Sandy Deutscher Green's Blog, page 11

Twofer Tuesday – For the Fungus Among Us: Mushroom Quotes

“You must grow like a tree, not like a mushroom.” - Janet Erskine Stuart 

and

“Life is too short to stuff a mushroom.” - Shirley Conran 

 

Filed under: Natural Wonders, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: Janet Erskine Stuart, mushroom quotes, mushrooms, Shirley Conran

Living (and Writing) the Full Life – An Interview with Author Kimberly Rae

Kimberly Rae

Amazon bestselling author Kimberly Rae usually writes suspense about human trafficking. Her brand new book, Blue Ridge Setup (Astraea Press) however, is a fun, lighthearted read set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Let’s find out more!

What is Blue Ridge Setup about?

At its heart, Blue Ridge Setup is a fun read about a young woman getting set up who doesn’t want to get set up. Kayla Madison moves in with her eccentric romance-novelist great aunt, who is determined she and Ryan Cummings would make great characters for her next novel, if only she can get them together! Poor Ryan has no idea what he’s getting into when he agrees to do a landscaping project for the great aunt, who intends to keep coming up with jobs for him to do until her plan works! And of course I love that it’s set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, in my own town in fact!

Is the eccentric great aunt based on someone you know?

No, but I wish she was. She’s a riot—kind of what I’d imagine Anne of Green Gables would be like as a senior citizen. =)

Your main character starts having health problems and that plays a big part in your story. Why did you do that?

Most novels don’t have heroines with chronic health conditions. If there is a medical crisis in a book, it gets resolved so the main character can get back to her life as a healthy, productive individual.

As nice as that is, for many it is just not a reality. I was shocked to find out that nearly 1 out of every 2 people in our country has some type of chronic illness, and 96% of those are “invisible illnesses,” meaning the phrase I and others often hear, “But you don’t look sick!” As a person with chronic illness myself, I wanted to read a book with a character who didn’t get magically better, but who learned to live well despite and through her limitations. I wanted a book that said you don’t have to be healthy to have a happy ending.

Kayla’s disease is very rare. Did you have to do a lot of research?

None at all, well, not for her anyway. I have Addison’s disease myself. I thought about giving her something different but they say you should write what you know, so…

Did you embellish a little with the health crisis to make it more dramatic?

The opposite, actually. That crisis in the book is from memory, not imagination, including the doctor asking, “Do you give permission for this surgery?”

And me responding, “What happens if I don’t?”

“You die,” he says. Cracked me up! Oh, and her joking with Ryan about the doctor saying sometimes a Central IV goes up instead of down actually happened to me, and the doctor told me he’d fix it tomorrow. Tomorrow! That was an interesting night. =) Goodness, that makes my life sounds interesting.

So did the falling-down-the-mountain-needing-a-shot incident happen to you as well?

Thankfully, no. That’s fiction. However, I have needed my husband to give me those shots on several occasions (poor man, he hates needles), once even on an airplane, which made a passing stewardess quite nervous!

Are any other parts of the story personal to you?

Like Kayla, health problems brought me home from the mission field and took away my sense of identity and significance. And it was one of the best things God ever did for me. I hated it, but I had to learn to stop looking for my worth in what I did. Now, I get to share with others that it is God who gives us worth, and it is not based at all on our level of activity or achievement.

What do you hope readers get out of Blue Ridge Setup?

First, I hope they just enjoy the story. After that, I hope it blesses readers with the reminder that God loves them deeply. If they are in a place where it feels like He has taken away their biggest dreams, they should not despair. His dreams for them are better than anything they could dream for themselves.

Where can readers get Blue Ridge Setup?

You can find it Amazon here . Right now it only has a few reviews. I’d love some more!

Thank you, Kimberly, for an inspiring glimpse into your life and new book! Find out more about Kimberly’s bestselling suspense series or her books on living joyfully with chronic illness, or contact her at www.kimberlyrae.com. 

Filed under: Authors, Books, Writing Tagged: Addison’s disease, Astraea Press, Blue Ridge Setup, chronic disease, Kimberly Rae, romance

Twofer for Tuesday – Pizza in the Eye

“There’s no better feeling in the world than a warm pizza box on your lap.” - Kevin James 

and

“Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around.” - Anna Quindlen 

Filed under: Baking, Food, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: Anna Quindlen, ideas, Kevin James, pizza, pizza box, pizza dough

Wandering the YA Worlds of Author Jenny Peterson

Author Jenny Peterson

 Jenny Peterson is a writer and editor based in Denver, CO. Reading and writing YA and new adult is her first love, and she spends an inordinate amount of time dreaming up fantastical worlds for kick-ass heroines. She also splits her time as an assistant editor for a YA publisher. The Descendants Series, her e-novella trilogy, is being released by indie publisher Buzz Books USA.

When not writing or editing, she enjoys exploring the mountains and lakes of Colorado, shopping local, dominating at trivia and traveling. She lives in an old Victorian house with her husband and two lazy tabbies named after Harry Potter characters. 

Do you have a favorite place to write?

I set up my home office to be familiar and inspirational at the same time. I’ve got my vintage owl-base lamp for lighting, a golden snitch next to my laptop, paintings from my sister and grandfather on one wall. I also sit facing a gigantic map of the world (the pull-down kind you probably remember from school). Whenever I lack focus, I can play “where to travel next” with the map.

What do you love most about writing?

I love that no matter where I am—a coffee shop, the kitchen table—I can lose myself in a world completely of my making. When I’m writing, my characters and their world become like friends, and I relate real-world events to them. How would Rachel react in this real situation? What would Kendra think of this dress? It’s awesome to try and think like my characters and helps make them multi-dimensional.

What is the hardest and easiest part of the writing process for you?

The second draft is always the hardest. I’m a quick writer; I don’t have a lot of trouble banging out a first draft. But then when it comes to rewriting for the second draft … It’s daunting. After that it gets easier, but it’s facing that initial rewriting hill that gives me the shakes.

What five words best sum up your personality? 

Creative, inquisitive, loyal, precise, dry.

Other than writing, what else do you love to do?

I love to travel and discover new places every chance I get. I’ve had incurable wanderlust ever since I can remember, and that has led me on some unforgettable adventures. But exploring doesn’t mean a plane ticket. I’m up for discovering new places around the state and around the corner.

Describe your perfect day.

Hiking in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, dinner with friends. Throw in a game of Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble, and that’s a perfect day for me. I try to keep local with my shopping and dining, and luckily I live in a city with lots of new places to try.

Do you have a writing schedule?

I work as a freelance writer and editor, so maintaining a schedule is super important. I try to split my time evenly between the editing jobs that pay and the personal writing that, well, doesn’t (yet). But being paid or not, I look at this whole endeavor as a career and keep standard working hours. That helps keep my sanity.

What are your past, current, and/or next projects?

I am currently releasing installments of a serialized novel through JukePop Serials. The Inbetween is a reality-hopping sci-fi with a kick-ass heroine. I’m also gearing up to participate in my third National Novel Writing Month. That’s always a tense, exciting time.

Creature Discomforts

Book blurb: Best friends Rachel and Kendra are well past ready for things to go back to normal … or as normal as it can get for a demon hunter and a half-mermaid. College is supposed to be about study sessions and sneaking beer, not fighting monsters, right? But when girls on campus start disappearing, Rachel, Kendra and fellow demon hunter/annoyance extraordinaire Sid begin investigating. The closer they get to the truth, the more they realize there’s something hiding in the Georgia mountains that is much older and deadlier than your everyday demon. Forget studying for finals, these three will need to fight just to survive. Learn more about the novella and the Descendants at the series website.

Learn more about Jenny, her writing and her travels on her blog. Or, you can follow me on Twitter@JenC_P, Facebook, Goodreads, or even Pinterest.

Thanks, Jenny, and Happy Reading to you, too!

Filed under: Authors, Books, Writing Tagged: Buzz Books, Creature Discomforts, interviews, Jenny Peterson, YA authors

Twofer Tuesday – Pumpkin Quotes

“Only the knife knows what goes on in the heart of a pumpkin.” - Simone Schwarz-Bart 

and

“I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion.” - Henry David Thoreau 

Filed under: Baking, Crafts, Food, Holidays, Sculpture, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: Halloween, Henry David Thoreau, pumpkin, pumpkin carving, Simone Schwarz-Bart

The Intense Worlds of Author Aaron Smith

Author Aaron Smith

Aaron Smith is the author of over thirty published stories in various genres. His novels include the spy thriller NOBODY DIES FOR FREE and the vampire novels 100,000 MIDNIGHTS and ACROSS THE MIDNIGHT SEA.

Aaron will debut his horror title CHICAGO FELL FIRST later this year. The zombie tale explores science and civilization in a race for a cure to a zombie outbreak wiping out Chicago. Can one man’s illness be another man’s blessing? Coming in October from Buzz Books. More information about his work can be found on his blog at http://www.godsandgalaxies.blogspot.com

1. Do you have a favorite place to write?

I do most of my real writing in my basement office, where I have my computer and bookshelves. I stay away from the TV when writing and only rarely have the radio on. But some writing or at least the assembling of ideas can happen anywhere. I’m never far from a notebook. One place I’d really like to try writing someday is the airport. Anytime I go there to drop someone off or pick them up, I find it fascinating to watch all the people from different parts of the world coming and going. I wonder who they are and what purposes bring them to their destinations. I keep telling myself that someday I’ll just spend the day there and let my observations and imagination work together and maybe go as far as plotting an entire novel just from what I see and think there.

2. What do you love most about writing?

Writing is one of very few activities or professions that combine the best of the child part of all of us with our adult capabilities. The imagination and sense of wonder that many people, unfortunately, lose when they have to live in the so-called real world is something that writers not only never have to let go of, but truly need. I once said that being a writer is like having a big box of action figures and getting paid to play with them. We create whole worlds and the characters that populate them, and then we get to share those dreams with others. What could be more fun and fulfilling than that?

3. What is the hardest and easiest part of the writing process for you?

Coming up with ideas for stories is easy. They just seem to pop into my head and I never run short. The actual writing comes pretty easily too, as long as I don’t let worrying about silly stuff interfere with me following my instincts.

The hardest part is the waiting between writing and getting edits back and going through the manuscript again and then waiting for publication. When I finish writing a story, I desperately want to move right on to the next one. But publishing is a business that often moves at a very slow pace and the long spans between writing and completion of a project can seem torturous.

4. What five words best sum up your personality?

Passionate, over-analyzing, goofy, ambitious, intense.

5. Other than writing, what else do you love to do?

I read a lot, both fiction and nonfiction. I watch a lot of movies and the genres usually rotate to match whatever I’m writing at the moment. I also love getting into deep conversations or debates that border on arguments but remain just civilized enough to allow both sides to still really listen to each other and hopefully get their points across.

6. Describe your perfect day.

I find that the best days are usually filled with the unexpected. The little surprises that throw a monkey wrench into my plans (in good ways) are what make days special, so I can’t really describe it, because it’s the things I don’t anticipate that make those days perfect.

7. Do you have a writing schedule?

When I’m in the middle of a story or a novel, I write a thousand words a day without fail. It doesn’t have to be all at once, it might be 500 before my day job and 500 after, or a few hundred here and there throughout the day, but I make 1,000 my minimum every day until the draft is done.

When I’m not working on a story, which is rare, I try to complete one big writing-related task each day, like an interview, a blog post, or some kind of promotional activity.

Of course, there’s no schedule for jotting down ideas. I do that anytime one comes to mind. Some of them turn out to bear fruit later, and some never get past the note stage.

8. What are your past, current, and/or next projects?

I have too many past projects to list here, so I’ll stick to recent ones. This summer, I had several books come out. I wrote one of two novellas in a book featuring the classic adventure hero Allan Quatermain; my second vampire novel, Across the Midnight Sea

Across the Midnight Sea

was released (that’s the sequel to 100,000 Midnights), and my first spy novel came out. It’s called Nobody Dies For Free, and I’m happy to say it’s received some of the best reviews I’ve ever had.

My next release will be the zombie novel Chicago Fell First, from Buzz Books, which should be out around Halloween. This is the first book I’ve done that I consider a true horror novel, as opposed to stories in other genres that contain elements of horror.

Currently, I’m working on a comic book script, which is the first one I’ve done in years. After that I’ll probably dive into writing my third spy novel. The sequel to Nobody Dies For Free is done and at the publisher already, and I’m eager to write the third installment in the series.

Nobody Dies For Free

Find out more about Aaron here:

Twitter:  @AaronSmith316

Blog:  Gods and Galaxies

Amazon page

Facebook

Thanks, Aaron, and best wishes for your Halloween release!

Filed under: Authors, Books, Interviews, Writing Tagged: 100000 MIDNIGHTS, Aaron Smith, ACROSS THE MIDNIGHT SEA, author interviews, Buzz Books, Chicago Fell First, dystopia, interview, NOBODY DIES FOR FREE, zombies

Twofer Tuesday – A Spot of Chocolate

“The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.” -  Thomas Jefferson

and

“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.” –  Dave Barry

Filed under: Food, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: America, chocolate, Dave Barry, M&M's, quotes, Spain, Thomas Jefferson

Talking Like a Teen – An Interview with YA Author Linda Acorn Budzinski

Linda Budzinski

Linda Acorn Budzinski decided in the second grade that she wanted to be a “Paperback Writer,” just like in the Beatles song. She majored in journalism in college and now works in marketing and communications. She spent 18 years at a trade association in the funeral service industry, where she discovered that funeral directors are some of the bravest and most compassionate people on earth. Linda lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, Joe, and their chihuahua, Demitria. She has two step-daughters, Eris and Sarah. THE FUNERAL SINGER is her debut novel. She is represented by Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger Inc.

1. Do you have a favorite place to write?

I write in my bed, mainly because it is the very first thing I do each day, before the craziness starts and before my “inner editor” can wake up and start harassing me.

2. What do you love most about writing?

I love it when the story takes a twist I never saw coming. The subconscious is a very cool and mysterious creature.

3. What is the hardest and easiest part of the writing process for you?

Plotting is by far the hardest, especially when I get to the “sagging middle” of my work. Dialogue is probably easiest. I find it ridiculously easy to “talk” like a teen.

4. What five words best sum up your personality?

Introvert who loves to laugh.

5. Other than writing, what else do you love to do?

I love crosswords, hanging out with my husband and my puppy, and doing basically anything on or near the water.

6. Describe your perfect day.

A perfect day would involve a little writing, a little walking, a fancy pedicure, and dinner and a show with my husband. Oh, yeah, and checking my Amazon stats to discover my book had hit the top 100 in sales.

7. Do you have a writing schedule?

I have a day job that pretty much drains me, so early morning writing is all I can usually manage. I end up writing for about a half hour every day, maybe a little more on weekends. It’s a really slow way to write a novel, but eventually the words do add up!

8. What are your past, current, and/or next projects and a link to them?

THE FUNERAL SINGER is my first published novel. It’s the story of Melanie Martin,

The Funeral Singer

who sings part-time at her father’s funeral home until a video of her singing “Amazing Grace” goes viral on YouTube. She becomes an overnight sensation, attracting thousands of fans and followers, and even a rock star boyfriend. But she soon discovers that instant fame isn’t easy, and one wrong move can put the nail in its coffin.

Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

My next project is another YA contemporary with strong romantic elements. It’s not a sequel. In fact, it’s quite different from THE FUNERAL SINGER. And that’s all I’ll say about it for now!

You can reach Linda at the following sites:

Twitter: @LindaBudz

Facebook: Linda Budzinski – Author

Website: http://www.lindabudzinski.com

Thanks for the interview and best of luck with your new book!

Filed under: Authors, Books, Interviews, Photos, Writing Tagged: authors, interviews, Linda Budzinski, The Funeral Singer, young adult

Twofer Tuesday – Quotes About “Grapes: The Fruit of Hope”

“My favorite fruit is grapes. Because with grapes, you always get another chance. ‘Cause, you know, if you have a crappy apple or a peach, you’re stuck with that crappy piece of fruit. But if you have a crappy grape, no problem – just move on to the next. ‘Grapes: The Fruit of Hope.’” - Demetri Martin 

and 

“Good days are to be gathered like grapes, to be trodden and bottled into wine and kept for age to sip at ease beside the fire. If the traveler has vintaged well, he need trouble to wander no longer; the ruby moments glow in his glass at will.” – Freya Stark

Filed under: Food, Twofer Tuesdays Tagged: apple, Demetri Martin, Freya Stark, fruit, grapes, Grapes: The Fruit of Hope, peach, quotes, traveler, wine

Twofer Tuesday – Are Things a Little Foggy?

Shenandoah National Park Apple Butter Festival

“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.” - Henri Matisse

and

“My trumpeting sounds like a goose farting in the fog.” - Alex O’Loughlin 

Filed under: Photos Tagged: Alex O'Loughlin, Apple Butter Festival, fog, Henri Matisse, quotes, Shenandoah National Park, trumpet