Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 11

What are your dreams? What's your future?

Today I'm delighted to be part of Greg Messel's blog tour for his new novel Dreams that never were, so let me tell you a little bit about it...


Dreams that never were by Greg MesselThe sixties… swinging sixties… Vietnam… Kennedy… Were the disillusioned young adults of the sixties so different from those of today? Greg Messel’s novel, Dreams that never were, tells the first person story of a reporter following the rise of Robert Kennedy, just as that rise came to an end. It’s a story that feels...

Meet Nigel and Pippin!

I love children's books, and I love the connection between story and illustration. But what about the connection between story and title? Or story and dog? That'll Do Pippin is a very cool title to a book with a very cool cover - well, seriously cool if, like me, you happen to be seriously fond of dogs. But what has Pippin been doing?


THAT'LL DO PIPPIN! by Anne Kaufmann

Title: THAT’LL DO PIPPIN!
Author: Anne Kaufmann
Publisher: Brownridge Publishing
Pages: 68
Genre: Children’s Picture Book


Pippin a...

Is it literary? Is it readable?

They warned me not to call my novels literary when querying agents or publishers. Literary is in the eye of the expert, they said. Literary sounds like you don't think it will sell. Literary narrows the audience. But I love literary fiction!

I read recently that literary writing really doesn't sell, and the authors, for the most part, rely on (sadly decreasing) sponsorship. And yet, if a book is described as literary, I will almost certainly pick it up and look at it. Will I buy it? That proba...

Beach read or serious read?

Do those lazy hazy days of summer demand beach reads or serious reads? Warm breezes blow. The lawn needs mowing. The weeds are scattering seeds (most especially yellow weeds of the dandelion persuasion). So what will you read?

For me, a beach read in warm weather just might send me to sleep. Eyes heavy when the sun's too bright and tired when the sun goes in, and waiting tasks that demand a level of attention I'm not willing to give... and words that need to lead me to deeper thoughts if they'...

A Slew of Sleuths perhaps

I like mysteries. Sometimes I like them just as quick reads with satisfying characters and that sense of having completed a jigsaw puzzle at the end. My husband does complex puzzles on his tablet while I read on mine. But sometimes I like a mystery with deeper characters and plot, the sort of book that keeps me up in the evening while husband plays chess. And maybe that's the difference - mysteries like chess or like jigsaws.

Here are a few "chess" jigsaws, worthy of reading long and late in t...

The Inspiration of Ireland

Today I'm delighted to welcome Martha Geaney to my blog. She's the author of  Death on Clare Island  and she's promised to let me know more about the time, place and characters of her novel. So pour yourself a coffee, pull up a chair, and find out the answers.


Time, Place and Character by Martha Geaney

A reader asked how I decided upon my amateur sleuth character, Star O’Brien. She’s the protagonist in my Star O’Brien mystery series. Although Star is an American, the se...

A dark day for dark coffee?

I thought the sun was going to shine today. I saw the flowers in bright colors and wondered if I'd need to water them. Then the skies watered, while smoke covered Paris, and gargoyles looked on; and I cried. Notre Dame is a beautiful cathedral, and its structure still stands, they say. But a church is more than its roofless walls and broken glass. And a building it more than picture postcards with stamps. A magically beautiful place is changed by a horrifying beauty of flames. And a new beaut...

Rung any Bells recently?

My husband plays chess, so my son (aged 7 at the time) told his teacher I could help with chess club. Which I did... for 13 years (hence my book: A Bible Book of Chess!) Meanwhile my mum plays music, so my friend asked me to join the bell choir at church. Bell choir is fun! And to be honest, I do (or at least used to, sort of) read music. So it should be easy shouldn't it. But ringing bells is a bit like editing, trying to see too many things at once... which bell, which hand, ring it or bang...

How aware are you of autism?

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Sara Fitzgerald to my blog. She was named Writer of the Year
by the League of Utah Writers in 2006, and has written four romance novels and two young adult paranormal novels; plus two Christmas stories, A Miracle for Ann (click here for my review) and Saving Savanna. She lives with her husband and daughter in the Rocky Mountains. She enjoys spending time with her family.

Sara's website is sarafitzgeraldbooks.com


and you can find all her...

Christmas for Easter?

Easter's coming, so why am I reading Christmas stories? Probably because I am so, so, so, so far behind with my read-and-review (and post the review) list. So no, I didn't read all these books this week. I didn't even write all these reviews this week. But I want to get them posted so I can concentrate on writing for a while, so here goes... Some Christmas books for Easter! (And Christmas coffee too.)

Reel Christmas in Romance by J.J. DiBenedetto is a sort of old-movie-themed You've Got Mail....