Ingrid Hall's Blog, page 49

Flash review of Never the Dawn by Grey Wolf – Review by Jane McBride

On a roll…bring them on!!! Here is the second flash review of the day, this one is of NEVER THE DAWN an as yet unpublished novel by GREY WOLF.  The author does have several other published works and you can find out more at  http://www.amazon.com/author/greywolf   Because Never the Dawn is not yet available I have used the image for another of Grey Wolf’s works Beholder…

The opening to Never the Dawn is reviewed by the lovely Jane McBride and in case you missed them you can find our interview with her here and our review of A little hair of the dog here

FLASH REVIEW OF NEVER THE DAWN

 I read this with no knowledge ahead of time of the genre or synopsis, but within a few sentences I realized I was reading either steam punk or alternative history or both. Grand Captain Elijah Ramirez is commanding some kind of a ship and piloting it into Timbuktu-a fabled city. The ship was descending-ah ha! I thought, it’s a flying ship.

 The ominous mention of gunports made me wonder if they were entering into battle, but they were not.  But Captain Ramirez is apparently a no-nonsense, intimidating figure and he is making an entrance in this giant flying ship. Women are included in important positions in the crew.

  Imperial Prince Alexander Roberto Heinrich is aboard and he is looking out over the city as they descend. Through his eyes, we see the “buildings of mud and brick give way to the splendour of the marble palace” and it is a very good view indeed. In just a few lines, we can see the thousands of slaves who died building it, we get the picture of the impoverished who live outside the palace, and start wondering about who might live in the palace. My personal thought was that apparently, no matter what version of history we live in, humans are always the same. The number of slaves whose blood mingled with the mud of the Egyptian pyramids was barely worth noticing to the Pharaohs, as long as they got what they wanted.

 As they land, black slaves grab the ropes hanging below the ship and pull it in-so now we know that there are still slaves there. After the landing, The Prince tells Ramirez, basically, that he can’t stand his cousin, The Imperial Duke Gunther Luis Leander, and no, he will not be dining with the Duke. Ramirez quickly offers him a place at the officers table and is genuinely surprised and pleased that the offer is accepted. The message I got from that is that we are not going to like the Imperial Duke Gunther Luis Leander, we might like the Imperial Prince Alexander Roberto Heinrich and that Ramirez admires him at the very least. 

 The scene changes to the cousin, the Imperial Duke, who is not pleased. Is it the arrival of his “more illustrious cousin,” or something else? He goes on to discuss with General Alberto Smith some recent and severe military failures, which appear to be the main source of his concern. 

 This is an intriguing introduction to a story, and the thing that impressed me the most was the large amount of information that was contained in such a short excerpt.  Backstory is important, but sometimes a book can get bogged down in backstory that a reader is probably not interested in. We know that the cousins aren’t particularly fond of each other,  are still evidently on the same side, but do we really need some long history of their shared boyhood (or whatever), a long laundry list of everything they ever did to each other?  I don’t. I got it. We know that there is a strong military, a palace with Dukes and Princes, and presumably other royal counterparts, there is some as yet unnamed  military conflict going on, and there are slaves, too. 

 It’s a well written extremely packed punch-congratulations to this author being able to put so much in one small space. Now-let’s see if the whole book is like that?

 Jane McBride

FLASH REVIEWS ARE REVIEWS OF THE FIRST 1000-2000 WORDS OF A NOVEL AND THE HOPE IS BY PROVIDING THESE REVIEWS WE CAN HELP GIVE INDIE AUTHORS THE BOOST THAT WE NEED.  I AM LOOKING FOR REVIEWERS/BOOKS TO FLASH REVIEW AND I AM RUNNING A GIVEAWAY ALONGSIDE IT. FIND OUT MORE HERE.

LOVE INGRID xxx

Flash review of Granny Irene’s Guide to the Afterlife – Revenge Part 1 by Ingrid Hall – Review by JUNE STARRS

Morning everyone

Well, I am feeling INCREDIBLY excited by these all new FLASH REVIEWS.  I have had a really positive response from people offering to take me up on my invitation of reading and reviewing.  In case you missed my earlier post flash reviews are reviews of the first 1000-2000 words of an indie author’s work.  The aim is this is to promote the author as widely as possible and hopefully help them generate more sales. You can find out more by reading my original article… Interested? Contact me either using the contact form on this site or by emailing Ingrid@grannyirene.com  Please show your support by SHARING these reviews…

I have two flash reviews to post today and I will post them both individually first up is GRANNY IRENE’S GUIDE TO THE AFTERLIFE - REVENGE PART 1 BY INGRID HALL AND FLASH REVIEWED BY JUNE STARRS

Irene’s book cover looks mystical and lures the reader to open the book.

Ingrid informs the reader at the start that this is not written in a conventional style or the Queen`s English.  I agree upon reading this but why not try reading another writing style? I was glad I did.

I agree with Ingrid, this extract (the book too I should imagine) may challenge any personal beliefs or opinions you may have on the afterlife. It certainly made me think about the existence of and afterlife.

This is written in the first person by Granny Irene, speaking from the afterlife. 

Irene`s opening question grabs you straight in there, I wanted to read on, “The dead can dream, can`t they?”

The extract I read is weaved with menacing tones hooking the reader deeper. Why is Irene`s Grand-daughter Chloe stood vacant looking, at the side of a busy motorway? What is Chloe nurturing in the backpack? Who is the driver of the white van? There are several cleverly written menacing tones keeping me wanting to know what has happened and what will follow?

Granny Irene watches Chloe. She tries to communicate with her. Can she?

As the events unfold a shiver runs down my spine as I watch the picture before my eyes. Granny Irene desperately tries to communicate with her grand-daughter.

The extract I read ends on a cliff hanger. Granny Irene`s dream “cuts out” too.

Intrigued? I am.

Reviewed by June Starrs

Granny Irene’s Guide to the Afterlife – Revenge is available to buy from Amazon in kindle and paperback versions.

You can find JUNE STARRS by clicking any of the following links:

http://www.facebook.com/junestarrs.writer

http://twitter.com/JuneStarrs

http://www.goodreads.com/JuneStarrs

http://junestarrs.blogspot.com

Writing for Hire Writers DOT com

As anyone who regularly follows my blog will know I have been looking at means of generating extra income by writing articles for two reasons

1. Due to an unexpected change in our circumstances I need to start contributing more to the household income.

2. I want to build a useful guide of places where freelance writers can turn to for extra cash.

I am going to try and be as impartial as I can in my review of each site that I try/work for and will write as detailed a review as possible. A couple of you have made some suggestions which I will definitely be following however I decided first to run with a site that I came across on google.  www.hirewriters.com

I found the site attractive and appealing to look at (which was possibly my first mistake) It is also user friendly in the sense that registration was relatively easy (even for a technophobe like me…)  Payment to you is made via Paypal so if you haven’t already got a Paypal account then you will need to set one up in order to complete your registration.

Everyone effectively has to earn their stripes: Everyone starts at beginner level and you have to complete a certain number of jobs before you move up the rankings and gain access to the better and by “better” I mean “better paid” jobs.   As soon as you are registered you can start looking for and accepting work. Timescales for completion of tasks varies from 12 hours to around 10 days and if you are late in submitting then there are financial penalties which is LAUGHABLE given the rates that they pay!!!  To say I was definitely under-awed by the peanuts that they are paying is an understatement (I will be interested to see just how common this low pay is among similar sites)  Jobs on there start at around $1.18 dollars – which equates to just £0.77 So not even a bag of peanuts then!!

Given that one of the main reasons I am looking at doing this is so that I can generate a realistic income you might wonder why I would even consider doing this for this price, well, I figured that if nothing else it would help me limbo up the old creative juices.  Article writing is after all different from novel writing and I wanted to get used to researching a totally different subject and writing about it…There is a BIG BUT coming…

I accepted two jobs with a mobile phone repair shop.  The first was to write a user guide for Ebay and the second was to write a user guide for Amazon.  I had 10 days to complete the job, ideal seeing as I wanted to fully research the product etc first.   Within 24 hours of accepting the job I had received emails from the site saying that the owner was requesting a mutual cancellation of the assignments.  No reason or explanation was given and frankly I was/am furious at what I perceive to be a complete waste of my time.  Fortunately I hadn’t gone beyond a brief google search so I certainly hadn’t invested too much time or energy in it, however they weren’t to know that.  I don’t see how the company can allow vendors to do this…If someone posts a job then they should honour it.  I hadn’t even written a single word however I was left questioning why they didn’t want me on the job…Did they take a look at my profile and think I didn’t fit…Or did they simply decide that they no longer needed the service?  I was going to name and shame the company as up until last night the job was still being openly advertised on the site, however I have since checked and it has been taken down, so for now I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

Does anyone else out there have any experience with http://www.hirewriters.com ????  If so I would LOVE to hear from you. I would also like to know the sites that you recommend.  Thank you to those of you who have already sent me your thoughts!

