Friday, September 9, 2022

BOOK: Bentley Square, Time After Time by Carol Ann Kauffman


 

Strangers meet on the train. 

She, a beautiful, wealthy businesswoman. 

He, a down on his luck office manager. 

They have nothing in common. And yet, they are drawn to each other with an undeniable hypnotic magnetism. 

This is the story of Rebecca Robbins, daughter of one of the wealthiest men in the country and Mark Ramsay, a man shrouded in dark mystery and hiding in the shadows from death squads amid international intrigue.


This is one of my favorite books. Strangers see each other every day at the train station. They never get close enough to speak. They smile. They nod. Each one fantasizes about the other. Then one day, in a little downtown coffee shop at lunch time, they meet.

Bentley Square is a romantic, paranormal, action adventure story about two people who are very different whose love is instantaneous and strong... and, just maybe, ancient. ❤️







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Thursday, September 8, 2022

ENTERTAINMENT: Midnight at the Pera Palace (Netflix)




This one took a few minutes to get into. At first, I couldn't figure out what was happening. 

In 2022, young journalist is researching a piece on an old Turkish conspiracy.  She enters a room and BAM! She's back in the year 1919, right in the midst of the era she's investigating. 

It is a time-twisty Quantum Leap-kind of action. There's a body, could be hers. There's a baby -- again, could be hers. There's no shortage of good guys and bad guys, and at times they are hard to distinguish.

And Agatha Christie.

All and all, once I got into it, I enjoyed it.
  





 







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Wednesday, September 7, 2022

INTERVIEW: Urban/Dark Fantasy Author Belart Wright


Belart Wright
Detroit, MI
USA 

 


Good morning, Belart, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the site for Art and Authors and those that love them. What have you written?

Published: Average Joe and the Extraordinaires, Story of K, Hell’s Glitch, Liandra and the Dream Reader, Psy-Hunters, The Glitch Fiends Part 1, The Glitch Fiends Part 2, Average Joe and the Beauty: Shadow Spinner, Average Joe and the Beauty: The Sisters That Defy Fate

 

There are a few unpublished works that are currently sitting in the void though.

 

 

What is your favorite genre to write?

Urban and Dark Fantasy.  I enjoy having supernatural and esoteric phenomena occur in the modern day.

 

 


Favorite food.

Tacos.

 

 


Tea or coffee?

Usually tea.

 

 


Pizza or ice cream?

Weird choice.  If only one could exist, I’d say ice cream.  Ice cream branches into so many more delicious things, like Italian ice.

 

 



Wine or beer or soda or what?

I’m cutting out soda lately.  I don’t drink much beer these days and never liked it though I am growing a palate for it as I get older.  Wine is good for you in moderation so I’ll go with that even though I don’t drink much of it.

 


 

Where would you like to visit?

Edinburgh Scotland.  Seems like a place that would resonate with me.

 


 

Favorite musical artist.  

It fluctuates over the years because my musical tastes are so eclectic.  

I’d say System of a Down or Linkin Park.  I went through a phase where 

I thought LP were corny because I liked them as a kid but then I fired up 

2 of their albums years later (Meteora and Hybrid Theory) and they were utterly flawless which compels me to listen to every track whenever I go 

back to those two albums.  If I’m in a more chill mood then it’s typically 

Zero 7.  Those three groups are my usual go-tos.

 


Do you listen to music when you write?  What?

Only sometimes.  It’s often too distracting for me, but there’s times 

when it synergizes well.  Music tends to be best for action scenes 

because my action scenes are often as bombastic and cinematic 

as the movies, videogames, and animated shows that I grew up with.  

Those used to often be accompanied by a bombastic music track.


 

 

What makes you laugh?

Norm MacDonald, George Carlin, and Dave Chappelle are pretty dang funny.  Other than that, I tend to have an odd sense of humor.  I grew up when Tom Green was ruling the airwaves so I like stuff like that.

 

 

Favorite work of art or sculpture.

I’m not very cultured in that way.  I don’t really have one.  If I were to really think of one though, I’d have to say the Black Paintings (Pinturas Negras) by Francisco Goya, specifically the one entitled “Saturn Devours His Son”.  Mainly, I’m intrigued by the terrifying story behind the paintings, but the Saturn painting stands out as one that is truly terrifying.  It’s one that makes you not want to contemplate sleep after viewing it.

 

 

How old were you when you started writing?

I remember always taking a liking to reading and writing in school but I think it became a passion for me in the 6th grade.  I lost sight of that for a while but then my brother, Shannon, and my high school creative writing teacher, Ms. Jean, helped reignite that passion strongly.

 

 

Do you plan out your book with outlines and notecards? Or just write?

I usually start with a several page long note document that I quickly jot all my ideas down in, separated by date.  My oldest one is about the size of a novel at this point.  At some point after that, I’ll do an outline.  While writing from my outline, my characters often take on a life of their own and ignore my outline anyway which ultimately changes the flow of the story and all that hard work I spent on said outline.

 


 




Describe your perfect evening.

Nobody at the house, it’s quiet, it’s cool but not too cold, the house is cleaned/organized, and I can sit and create.  Whether that be my videogame walkthroughs, my books, drawing, practicing martial arts, or designing games myself, it makes no difference.


 

 





Where do you get your inspiration?

Mostly from childhood.  I had a doozy of a childhood, but I created a lot of cool stuff back then that I’m still pulling ideas from.  I think my best stuff (stuff that’s currently unpublished) comes from stories I created from that era.  I want that stuff to be as good as possible before it makes it to market.

 

 


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

I either try to fight through it, which isn’t the most productive way to handle it or I go live life for a bit until it’s lifted.  Usually a quiet shower lifts all and gives a strangely powerful boost of mental acuity.

 

 


Who is your favorite author?

I have several.  JK Rowling, George RR Martin, Yoshihiro Togashi, Akira Toriyama, Paul Dini, and Bruce Timm are all authors who have had a tremendous influence on me and my works.  I think JK is at the top of that list for me because I was so close to her work and deeply inspired by her life’s story as I was growing up. 

 

 


Best book you ever read.

I can’t answer that.  My memory is too bad and I haven’t read enough books.  It’ll probably be something by JK Rowling or George RR Martin within the Harry Potter or A Song of Ice and Fire series.

 


 

Last book you read.

I can’t even remember.  My reading has been so sparse lately due to work, family, and other hobbies.  Probably One Piece.

 


 

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

Game Designer or Martial Arts Instructor.  That’s what I’d want to do anyway.  Realistically, I’d be stuck in the customer service field like I’ve been my whole life.

 


 

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

My whole clan, but mainly my mother.  It’s a long and complicated story that I could not hope to get into right here.

 


 

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

Probably Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X.  I think it’d be Mr. King.  I think he’d have some insight into this world that would be really useful to helping me understand things more.  We live in a confusing world and a confusing time.

 

 



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

Always write.  Never stop writing.  And always challenge yourself and better your craft.  That always comes first.

 

 


Do you have some links for us to follow you?

 

Amazon author link

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MKTK4LM/

 

Goodreads author link

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11327592.Belart_Wright

 

Twitter

https://twitter.com/BelartWright

 

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/OccultLitRPG/

 

Other

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Belart

Youtube: https://bit.ly/2BW6wld

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belartwright/

 

 











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Tuesday, September 6, 2022

BOOK REVIEW: Category Five by Philip S. Donlay


I read myself to sleep at night. It helps clear my head of everything that’s rolling around in there: subplots for new books, to-do lists, what I need to pick up at the grocery store, appointments. Reading before bed relaxes me.

Except in the case of Philip S. Donlay’s Category Five. This Donovan Nash thriller had me up half the night. I couldn’t put it down, no matter how heavy my eyelids became. 

There’s a massive hurricane bearing down on the East coast, a weather research department of the government, an environmental protection group, a snoopy reporter, and one of the best modern-day heroes I’ve read in ages. Plus his old lover who he still cares for and loads of secrets ready to explode.

I highly recommend this terrific thriller, just not before bed! 









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Sunday, September 4, 2022

SCHEDULE: September 5 - 9, 2022

Crayon Wreath I Made for the Front Door.
It melted.
-Carol



Mon., September 5 - ART: 
Plutonian Partridge

by Texas Collage Artist Parker Kaufman

Tues., September 6 - BOOK REVIEW:
Category Five
by Philip S. Donlay

Wed., September 7 - INTERVIEW:
 Urban/Dark Fantasy Author Belart Wright

Thurs., September 8 - ENTERTAINMENT:
Midnight at the Pera Palace
(Netflix)
Fri., September 9 - BOOK:
Bentley Square, Time After Time
by Carol Ann Kauffman 










VISION AND VERSE DISCLAIMER

Note:

Vision and Verse does not store any personal information like email addresses, home addresses, etc. We do not give any information to third parties. And cookies? We eat cookies.