Friday, July 31, 2020

BOOK: Christmas in July: I Need Christmas by Carol Ann Kauffman






























After a depressing year of sadness, loneliness, and self-

doubt, successful civil engineer and former All-American 

basketball star Elizabeth (Betsy) Curry returns home to

Oakville, Ohio, for the Christmas holidays a depressed and

broken women. Reeling from her bitter divorce from the 

handsome, charming, morally bankrupt Tommy DeMalio, 

her college sweetheart and first big love, who left her after 

two years of what she thought was a good marriage for a 

stripper he met at an office bachelor party for her co-worker, 

Betsy feels lost and empty. Not exactly anticipating the happy 

holiday with her family and their multitude of joyful Christmas 

customs and long-time storybook-like traditions, she knows 

she needs them in order to heal. 

Once comfortable at home and feeling somewhat better 

about herself, Tommy shows up and claims he wants a 

reconciliation, throwing her back into the self-destructive 

cycle of doubt, hostility, and suspicion she is trying so hard to 

escape. 

She discovers her father has set her up with his protégé at 

work, the tall, handsome, athletic red-haired Patrick, who, try 

as hard as she can, she can’t find a single thing she doesn’t 

like about him. 

So, what’s the problem? Betsy feels it’s too soon for her to 

love again. How can she love anyone again when she 

doesn’t like herself or what she’s become since the break-up. 

Also, she fears she will hurt the sweet, gentle Patrick. 


Will the love, joy, and goodwill of the holiday season coupled 

with the many long-time holiday customs and Curry family 

traditions help Betsy to find herself again? Will she be strong 

enough to lift herself out of her self-induced prison so that 

she can take another chance on love ? 

Buy Link: http://tinyurl.com/z85t7me



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Thursday, July 30, 2020

ENTERTAINMENT: Chasing Shadows







As someone who loved Dr. Who, the Tenth Doctor,  I was thrilled to see Mickey and Dr. River Song in this series. And they both were excellent! 

Sources:
IMDb
Wikipedia

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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

INTERVIEW: Epic Fantasy Author C. L. Schneider

Cynthia L Schneider
Hudson Valley Region
Upstate New York
USA

Good morning, Cynthia, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the site for art and books, and the people who love them. Can you tell us a little about what you've written?
I currently have one complete trilogy published, as well as three books in my new series, and a short story in the 3rd issue of Kyanite Press.
 
The Crown of Stones Trilogy is an adult, dark, epic fantasy saga that tells the story of Ian Troy: a man born with an addiction to magic. The Nite Fire Series, an action-packed, urban fantasy mystery, features shapeshifters, dragons, and parallel worlds. The first three books are out now. My short story, Heists & Headstones, is a fun, co-written fantasy about a thief and an assassin, in the vein of “Spy vs Spy.”


What is your favorite genre to write?
Fantasy. The possibilities are endless!
Tea or coffee?
Coffee

Pizza or ice cream?
Both!

Wine or beer?
Wine

Where would you like to visit?
There are so many beautiful places in the world. Ireland has always been high on my list, and we just booked a trip there for later this summer. I can’t wait! Scotland, Prague, and New Zealand are all on my radar, too. We went to Iceland last summer, and it was the most amazing trip ever. The landscape was unique and gorgeous. I’d go back in a heartbeat!

Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?
I love music, but I don’t really have a favorite. I have lots of favorites. Lol. I gravitate toward alternative or hard rock. 12 Stones is a band that’s recently caught my attention. Sometimes I listen to music before I write, but not during. I get too distracted. I start singing along, and there goes my word count!


What makes you laugh?
My kids 😊 As far as TV, movies, or books go, I love narky characters and witty banter.




This is an Art & Author website, so I am obliged to ask: Favorite work of art or sculpture.
I would have to say Vincent van Goh’s The Starry Night and Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Her expression intrigues me. It looks like she’s about to speak, and every time I see it, I can’t help wondering what she has to say.

How old were you when you started writing?
I started writing poetry and short stories in elementary and middle school. I was 16 when I wrote my first full-length novel on an old typewriter my dad bought me. That was when my dream was born of one day being a published author. Life got in the way after that, so it took a while to make it come true. But I never stopped writing – or dreaming.

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?
I do a little of both. I always start out on paper, in a notebook, with a rough outline. It’s mostly snippets of scenes and dialogue. Then I head to the computer and expand on my thoughts. I don’t write linear when I’m drafting. I write the scenes that are most vivid in my head, regardless of order. Once I have enough of those down, I start marrying them together, and the story begins to take shape. At that point, I construct a deeper outline, chapter by chapter. Of course, sometimes my characters don’t listen, and the outline goes out the window!

