Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 8

Mystery, Thriller, Adventure or Romance... or Animals?

Will someone buy you a book for Valentine's Day? What sort of book? For my husband it might have to be a thriller, Scandi-noir perhaps. For my mum, a cat book for sure. For my sons, maybe a scifi action adventure. For their girlfriends? And for me?

If your taste tends toward mystery and/or food and/or animals and/or romance, there's sure to be something here to fit the bill.

Gluten-Free Murder by P.D. Workman is the first of a series of small-town mysteries, tinged with romance, and deliciously...

Dystopias aren't just for teens

Time for more book reviews. I finished reading a really good dystopian series just before Christmas - yes, and failed to post reviews. Afterward I loaned it to a friend. Neither I nor the friend are teenagers, and the fact that the protagonists of the Unwind series are teens makes no difference to our enjoyment of the novels. Dystopias aren't just for teens. And dystopian ideas just might make all of us open our eyes and think if we let them in. Our world could become a lot more messed up if...

Is it time to catch up on some serious faith-and-science reading?

It was Christmas, and I got lots of books to read. I was eager to enjoy them and share the good news of great reads. But I also had (still have) visitors, and Christmas to enjoy, and trips, and conversations, and cats (not mine) and dogs (also not mine), and family, and friends, and catching up on catching up... And time keeps slipping away. But today I shall start posting a few of those book reviews.

Since Christmas is only just over for many celebrants, posting some reviews about "faith"...

What is is with Threes?

Today I get to welcome Stephen Zimmer back to my blog with another Rayden Valkyrie novel. Hurray! And there's even a chance to win signed copies of the whole trilogy! It's a trilogy I've been reading and following and enjoying... and it got me wondering, what is it about 3s and Trilogies. So I asked Stephen, and here's his reply.

Trilogies and the Three-Act Narrative
By Stephen Zimmer
Many of the great stories have been told in the form of trilogies, whether in book or movie form.  The...

The most important characters in an author's universe...?

Today I'm delighted to welcome John F Allen to my blog, author of The Best is Yet to Come. Not long ago, I read and enjoyed his Ivory Blaque novel, the God Killers, which if first in a fascinating series. The Best is Yet to Come contains one Ivory Blaque short story, so I wondered, how do authors combine writing series with strong, memorable characters, and then writing short stories... So, over to you John...

HOW I COMBINE WRITING A SERIES AND SHORT STORIES
I find that depending on the idea...

Title, character, situation, plot AND... Anybody want to play WAR?

Today I'm delighted to welcome author Tommy B. Smith whose novel offers a curious invitation... Anybody want to play War? So, of course, I had to ask the author...
“Which comes first, title, characters, situation, or plot?”And here is his answer... Over to you Tommy!
I seldom devise a story’s title prior to writing the story. Occasionally an interesting title may serve as a writing prompt, but by the story’s end, more often that not, I find the original title would no longer suit the story’s...

Reasonable doubt? Free ebook!

Today I'm showcasing a free ebook - Every Reasonable Double by Pamela Samuels Young. It's a mystery/legal thriller and I hope to read it soon - definitely on my to-read list. Enjoy! And thank you to Pump up Your Book for introducing it.





EVERY REASONABLE DOUBTPAMELA SAMUELS YOUNG* MYSTERY/LEGAL THRILLER * Title: Every Reasonable Doubt
Author: Pamela Samuels Young
Publisher: Goldman House Publishing
File Size: 722 KB
Genre: Mystery/Legal Thriller
When attorneys Vernetta Henderson and Neddy McClain are...

Obsidian is such a good word!

Looking through those unpublished book reviews and unshelved but long-read books I found an Obsidian Trilogy and an Obsidian short story collection. It's definitely time to shelve them--the trilogy, in particular, is made up of quite large books and if I don't put them away the space will disappear. (Space does that--quantum book expansion I think.) So...

I'll start with the short stories. Obsidian Worlds by Jason Werbeloff is a fascinating collection, not for the easily offended, but...

Faith, Culture, History and just a few distractions

So much has distracted me this last few months that my pile of books-read is actually larger than the pile of books labelled must-read. I guess I'll start posting a few of those books-read reviews, so I can file the pile back onto shelves. We need to be tidy for Christmas!

One of those "distractions" (the best and most rewarding of them) has been the fact that I've been writing a book about the Bible--Questioning Faith. I'm still hunting for a subtitle, so please leave one in the comments if...

Want to learn to Write for Fun? Meet TG Wolff

Today I get to welcome TG Wolff to my blog, author of thrillers and mysteries that play within the gray area between good and bad, right and wrong. Clearly the author enjoys the thrill of the story, so I'm looking forward to learning...

How to Write for Fun by TG Wolff
Everyone has a different reason for writing, but one thing should be universal: writing is fun. For many, the mandatory writing on uninteresting subjects forced on us from elementary school on up has left a bitter taste in...