Shehanne Moore's Blog, page 21
April 28, 2016
A best blog award x 2
Aquileana
https://aquileana.wordpress.com/
Inese
https://inesemjphotography.com/news/
https://jeanleesworld.com/ Jean Lee.
https://katemcclelland01.wordpress.com/ Kate McClelland
http://caroleecroft.wordpress.com/ Carolee Croft.
DG Kaye .http://t.co/OQnIaqz3Cc
https://jolliffe01.com/blog Jane Hunt
https://agenda19892010.wordpress.com/author/agenda19892010/ Rinaldo Rossi
Sharon Struth. http://t.co/fwHWRlJXmk
https://writerldrose.com/ Linda Rose
http://t.co/DQrHOLWJah Noelle Clark
http://t.co/NekQqtJiEc Catherine Cavendish.
Filed under: blogging Tagged: Ancient Greece, Best blog award. Aquileana, Inese, photography
April 18, 2016
Catherine Cavendish, imaginary friends and serenading the devil
Imaginary Friends by Catherine Cavendish
When you were growing up, did you have an imaginary friend? Did they seem real to you? Maybe sort-of-real. You could talk to them, imagine their responses, play with them – but you probably kept the ‘relationship’ within certain boundaries, however young you were. In my case, I invented an entire family of siblings – three sisters (two older, one a few years younger) and an older brother who looked out for us girls. Being an only child, I found them comforting, and fun, but I never imagined them to be real. They, in turn, kept themselves firmly lodged in my own mind and never attempted to cross any boundary into the real world.
In my new novel, The Devil’s Serenade, my central character also had an imaginary family when she was a child. Scarily for her, they now start to appear in her real adult world.
Of course, my story is fiction, but there have been a number of accounts of small children making ‘friends’ with most unsuitable imaginary friends – who then cross the line.
One such story concerns a woman called Layla who lived with her four year old son, Ryan and her partner in a suburb of Stoke-on-Trent in England called Trentham. Although an only child, Ryan was a good mixer, socialising well with other children and enjoying a normal childhood. He had no history of talking to himself so his mother was surprised to hear him doing just that – quit loudly – as she passed his room one January evening.
On entering his room, she found her son sitting cross-legged on the floor. She asked him who he was talking to and he replied that he had a new friend, “Fred.” They had been talking. Ryan described his new friend as, “silly.”
Layla decided there was no harm in this new imaginary friend and left him to it. For the next few weeks, Ryan could often be heard chatting and laughing and his parents thought nothing more of it, putting it down to his lively imagination.
Then, one unforgettable night, Layla and her husband were woken by an earsplitting scream. It was Ryan.
They dashed into his room and found him curled up in the corner, white-faced, his hands over his face. Layla tried to comfort him, asking him what was wrong.
Ryan sobbed. He said Fred had got angry with him and shouted at him when Ryan said it was too late to play. Then Fred had screamed at him and scared him.
It took some minutes to calm the terrified little boy down.
The next day, Layla was cleaning out Ryan’s room while he was out with his father. She had a sudden urge to warn the imaginary friend and told him to keep away from her son. “If you ever scare my child again I shall have you removed. I will take Ryan to the doctor’s if I have to.”
She felt rather silly issuing such a warning to nobody, but a strange sense of satisfaction spread over her.
Ryan came home and went immediately to his room. Shortly after, he emerged and asked his mother why he had to go to the doctor’s. “Fred says you are taking me.”
Layla stared at her son, uncomprehendingly. How could Ryan have known about her tirade in his room? She had been alone in the house at the time and told no one else about it.
Ryan continued, each word chilling Layla’s blood. “He says you told him off today when you were alone. He says he’s sorry for shouting at me and he won’t do it again.”
Layla didn’t take Ryan to the doctor and, although Ryan continued to play with ‘Fred’ for some months, nothing further happened to make her concerned. Then, Ryan stopped playing with his imaginary friend altogether.
Forever afterwards, Layla was never able to explain how Ryan could have known about her warning to Fred. Ryan could throw no light on the matter either. It remained an unsolved, intriguing mystery.
Now, to give you a taste of The Devil’s Serenade, here’s the blurb:
Maddie had forgotten that cursed summer. Now she’s about to remember…
“Madeleine Chambers of Hargest House” has a certain grandeur to it. But as Maddie enters the Gothic mansion she inherited from her aunt, she wonders if its walls remember what she’s blocked out of the summer she turned sixteen.
She’s barely settled in before a series of bizarre events drive her to question her sanity. Aunt Charlotte’s favorite song shouldn’t echo down the halls. The roots of a faraway willow shouldn’t reach into the cellar. And there definitely shouldn’t be a child skipping from room to room.