Describe your perfect evening.
Hmmm. That’s a tossup between strolling on the beach with my husband and a glass of wine, and curling up alone in front of the fire with Netflix—and a glass of wine 😊


Where do you get your inspiration?
Where the original spark comes from, I can’t really say. Inspiration can come from so many places; nature, music, a question, a casual phrase spoken by a stranger. But 99% of the time, my inspiration for a story comes from the creation of the main character. So, I guess you could say I don’t get story ideas so much as I do character ideas. Once the notion of one takes root in my brain, I get to know them. I imagine what type of world they live in. What are their abilities, their strengths and weaknesses, hopes, friends, family, dreams, fears? I create a past, present, and future for them. I decide how they would react to adversity, betrayal, victory, and catastrophe, and the plot evolves from there. I don’t see it as “a story” I’m writing. I see it as “their” story.    


What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I’m lucky that writers block rarely bothers me. More often, I suffer from the opposite: I have too many ideas. That can make it difficult sometimes to choose which path is best for the story. I work through either situation the same way, though. If I’m stuck on writing a particular scene, I’ll skip to something that happens later on in the story. If I can get out the scenes rolling around in my head, whatever was bothering me usually works itself out.
Sometimes, I’ll take a walk, or a drive, or a shower. Any place where I don’t have access to a pen and paper is usually where my head clears! Other times, I’ll put on a movie as background, and just play around with different scenes until the lightbulb goes off.

Who is your favorite author?
I would have to go with C.J. Cherryh. She is certainly my favorite fantasy author. I’ve read nearly every title she’s written. I learned so much about character development from her books.


Best book you ever read.
That’s hard to answer. I don’t have nearly as much time to read since I published. But I’ve been a voracious reader my whole life and have had many favorites. I can tell give you one book that had a great impact on my life: The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. My brother gave me the book in high school. It was my first traditional epic fantasy, and I fell in love. I devoured it. Then I read it again. That book narrowed my focus, and from that moment on, I knew fantasy was the genre I wanted to write.

Last book you read.
Shifting Identities. It’s the 3rd book in the Criminal Elements series, a fun urban fantasy by indie authors Cris and Clare Meyers.


What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
I honestly have no idea. I love what I do so much. For a time, when I was young, I wanted to work in special effects movie makeup. I still find it interesting. But this was always what I wanted to do. Since I was sixteen, my dream was to hold my own book in my hands. Everything else was just filler.

Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
My children. Technically, that’s two people, not one – sorry! But having children changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined.


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 dad. He passed away before I published my first book. I would give anything to be able to sit down and read it to him.



What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Be fearless in your writing and with your writing. Don’t be afraid to share your work and get feedback. Believe me, I know it isn’t easy putting yourself out there. For years, I kept my writing to myself. I was terrified to show anyone the worlds and characters I’d created. They were such a part of me. But once I took that leap, everything changed. My confidence grew. I had a sounding board, someone in my corner who enjoyed listening to me brainstorm, who would offer praise and criticism that was both thoughtful and honest. It lessened the fear and inspired me to not just write more, but to write better. 



Do you have some links for us to follow you?
Amazon Author Page   http://author.to/CLSchneiderAmazonPg
Subscribe to newsletter http://www.clschneiderauthor.com/subs
Join My Street Team  http://bit.ly/2wyEO8ySIGNUP
Nite Fire Book #! Trailer   https://youtu.be/C041ClBpihI
Crown off Stones Trilogy Book Trailer    http://bit.ly/COSTrailer




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Tuesday, July 28, 2020

BOOK REVIEW: Lights Over Cloud Lake by Nathan Hystad



Lights Over Cloud Lake by Nathan Hystad was the story of a young girl’s disappearance near Cloud Lake and the years of emotional turmoil it caused. It’s about guilt and innocence, love lost but then found, and family relationships. A tight well-written plot zooms along with a few surprising twists, a nice cabin by the lake scenario, and great characters. This was my first Nathan Hystad novel, but it won’t be my last.


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Sunday, July 26, 2020

SCHEDULE: July 27-31, 2020



Mon., July 27 - ART: New Hampshire 
Artist Scott Prior
Tues., July 28 - BOOK REVIEW:
Lights Over Cloud Lake
by Nathan Hystad
Wed., July 29 - INTERVIEW:
Epic Fantasy Author
C. L. Schneider
Thurs., July 30 - ENTERTAINMENT:
Chasing Shadows
Fri., July 31 - BOOK: 
Christmas in July
I Need Christmas 
by Carol Ann Kauffman




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Note:
Vision and Verse does not use cookies. We do not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties.