BOOK: Belterra by Carol Ann Kauffman

The Time After Time Series follows a pair of unlikely lovers on their adventures through their many lifetimes together, this time on an alien planet divided into four tribes.

Can one person make a difference?

When Neeka, daughter of the Lord of the Warrior Clan, was out picking lavender in their vast fields of the West, she felt a stirring in her heart. She felt him coming for her, and she was ready for him. 

When Braedon, Lord of the Soldier Clan of the East, rode into those lavender fields, searching for the woman he had dreamed of so often, he had no idea if she were even real. But there she was, standing there looking up at him, smiling. 

He reached his hand down to her. She accepted, thus beginning their new adventures together, changing not only their lives forever, but the course of life, unity, and the political structure on their planet forever. 
An alien planet. 

Or is it?

Amazon Buy Link: 
https://www.amazon.com/BELTERRA-Time-After-Book-ebook/dp/B0072F88NM

But wait! How about a sample before you buy? To set the scene, Braedon plans a feast to welcome Neeka to their village. He begins the party with a speech:

“My people, it is my pleasure to have you all gathered together to welcome my lovely Neeka to our clan. I feel very fortunate she has agreed to come and live with us. It is the first time in ten years we have a medicine woman. I am sure we will all keep her busy.

“On a more serious note, please remember to keep ever vigilant.  Northford and Southland are always ready to devour each other. We must remember that Belterra must be kept in balance. We are like legs of a table; all four must remain strong, not allowing one to take over. Keep strong. Be vigilant. Keep on the lookout for trouble. Stay ready. Thank you.”                                             

Then they ate. It was heavier cuisine than she was used to, and very salty. Her people ate mostly plants. After dinner as he refilled his wine cup, she panicked. She smelled something.  She looked at him and noticed a faint blueness around his lower lip. As he raised the glass to his lips, she reached for his hand and held it away from his lips. She stroked his hair and his earlobe with her other hand and got very close to him.

“Lord Braedon, listen to me carefully,” she smiled and whispered to him very quietly. “Do not show reaction in your face. Do not drink. Pretend to drink. Get a little on your lower lip. Then kiss me so that I may taste it to be sure. I think it is poison,” she whispered in his ear. She brushed her lips up against his ear. 

“Your people already? They are fast!”  He kissed her. She hung onto his lower lip. He kissed her again, holding her tightly in his arm. “Am I going to die?” he whispered.

“Yes, my love, but not this day.” She kissed him again, this time just to kiss him.

“All of my men are very envious of me right now,” he observed. “They cannot take their eyes off of you.”

“Can you get us out of here? I need to tend to you now.” He nodded. They stood up together, still locked in an embrace.

“My people, please stay and continue to celebrate our good fortune. My Neeka and I have some, uh, urgent business to take care of!” He wiggled an eyebrow at them. The crowd roared with laughter as Neeka and Braedon waved and left the table and went back to their small house. 

ENTERTAINMENT: King Arthur, The Legend of the Sword

Charlie Hunnan said he would like to get another chance to play King Arthur because he felt he missed the mark in this film. He certainly had the right look.

This was a dark, strange movie, but not necessarily a bad one. Cheeky orphan boy Arthur is raised in a brothel. He grew up on the streets and was a successful petty criminal.

Unbeknownst to street thief Arthur, the uncle responsible for the death of his parents (played masterfully by Jude Law) is looking for him.

Once Arthur and Excalibur are reunited, the action kicks in.  If you’re looking for a different, darker, stranger King Arthur tale, this is it. Charlie Hunnan. An unattractive mage. Snakes.

INTERVIEW: Author Caven Tootell

Caven Tootell

Sydney, NSW

Australia

Good morning, Caven, and welcome to Vision and Verse, the place for art and authors and the people who love them.  Tell us a little about yourself.

I am currently a Director with Sydney Trains.

In the past I served for over 20 years in the Royal Australian Navy as a Combat Warfare Officer before moving across to Intelligence where I finished my career as Deputy Director Navy Intelligence.  During my career I served in a combat role in Desert Storm II, as well as HQ intelligence staff for the operation to stabilize East Timor.  I also served in exchange postings in Malaysia and Indonesia.

