and my latest novel, The Auctioneer.


What is your favorite genre to write?
I love writing in the Young Adult genre. It has a freshness and an immediacy to it that other genres don’t have as much, IMO. 

Favorite food.
Anything Italian, preferably pizza, although I love fresh sushi.

Tea or coffee? 
Do I have to choose? Okay…coffee!


Pizza or ice cream? 
PIZZA!


Wine or beer or soda? 
Soda is fine. I don’t drink, anymore.


You and me both, brother. Where would you like to visit?
I’d love to go back to Spain with my family. I went to Spain on my honeymoon, and loved it.


Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write? 
I don’t have a favorite now, although I’ve always loved Petula Clark. (I guess that dates me a little). As for when I write, no music. I need silence.


What makes you laugh?
A cleverly written comedy, either in book or film form. 


Favorite work of art or sculpture. 
Art…wow. Of all the artists out there, I favor the Renaissance painters. Sculpture: The Kiss.


I like The Kiss, too, but my favorite is The Thinker, because I've spent more time thinking. How old were you when you started writing? 
I didn’t start writing until I was forty-eight. I’ll be fifty-seven very soon.


Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write? 
I do a basic plan on paper of what will happen in each chapter, and then let my mind go wild.


Describe your perfect evening. 
Seriously, spending it with my family. I’m not a party person and never was.



Where do you get your inspiration? 
From everywhere, really. The Internet, movies, cartoons, throwaway lines people say…everywhere.

What do you do when you get a writer's block? 
I’ve never had it. I have, though, had times when I simply couldn’t think, and that’s a sign of a tired mind. If I’m too tired, I take a day off and recharge. Otherwise, I write!


Who is your favorite author? 
Robert McCammon.


Best book you ever read. 
Many, but I’ll go with Gone South, by McCammon.


Last book you read. 
The Forest, by Julia Blake. It’s excellent.


What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer? 
Teach ESL (English as a Second Language). In fact, that IS my living! J


Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why? 
My wife. She has supported me in whatever I’ve done.


If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why? 
Good question! Outside of my parents, I’d have to say Genghis Khan. Not so much that I admired him, but he rose from nothing to rule a huge part of the world at that time in history. I’d like to know what drove him to do what he did.



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

The same advice that someone older and far wiser gave to me when I first started. It’s this. Love what you do, and do it for love, not for money. Write that which inspires you, elates you, deflates you. Create characters that live and breathe, and when they can get up and walk off the page, then that’s good writing.




Do you some links for us to follow you?







Monday, January 7, 2019

SCULPTURE: Queen Catherine of Braganza by Audrey Flack





Dear Gentle Readers,

The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, has acquired a new breathtaking beauty. It is one giant plaster sculpture of a woman, Queen Catherine of Braganza, a creation by the very talented American sculptor Audrey Flack. 

And even though she is big, she has a delicate beauty about her, her lovely spiral curls, her long, slender fingers delicately grasping her alabaster sphere, the elegant flow of her beautiful gown, with one shoe pointing out, just about to step off the pedestal.





From the Butler's New Acquisitions Article:
Flack’s 10-foot high plaster sculpture is an homage to Queen Catherine 
of Braganza, and is part of a series of sculptures by the artist based 
upon that theme. (The borough of Queens, NY, was named for the 
Portuguese-born monarch who later became Queen of England after 
her marriage to Charles II in 1620.)



The plaster statue features a steel 
and reinforced steel armature, and is 
presented standing on a half-dome 
base. An unusual element of Flack’s 
sculpture is an LED lighted globe 
that the subject holds in her left 
hand.




This plaster work was the prototype for a 13-foot bronze sculpture—a 
commission awarded to the artist by Lisbon, Portugal. The sculpture 
was a gift to the Butler by the artist, and is installed in the Beecher 
Center’s Novak Gallery, Youngstown.


Stop in and see this gorgeous lady at Butler Institute of American Art, 

524 Wick Ave., Youngstown, OH 44502, Phone 330.743.1107, or 

online at www.butlerart.com.

Hugs,

Carol

Sunday, January 6, 2019

SCHEDULE: January 7 - 11, 2019



Schedule

Mon., Jan. 7 - SCULPTURE:
Queen Catherine of Braganza by Audrey Flack
Tues., Jan. 8 - BOOK REVIEW:
A Wolf in the Dark by S. E. Turner
Wed., Jan. 9 - INTERVIEW:
Young Adult Author J.S. Frankel
Thurs., Jan. 10 - ART:
Armand Pierre Fernandez
Fri., Jan. 11 - BOOK:
January Black Ice by Carol Ann Kauffman