Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 91

The Joy of Dragons

Being English, I have to have a soft spot for dragons, although, with St. George on our side, I suspect we'd be more likely to fight than to settle down and converse on the meaning of magic. What's the difference between being good at using magic, and being good at letting magic use you? Which shows more power, getting your own way, or being ready to wait for a better way? And what do you do when you want to be something you're not?
Today I'm joining in Jackie Gamber's blog tour for her Leland...

Paper reading, computer writing, and WOW!

Wow! Willow Moon Publishing just offered me a contract for my first romance novel, Love on a Transfer. I don't know yet if I'll manage to add enough scenes for a print release, but they've said yes to the ebook and I'm definitely going to try.

This is me, dancing around the room...
thinking with awe that this is only possible because the publisher read one of my book reviews and invited me to submit something...
deciding perhaps I should post some more book reviews----these novels best enjoyed w...

Religion, History and Science

I reviewed Caron Rider's The Silver Knight a little while ago and was delighted to be asked to host her on her Silver Knight blog tour with Lightning Book Promotions. When I read the title to Caron's guest post I was even more delighted. Religion, History and Science: My Favorite Topics she says. So she and I definitely have something in common. I'm delighted to "virtually" meet you here Caron, and I really enjoyed reading your post. I enjoyed Silver Knight too, with its intriguing blend of h...

Reading, watching soccer, and carrying on a conversation

My family think I spent too much time reading last weekend. But they were watching football (soccer) and I was enjoying myself. Not that I don't like soccer too, but reading on my kindle when soccer's on TV reminds me of those long-gone days of youth, back when I could do two, three, four things at once without thinking it odd. Reading, watching soccer, and trying to carry on an intelligible conversation... I'm not sure I can still do that but I tried every once in a while, when there was a d...

Justice, forgiveness and the Ninth Step

[image error] I'm privileged to welcome Barbara Taylor Sissel to my blog today. I read and reviewed her first novel, the Ninth Step, last week and really loved it--the sort of story that creates real characters with real courage and pains, then lets them respond to their own situations without ever lecturing the reader about right choices.


Barbara has written several novels, as you'll see below, and having read one, I'm eager to read them all. But perhaps I should let her tell you about them herself... Over...

Free books, but please will somebody offer free time

So many books and so little time to read them all... I'm not sure when I'll find time for them, but I'm loading my kindle with more wondrous words today, hopping over to World Literary Cafe to browse their shelves of kindle books free today, then off to find a free kindle copy of Redemption Day (which I'll soon be reviewing).

For anyone wondering, Redemption Day is free from now till April 19 for a very special reason. April 19th might not be well-known like 9/11 or 12/7, but it's an important...

Exploring the responsibilities of a YA writer

Yesterday I reviewed L.M. Preston's Explorer X - Beta, part of a fascinating YA series of books set in the future where teens sent to space camp end up questioning their own identity and the motives of everyone around them.

Today, thanks to Lightning Book Promotions, I'm honored to have L.M. Preston as a guest on my blog, discussing the responsibilities of writing for young adults. Publishers, parents, librarians, teachers, and of course young adult readers themselves all have ideas of what ca...

I did it!

I did it! I finished my Infinite Sum and it didn't take infinitely long to write and edit it after all. But, of course, I already knew the characters. The protagonist, Sylvia, is the Guardian Angel Cat Girl from Divide by Zero, due to be released in July from Stonegarden. And Infinite Sum is her place to discover her story.

   Why did she let it happen?
   How did she not know who did it?
   Why didn't she say something?

Well, you'll have to read Infinite Sum to find...

A story to tell, by the author of Growing Pains

I've just read Growing Pains: Kendra's Diaries by K.P. Smith and I'm honored to have the author on my blog today offering some background to why she's writing this series for young teens. I'll post my review of the novel tomorrow, but for now, here's some information about the book and the author:
About Growing Pains:   Kendra Foster is just an ordinary girl trying to get through her growing pains. Join her for her eight grade year and the struggles she goes through such as her parents fighting, cheer leading tryouts, friendship ups and downs, first crushes, etc. Growing pains is a fun look at life and its ups and downs, its bumps and its bruises. But with perseverance, determination, and faith you can be all you were born to be.The authors goal is to inspire young adults to never give up and to not be afraid of being yourself.  About the author:   K.P. Smith has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Xavier University in New Orleans, LA. She also has a Masters in Business Administration with a Concentration in Marketing from Loyola University in Chicago, IL. K.P. Smith has a successful career in the Insurance Industry.She has been an avid reader since her youth. Writing has always been a passion of hers. She is the author of the Growing Pains Series. The first book in the series is Growing Pains: Kendra's Dairies She is currently working on the second book in the series; New Beginnings.She has recently started her own publishing Company Doin It Publishing. In addition, she developed a community outreach program Open Hands Open Hearts. She currently resides in New Orleans, LA with her two sons. And now, over to K.P. Smith... with her reasons to write.
Everyone Has a Story to Tell:  Everyone has a story to tell. When we hear about problems inone's life a lot of time it can be traced back to something or someone from theirchildhood. What is it about these formative years that can have such an impact onour life?
We are only considered "minors" for 18 years and if we liveto at least 37 we have already spent over half our life in adulthood. So, canit be so difficult to shake off move past things that might have happened solong ago?
Do I have the answers? No. I don't know if anyone does.  What I do know is because these are such animportant time in someone's life we should do all we can to help the youthduring these critical years.
That is why I am writing the Growing Pains Series. Again, Iam not saying I have all the answers but I went through a lot during thoseyears and want to share and help all those that I can. Life happens sometimesno matter what we try to do. It is so true life is a small part of what happensto us. The key is how we respond.
This thing we call life is not a sprint it is a marathon. Itis not made up of single destinations with our all our other days passing bywith little or no fanfare. This gift of life, the joy and the fulfillment isall in the journey.Here is to the journey!! 

An eclectic collection of book reviews

Short stories, long stories, adventure, mystery and more... I added some really short books to this week's reading list, just for variety. And I read a really good anthology of short stories, but I suppose I should confess one of the stories was mine.

Tomorrow I plan to grab a free ebook from Amazon, so if you're kindling and looking for a story of a strong-willed Appalachian girl swapping coal country for New York City's Upper West Side and struggling to stay true to the promises she made at her mother's deathbed, Promises might be for you. It's by E. G. Lewis, whose novel, Martyr, I reviewed last week and it's free on Wednesday and Thursday from Amazon.

Anyway, time for coffee and book reviews:

Second Wind Publishing's Change is in the Wind is a really fun collection, filled with the sort of short stories that read easily, leave the reader pleased, and don't demand earth-shattering puzzle-solving skills to fathom what they're about. A theme of renewal ties the stories together well, and the topics range from space travel to a lonely garden, love lost to love redefined, regret to desire and more. Plus there's a perfect Easter story, and my own story, Ark. Enjoy this well-balanced collection with a well-balanced 3-star cup of coffee.

Staying with a theme of short stories, Karen Dales' The Guest is short enough for a single cup of 4-start complex coffee, and elegant in a slightly unsettling and intriguing way. Set in a Buddhist monastery, it introduces a curious stranger with an even curiouser "gift," that blends nicely into the characters' approach to death and rebirth.

Next on my list is another short story, Lord Humphrey's Daughter by John Grover. The author does a nice job of turning readers' sympathies around as the truth creeps out. I wished there was more, but of course, he had a much longer collection of short stories out there. Enjoy with a quick cup of 5-star dark intense coffee.

Kamuela Kaneshiro's I didn't mean to kill my best friend is the rather oddly named third in my short story books for this week. Two Steve's at the start make this a rather odd story, but it's fun, evocative of various comedy movies, and entertaining in a grimly satirical way. This dead body's hard to dispose of, and the various characters met on the way invite contemplation of life, death, and more. Enjoy with another dark 5-star cup of coffee.

I did read one novel. The author posted on my blog yesterday--an excellent piece about readers and writers, so don't miss it. The Voynich Cypher by Russell Blake is, as the title suggests, an action adventure starring an amateur cryptographer, similar in style to the Da Vinci Code. The novel's denouement might offend the same readers as the Da Vinci Code, but the story's fun, the locations are great, the mysteries nicely investigated, and the characters have some nice surprises up their sleeves. Mostly well-balanced, enjoy this one with a balanced smooth 3-star cup of coffee.

And finally, for when there's no time to read, I've been playing with Grabarchuk's Sliding Tiles and I love them. Remember those sliding squares where you have to make the pattern right. Well, these have the same tactile reward, a reset button for when you're hopelessly lost, and some seriously interesting puzzles to resolve. Enjoy with lots of cups of 1-star bright crisp coffee to keep the brain in gear.