After leaving the Navy I worked briefly in the mining industry as a consultant in Indonesia, then took up several contracts in Afghanistan assisting the UNAMA mission and other contract clients over a seven year period, finishing in 2010 conducting the civilian side of a US counterinsurgency mission, in essence living by myself out in Afghan townships and managing local civil engineering projects with villages (wells, road rehabilitation, farm land clearing etc.) paying locals to encourage them not to take up offers from the Taliban for paying work.  At times though this meant, due to the isolation of this work, having to gain the local Taliban commander’s approval for the work to proceed. I have recently returned from a 2 year contract constructing the new Metro rail system in Doha, Qatar.

At present I am completing my second Master’s degree, but have always felt I could write a historical (colonial) novel in the genre most associated with my favorite authors, Graham Greene, Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling.

What have you written?

1.   Dis’ Taste– fiction

2.   Currently working on post WWII murder mystery in Penang, built on Dante’s Inferno

3.   Several Folklore Tracts

4.   3 x Business Culture & Negotiation books

5.   4 x Business Manuals  

What is your favorite genre to write? 

Historical Fiction (not romance)

Favorite food.  

Asian

Tea or coffee? 

Coffee

Pizza or ice cream?  

Pizza

Wine or beer? 

Beer

Where would you like to visit? 

Asia

Favorite musical artist.  

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

Do you listen to music when you write?  

No

What makes you laugh?  

Very dark & black, gallows’ humor

Favorite work of art or sculpture. 

Anything by Klimt

How old were you when you started writing?  

40’s

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

Unfortunately, all of the above, but find outline is perhaps the better method.

Describe your perfect evening. 

Watching Film Noir

Where do you get your inspiration?  

Childhood reading of Boys’ Own Adventure stories

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

Walk away and do something different

Who is your favorite author?  

Graham Greene

Best book you ever read. 

Burmese Days

Last book you read. 

Almayer's Folly

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

Unfortunately what I am doing now – so not a full time author.

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

Joseph Conrad

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

Graham Greene

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

Just write – anything! But do it every day.

BOOK REVIEW: Mildred in Disguise With Diamonds by Toni Kief

Amazon Buy Link:
https://www.amazon.com/Mildred-Disguise-Diamonds-Unchained-Book-ebook/dp/B06XXL53BJ

*SCHEDULE: Feb. 17-21, 2020

Mon., February 17- ART:

Millard Sheets

Tues., February 18- BOOK REVIEW: Mildred 
in Disguise with Diamonds
by Toni Kief

Wed., February 19- INTERVIEW: 
Author Caven Tootell

Thurs., February 20- ENTERTAINMENT:

Film - King Arthur,

Legend of the Sword

Fri., February 21- BOOK:

Belterra

by Carol Ann Kauffman

BOOK: February White Lies by Carol Ann Kauffman

Join Cat Collier from January Black Ice as she starts her own detective agency, Red Cat Investigations, inside the gorgeous old Palazzo Castellano Hotel and solves her first real paid case, the case of Shotzie, the missing French poodle. Just when she feels she is destined to find lost pets and missing luggage for the rest of her life in her beautiful new office, complete with business cards, magazines in the waiting room, and her Red Cat logo painted on the frosted glass door, a lovely, mysterious woman named Ms. Nola White hires her to find out who is stalking her. A dead rat on her car. Being run off the road. A car bombing. Someone wants Ms. White frightened or maybe…dead.

The trail of graft and corruption leads Cat into danger as she hides the mystery woman with the old, reclusive lawyer Detrick Bittmor for safe keeping.

Cat’s relationship with the handsome Erick “Carter” Larsen is put in jeopardy when she teams up with Officer Kiernan Scott from the Heaton Valley Police Department to unravel the mystery in February White Lies. 

EXCERPT:

“The roads are horrendous! It’s freezing out there. I don’t think you should go. His flight arrives in the middle of the night. He told you not to go get him. It’s extremely dangerous and inconvenient. He’ll find a way home,” my mother snipped.

“I’m sure he could find a way home, but I want to go get him. I’ve missed him.” I spoke calmly but glared at the phone, wondering if my mother called me just to make me crazy.

“That’s not a smart decision,” she said. I could hear her wrinkling up her nose.

“Well, I’m going anyway, Mother.”

“If you’re not concerned with your own safety, then what about all the poor, hapless people who happen to be on the road at the same time as the daredevil Cat Collier?”

“I’ll steer clear of all other vehicles. Don’t worry about me, or any unfortunate soul on the highway with me. We’ll all be fine.  I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, Mom.”

“Good night, wild child. Be careful.”