As the barriers in her mind begin to crumble, Maddie recalls the long-ago summer she looked into the face of evil. Now, she faces something worse. The mansion’s long-dead builder, who has unfinished business—and a demon that hungers for her very soul.
Here’s an extract:
A large flashlight rested on the bottom stair and I switched it on, shining it into the dark corners. There wasn’t a lot to see. A few broken bits of furniture, old fashioned kitchen chairs, some of which looked vaguely familiar, jam jars, crates that may once have held bottles of beer.
The beam caught the clump of gnarled and twisted roots that intertwined with each other, like Medusa’s snakes. I edged closer to it, my heart thumping more than it should. It was only a tree, for heaven’s sake! The nearest one was probably the willow. Surely, that was too far away? I knew little about trees, but I was pretty certain their roots couldn’t extend that far.
I examined the growth from every angle in that silent cellar. The roots were definitely spreading along the floor and, judging by the thickness and appearance of them, had been there for many years. Gray, like thick woody tendrils, they reached around six feet along and possibly four feet across at their widest point. I bent down. Close up, the smell that arose from them was cloyingly sweet. Sickeningly so. I put one hand over my nose, rested the flashlight on the steps and reached out with the fingers of my free hand to touch the nearest root. It wriggled against my palm.
I cried out, staggered backward and fell against the stairs. The flashlight clattered to the floor and went out. Only the overhead bulb provided any light, and it didn’t reach this darkest corner. Something rustled. I struggled to my feet, grabbed the torch and ran up the stairs. I slammed the door shut and locked it, leaned against it and tried to slow down my breathing. A marathon runner couldn’t have panted more.
I tapped the flashlight and it flickered into life, seemingly none the worse for its accident. I switched it off and set it on the floor by the cellar door. Whoever came to fix those roots was going to need it.
You can find The Devil’s Serenade here:
And other online retailers
About the author:
Following a varied career in sales, advertising and career guidance, Cat is now the full-time author of a number of paranormal, ghostly and Gothic horror novels, novellas and short stories. She was the 2013 joint winner of the Samhain Gothic Horror Anthology Competition, with Linden Manor, which features in the anthology What Waits in the Shadows. Other titles include: The Pendle Curse, Saving Grace Devine, Dark Avenging Angel, The Second Wife, Miss Abigail’s Room, The Demons of Cambian Street, The Devil Inside Her, Cold Revenge and In My Lady’s Chamber.
You can connect with Cat here:
Filed under: blogging, book tour, Guest bloggers Tagged: Catherine Cavendish, Horror, Imaginary friends, New book, Samhain Publishing, The Devil's Serenade
April 13, 2016
April 6, 2016
Kate McClelland, four secrets and things devoutly to be wished for.
Four names people call me other than my real name
006 & a half – Kids in school (I was bullied a lot, so like an imprisoned spy, I would never tell anyone anything, so they called me this as 007 was taken :0)
Spaz – Kids in school (It was short for ‘spastic ‘ – I am not disabled but I am very clumsy and I wore big glasses at the time and they were not very nice)
Little One – Hubby (I’m not little, but what can you do?)
Mum – my favourite
Four Jobs I have had:
School Vacation Babysitter
Catalogue Packer
Trainee Graphic Artist
‘Spot the Ball’ coupon checker
Four movies I have watched more than once:
The Matrix (this genuinely blew my mind when I saw it the first time)
Labyrinth (David Bowie, SFXs, the old woman who carries all of her stuff on her back really made me think)
Harry Potter (all of them – who doesn’t love magic?)
Miss Marple (only with Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple – she is Miss Marple to me)
Four books or authors I recommend:
I had trouble deciding as I love so many, but here’s a few you may or may not have heard of:
Simon Toyne – Any of his books Sanctus, The Key, The Tower (old magic, religion, secrets, love, battle running through the ages until now – now it changes because of one woman and one man – Ahh Gabriel, I would follow him through Hell!)
Jonathan Harvey – The Girl Who Just Appeared, The Confusion of Karen Carpenter (contemporary, gritty in a good way, funny, pulls no punches, but you don’t feel battered afterwards)
Ben Aaronovitch – The Rivers of London, Moon over Soho, Foxglove Summer, (magic police, wicked wizards, hidden places in the London Metropolis all run from the mysterious building called ‘The Folly’)
Scarlett Thomas – Bright Young Things, Going out, PopCo, The End of Mr Y, Our Tragic Universe (quirky, quantum swirling definition defying adventures for adults)
Four places I have lived
A slum due for demolition
A tenement block
A three bed terrace
A three bed semi
Four places I have visited
Rome
Vancouver
Ostend
Edinburgh
Four things I would rather be doing right now
Eating curry, chips and rice (UK chips, not US chips)
Writing with a pot of Smoky Lapsang on stand by
Reading with a nice pot of Earl Grey at my side
Walking through the countryside – anywhere in the British Isles
Four things that I am looking forward to this year
Spring – for the Bluebells and Freesias
Summer – for the Hollyhocks and Roses
Autumn – for the golden leaves and berries
Winter – for the Holly, Mistletoe and frozen spider webs
Four things I am always saying:
Fair to middling
Oh my giddy aunt
Indeed
Thank you, Please, Excuse me
http://katemcclelland01.wordpress.com
Filed under: Author Interviews, blogging Tagged: books, films, Kate McClelland, poetry, secrets
March 30, 2016
March 19, 2016
March 13, 2016
What to do about YET another rejection? Engage with Carolee Croft.
Carolee : I come from the west coast of Canada, but I’m currently living with my boyfriend in Oxford, UK. My favorite things to do are reading and writing adventure and romance stories, and once in a while I get the urge to go on an adventure of my own, such as surfing or horseback riding.
Carolee. I wrote and self-published a short romance story. It was just a sweet romance story, but somehow it became grouped with erotic stories on Amazon. I could see what customers who bought my stories had also bought, and it was things like werewolf erotica and forced seduction! I saw that those books were selling better than mine, and then the whole Fifty Shades of Grey thing came about, so I became more and more interested in writing erotic fiction. Because I’ve always enjoyed historical fiction, I decided to fuse them together by writing historical romance with plenty of erotic elements.
Carolee. I don’t know if I would be capable of accurately portraying the hamster experience. Do you think I could pull it off? On that note, why has Hamstah Dickens never written a book about humans?
Carolee. I started writing when I was seventeen, and I’ve written three adventure novels, none of which are published. My novels kept getting rejected for over ten years. I was like “Man, I ain’t getting nowhere. I’m sick of sitting here tryin’ to write this book…”
Carolee . Then, I was inspired to write my first erotic story. I wanted to write a humorous sequel to the classic poem “The Rape of the Lock”, and it came out kind of S&M-ish! I called it “Belinda’s Revenge” and it was taken up by New Concepts Publishing, the first publisher I submitted to. Encouraged by this, I followed up on it right away with another humorous erotic romance, “Engaged to the Earl.” I submitted it to Black Velvet Seductions, and after a couple of months, they accepted it. So, now I consider myself a romance/erotica writer since I seem to be having much more success with this genre than with anything else I tried.
Carolee. My favorite film is The Princess Bride. (I guess I should have known I’d become a romance writer!)
I would probably cast Emma Stone as Martha (hoping she can do an English accent), Ryan Gosling as the Earl and Chris Hemsworth as Tom.
Carolee. As with any scene, it’s easier to write when you really get into the character’s head. What would they be doing in this situation? Do they want to tease or be teased? Are they confident or self-conscious? Do they just want to fling themselves into it with full abandon and unbridled passion? It all depends on where your characters are in the story and how they feel about each other.
Then, the next challenge is describing the action! Some prefer dirty language, while others will write euphemisms such as ‘orchid’ or ‘flower’ for certain parts. It’s a good idea to decide how frank you want your language to be and be consistent.
Carolee.
It’s an inspiring place, and I’m really enjoying it. There is so much history here and also a few birds and squirrels, though I haven’t yet seen any hamsters.
Carolee Don’t take it personally, and don’t give up! Another editor might love what one editor has rejected. If you’re getting constantly rejected, try to write a different query letter or just write a new story.
It’s an arranged marriage, but young Martha Darrington wants to do a little arranging of her own.
Her fiance is an arrogant knave, and she will not marry him until he has learned to love her.
But is Martha getting just a little carried away in her romance with her own servant? Maybe she could find a way to satisfy all their desires…
MEET Carolee here. She loves to connect with readers and bloggers.
https://caroleecroft.wordpress.com/
Click here to connect with me on Facebook.
Click here to connect with me on Twitter.
To buy Engaged to the Earl… on Amazon click here
Filed under: Author Interviews, Guest bloggers, heroes, writing Tagged: Belinda's Revenge, Black Velvet Seductions, Carolee Croft, Dealing with rejection, Engaged to the Earl, Erotic historical romance, New Concepts Publishing, Oxford, Rejection
March 4, 2016
February 26, 2016
On Susanne Bellamy and dealing with Writer’s Block.
SUSANNE:
I start with a broad idea such as the meeting of my protagonists, and ask a series of questions about them, why they’re in that place at that time, what sort of people they are and so on.
From those answers, I develop an outline. Being more of a pantser than plotter (I prefer the term, “organic writer”), that broad outline is what I work from.
“Just One Kiss (Hearts of the Outback bk 1)” begins at the Cloncurry races when Royal Flying Doctor Service pilot, Amy Alistair unknowingly encounters her new partner, Dr. Dan Middleton and tips beer down his shirt.
Book 2 was going to be about Amy’s brother but a minor character, the office b*tch, Lizzy Wilmot, just grew stronger and more demanding in my head until I wrote her story. Sometimes a character like Lizzy comes along and it’s better to go with the flow rather than go insane. Lizzy’s story is “Heartbreak Homestead”, which explores why ‘Craeborn’, the homestead Lizzy, Dan and Amy flew out to in book 1, is such a desperate place.
I struggle with first drafts and saggy middles, like most writers, but persevere to the end. You cannot edit a blank page but you can do everything with a first draft. By contrast, I love getting edits back and strengthening story lines and deepening character motivations. A good editor is worth their weight in gold!
Susanne
Only when I was at uni and hand writing exams. I do all my work on a laptop. Writer’s block, on the other hand, occurs periodically in each story. Sometimes it’s because I haven’t established a clear through line for the story; sometimes it’s because I need a break to refill the creative well. Don’t underestimate the need to feed your Muse!
SUSANNE. Keep writing, even if you think what you’re writing is rubbish. Even amongst the dross, there are snippets of writing you can use.
Find good beta readers who will tell you when an idea sucks. Honesty is a key attribute of a good beta reader.
Use a good editor. You cannot effectively edit your own work.
Susanne
Brave hamstah, asking this question! We were sailing on my brother-in-law’s catamaran when a bad storm blew in without warning over the hills. For a while, racing—almost flying over the water was thrilling, exhilarating. Until the boom swung and cracked me on the head and the cat flipped. With concussion and being a weak swimmer, I wouldn’t have made it to shore but bh, who was a strong swimmer, dived off the cat and somehow got me to land. He proposed the following week.
Susanne
Places often inspire my ideas. “Engaging the Enemy” came about on my first tram ride in Melbourne. I saw an abandoned red brick building and wondered what sort of person might rescue it. That became, what if two strangers both wanted the building for deeply personal reasons and would do anything to get it?
Two novellas came from a trip to Italy. The first was inspired by the city of Florence and became “One Night in Tuscany”; the other occurred as we travelled along the Amalfi Coast road. “One Night in Sorrento” was inspired by the traffic and the incredible views of that coastal road.
“Winning the Heiress’ Heart” was easier.
I was invited to join three authors writing standalone books set in different periods of history and dipping into the lives of people touched by the mystery of a missing emerald and diamond necklace. I was given Hawaii, post WW2 as I’d already written one book set in the Islands. I chose 1960, following Hawaii’s inclusion as the 50th state of the USA because I could see my main character, Eva, starting a new life in a brand new state. Not only that, but she was going to run her own pineapple plantation at a time when women were still meant to run the household and not much else.
SUSANNE This feels appropriate since I was just talking about Hawaii. And I love cocktails!
Lava Flow recipe
Scale ingredients to 1 servings
1 oz light rum
1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
2 oz strawberries
1 banana
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz coconut cream
Blend banana, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in a blender and set aside. In the bottom of a hurricane glass, stir together both rums and strawberries.
Pour banana/coconut/pineapple mix slowly into the glass. The strawberry/rum mix should creep up the sides of the glass to make a wonderful looking (and tasting) summertime cocktail!
Read more: Lava Flow recipe http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink4773.html#ixzz3Oh4jczWO
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/susanne.bellamy.7
Twitter https://twitter.com/SusanneBellamy
Website http://www.susannebellamy.com/
Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/susannebellamy/
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/6869630.Susanne_Bellamy
Books by Susanne Bellamy
Heartbreak Homestead (Hearts of the Outback Book 2) eBook
Just One Kiss (Hearts of the Outback Book 1) eBook
Second Chance Love (A Bindarra Creek Romance) bit.ly/1O5ngaN
One Night in Tuscany amzn.to/1dKLyX6
One Night in Sorrento amzn.to/1brE2Jp
Winning the Heiress’ Heart (The Emerald Quest) amzn.to/1B9TVUJ
Engaging The Enemy amzn.to/1wrYGHQ
White Ginger amzn.to/MiDjVr
Filed under: Author Interviews, blogging, heroes, writing Tagged: Engaging the Enemy, Heartbreak Homestead, Susanne Bellamy, Writer's block, writing, Writing tips
