Barbara Venkataraman's Blog: A Trip on the Mobius Strip, page 14

Woo hoo! Jamie Quinn Won First Place! :-D

The MYSTERY & MAYHEM Awards – First Place Category Winners 2016

Cozy Mystery Fiction Award:
The Mystery & Mayhem Awards writing competition recognizes emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Cozy Mysteries and Not-So-Cozy Mysteries. The Mystery & Mayhem Awards is a division of the Chanticleer Awards International Writing Competitions.

We are honored to announce the 2016 M&M Awards Official First Place Category Winners.

Amateur Sleuth: Engaged in Danger: A Jamie Quinn Mystery by Barbara Venkataraman

Review of "To Walk Invisible The Brontë Sisters" :-)

I had the pleasure of watching "To Walk Invisible The Brontë Sisters" the other night on PBS and I loved it. Three remarkable, brilliant sisters, two of whom died (spoiler alert!) very young at 29 and 30 of tuberculosis, all of whom wrote lasting works of literature and poetry. Think how much richer our world would be had they lived longer! As women, they had such limited options that they had to write under men's names to be published and to be taken seriously. I'd like to think we have come so far, but when I consider that Joanne Rowling was highly encouraged to write under the name J.K. Rowling for the same reason, I feel a bit discouraged. Ultimately, Charlotte reveals herself to be Currer Bell and enjoys popularity and fame during her lifetime. I highly recommend this beautiful period drama.

Written and directed by Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax), To Walk Invisible depicts the evolution of secluded, dutiful clergyman’s daughters into authors of the most controversial fiction of the 1840s. The drama stars Finn Atkins (Eden Lake) as Charlotte, who shocked society with her edgy epic, Jane Eyre; Chloe Pirrie (War and Peace) as Emily, author of the darkly gothic and disturbing Wuthering Heights; and Charlie Murphy (Happy Valley) as Anne, whose penned the true-to-life love story The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.

Also starring are Jonathan Pryce (Wolf Hall) as their distracted father, Reverend Patrick Brontë; and Adam Nagaitis as the sisters’ only brother, Branwell, whose wild and dissipated life contributed to vivid characters in each of their novels.

Based largely on Charlotte’s letters, the film follows the Brontë sisters in the eventful three-year period that saw them rise from ordinary, unmarried women, taking care of the household and their widowed father, to the secret authors of the world’s most sensational literature.

Jamie Quinn Collection--Nice Review :-)

A kindred spirit named Markus from Belgium with a wonderful blog called "Meat Doesn't Grow in My Garden", subtitled: Books and most important a somehow grumpy cat, has written a lovely review of my Jamie Quinn Box Set. Check it out here:

https://meatdoesntgrowinmygarden.word...

April 1st is Final Day of Free Promo! Hurry, hurry! :-)

Today, April 1st, is the final day of my free promo for my new book, "Jeopardy in July" the 5th in my Jamie Quinn cozy mystery series. Hurry, hurry! :-D

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWJK9TP/...

New Jamie Quinn Mystery is out! On free promo! :-)

My 5th Jamie Quinn cozy mystery, "Jeopardy in July", just went live on Amazon, yippee! It will be free starting at midnight tonight through April 1st. Here's the link to download it tomorrow. :-)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWJK9TP/...

Great review & Jamie Quinn Giveaway! :-)

Check out this great review of "Peril in the Park", my third Jamie Quinn cozy mystery and enter a giveaway for the box set of Books 1-3. Also, be sure to check out all of the other great reviews on this wonderful blog, Literary Flits. Thanks, Stephanie Jane!

http://litflits.blogspot.com/2017/03/...

They Should Have Read "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" :-)

Fellow Grammarians, rejoice! Your devotion to the rules of Grammar, your delight in punctuation used properly has been vindicated! Those of us in the know don't need to be told the power of a comma, its ability to conquer kingdoms. Why, just examine this famous example:

A woman without her man is nothing.

Now, replace the commas where they were so callously removed:

A woman, without her, man is nothing.

Ah! So much better.

In today's grammar news, the mighty comma has rewarded the grammar purists. A Maine court settled a grammar debate over serial commas with a ruling on overtime pay for dairy truck drivers!

https://qz.com/932004/the-oxford-comm...

For further edification and a load of laughs, I recommend: "Eats, Shoots & Leaves", by Lynne Truss. My version came with a grammar repair kit in the back, a page of stickers that included apostrophes and commas for emergencies. I immediately used one of the apostrophes to correct a wooden sign in my son's room that read: "Surfs up" Shudder! Now, if I could only climb a 20 foot ladder and correct the sign of a nearby business: "Carls Patio Furniture", my life would be complete.

Love to all! Mrs. Grammar Person

A Final Fun Post for Mystery Thriller Week :-)

Mystery Thriller Week, a/k/a MTW, has been a blast! I met new people, discovered new blogs, and found inspiration to read more, write more, and keep those creative juices flowing.

For my final contribution to this great event, I had a really fun interview with Nthato at "A-Scribe to Describe", a blog with book reviews, recommendations, and writing tips. Check it out here:

https://ascribetodescribe.wordpress.c...

Enter to Win a Box Set of The Jamie Quinn Cozy Mystery Collection!:-)

One of the best things about Mystery Thriller Week is the chance to win free books! I am happy to say that Jamie Quinn is a participant in the fun. For your chance to win, go to the wonderful blog "Murder, Mayhem & More" and follow the instructions. While you're there, check out all of their great reviews of books and films. This blog is a must for thriller and mystery fans!


https://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress...

Writing & Narrating Humor--How to Leave Them Laughing :-)

Here's another guest post for Mystery Thriller Week at the wonderful--dare I say miraculous--blog: "The Miracle of Books". (Thanks, Sophia!)

This post is an interview in which my audiobook narrator, Carrie Lee Martz, and I talk about how to write and narrate humor.

Funny story, Carrie narrated seven of my books before we ever met. Since she lives in Pittsburgh and I live in Fort Lauderdale, we never thought we would get the chance but we promised each other that one day we would get together and have a glass of wine. A couple of months ago, it finally happened! I am delighted to say that Carrie is just as fun in person as she was on the phone. In fact, we were so busy toasting each other, we might've had more than one glass of wine...

http://themiracleofbooks.blogspot.com/