After the conversation with my mother, I needed aspirin and a nap before heading to the airport to pick up my boyfriend because alcohol, my first choice, would have seriously impaired my driving ability.

Hours later, I pulled out of the parking lot of my apartment building, refreshed, excited, and in happy anticipation as I slowly crawled through the icy, snow-covered, country roads to the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport. 

“Flight 211 from New York has landed. Passengers will be arriving at Gate Three,” the United Airlines flight representative announced. I scrambled to the gate and waited as the weary, red-eye travelers quietly trickled passed me from the gate. The sleep-deprived commuters shuffled to baggage pick-up in a zombie-like state.

But my eyes were glued on the doorway. Finally, I saw his gorgeous head of dark, wavy hair towering above the others.

Now, you need to know something about me. I never get the handsome guy. I’m never even in the running. I’m short, more round than the publicly sought after elongated image of beauty, and I have this wild mop of uncontrollable red curly hair. I have freckles. I’m stubborn. I have an odd sense of humor. I don’t like to be told what to do. 

My mother says I lack social refinement. I don’t care. She also says I have bad taste in men and has never liked one of my boyfriends…until Carter, that is. Why this sweet, kind, smart, handsome creature left his underwear model girlfriend for me, I don’t know. But I’m deliriously happy.

“Carter!” I shouted and waved. I startled some of the near-by sleepwalkers. “Sorry,” I whispered.

He searched the waiting crowd, broke into a giant grin when he spotted me, and rushed towards me as fast as he could without knocking over the stragglers.

“You’re here!” he picked me up, hugged me, and kissed me. “I told you that you didn’t need to come and get me. I would’ve rented a car. It’s the middle of the night. And it’s freezing.” His smile lit up the airport terminal. His hug was warm and strong. Everyone else was dragging, but the tall, dark, and handsome Erick Carter Larsen was full of energy. “Thank you for coming, sweetie.”

“Oh, my pleasure,” I said. I saw he had his carry-on bag. “Do we need to go to baggage pick-up?”

“No, I had the rest of my stuff shipped. It’ll all be here Wednesday.”

“Then let’s go home,” I said. I reached for his hand.

“Home. Sounds wonderful,” he said, clasping my hand as we walked out the door.

We slipped and slid our way to my old, red Chevy Cruze, clutching onto each other for support. 

“Oh, safe!” he said as he closed the car door. “The sidewalks and parking lot are treacherous. Have these people never heard of rock salt?”

“It’s too cold for rock salt to work right now and… we’re not safe yet. The roads are slick. Luckily, everybody else is home asleep, so we’ll have the road back to Heaton Valley all to ourselves. Buckle up, honey, and hold on tight.” 

I pulled out of the parking lot and slid sideways, just missing the unmanned ticket booth.

Carter shrieked and covered his face while I howled with laughter. I’m used to driving in this kind of weather.

“You almost took out that ticket booth,” he panted.

“The operative word being ‘almost.’ Quit fussing,” I laughed. “I had a good four-inch clearance.”

Carter groaned. “I think there are more dents on your car since I left you last week.”

“No. Some cowardly paint may have run off in fear, but no new dents.”

Carter raised an eyebrow at me.

“Excuse me, Mr. Larsen, would you prefer to drive?”

“No, absolutely not, Miss Collier. You’re doing a great job. Fantastic. No complaints.” He searched the floor and in the back seat.

“What are you looking for?”

“Helmet. Mouth guard. Knee pads. Shin guards. Rosary beads to wear around my neck. Holy water. Race car shoulder harness. Tibetan prayer shawl.”

“Rough flight, honey?” I laughed.

“Not until now,” he teased with a wink and a smile.

Amazon Buy Link:  http://tinyurl.com/z6qn8kg

ENTERTAINMENT: Alita, Battle Angel

Alita, Battle Angel was a 2019 cyberpunk movie based on Japanese manga artist Yukito Kushiro’s 1990s series, Gunn. Big names like director Robert Rodrigues and producer James Cameron made this film. It was a total surprise to me. I'm not a fan of animè. But this was a good movie with a great cast.

A young girl with an overprotective father discovers she is a cyborg. And the man she calls father is a compassionate doctor who dug her out of a robot-part trash bin.  

As she grows and ventures out beyond her father’s house, she discovers talents she never imagined. Give this movie a try.

There is one particularly good line in the movie and will stay with me for a long time:

    "We men hate strong women. They rip your arm off and beat 
     you with the wet part."