Given the ridiculously low/insulting rates that they pay.  Given the fact that they will happily pull the plug on an assignment after a writer has begun working/researching it, then I would advise people to give them a wide berth.  I have certainly wasted all of the time I am going to waste on this site and will be swiftly moving onto the next!!!

Interview with Sola Odemuyiwa

Hi Sola. It’s great to meet you as you know I have already reviewed your book THE PREGNANT MULE  and was fascinated by the fact that it is set in a dystopian Newcastle Upon Tyne, for those readers who are unfamiliar with you, why not start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

I was born in Newcastle and grew up in Nigeria, returned to Newcastle to train in Cardiology. I am married with two children and work as a consultant cardiologist in Surrey.

Yes, your background in cardiology is apparent in the book, scarily so, I would say!  What is the worst job that you have ever done, and why?

My preregistration year as a house officer in a busy maternity hospital in Lagos because I felt so out of my depth. We were so understaffed and asked to work such long hours that it is rumored that during a Caesarean one surgeon fell asleep and almost fell into the operation site.

Your ability to make light of awful situations also shines through in the book – So much so that I don’t know what to believe!!! I can “imagine” that there might be a grain of truth in what you have just said, but then I think NAH, no way!  Or maybe I am just being blonde!!  Moving on, i you could have written any other book by any other author, what would it be, and why?

Smiley’s people by John Le Carre. An intricate plot, the names of the characters, simple language, insight into the intelligence service, the impact of the protagonists’ private lives on the outcome.

How would you think your parents would describe your book? Does this differ from how you would describe it?

My father would probably describe it as irreverent in its treatment of authority. My mother would have been surprised at my interpretation of family relationships. She may have thought that it was too violent and explicit in places.

What Genre is your work – Do you have any plans to work outside of it? I consider my work to be political thriller subgenre medical. The book I am writing now is in a similar vein. I hope to write a historical novel one day.

I would be interested to see where you go with your historical novel and how you interpret key events…What inspired you to write your first book?

The increasing prominence of extremist political and racist groups. It gave me a way of exploring free will, choice and destiny

Yes, your books are certainly not light reading and you are bold in the fact that you tackle some hefty subjects!! Do you ever get ideas at random moments, and if so how do you hang onto them?

I do, usually when I am shaving in the morning. I have a book by my bed so I hurry back to the bedside to write them down. I take a book with me on my bike and one in the car. If a patient says something I like I ask their permission to use it write it down on a piece of paper and stuff it in my pocket.

Quirky!! Do you have a structure when you are writing, and if so what?

No, I am a no outline person, so the third book I am writing is a mess at the moment. I have about 100000 words and am now writing the plot. I will put it all together again at the end. So a lot ends up on the floor so to speak

Which was your favourite character to write, and why?

Adam Maginot was my favourite because I think I succeeded in making him bad without making him totally evil. He is a composite of a lot of people I know or know of.

That is TERRIFYING given where you work! What are you reading at the moment, and why?

Edgar Allan Poe “The fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings”. His weird imagination appeals to me.

I’ve never read anything by Poe but would certainly love to at some point…What is your favourite movie and why?

“Goodfellas” for the characters. You hate what they do but you cannot hate them. For the glitz, the rise and fall of Liotta. Some of the scenes are unforgettable. The dead man in the boot for example. The dialogue, the casual evil.

Do you have an opinion on life after death, and if so what?

I do not think there is life after death. We live as molecules in others but we are not alive as whole physical entities

That is the doctor/scientist in you talking…Totally changing the subject when you eat out would you choose Chinese, Indian or Italian, or other, if so what?

Indian, more filling and I like nan bread.

London, Paris or New York and why?

Paris. I’ve been once before because it reminds me of when we were courting.

Yes, Paris is definitely the city of love.  My husband I got engaged there and I would love to go back with him…BIG HINT MR HALL…What inspired you to be a writer?

The need to express what I could not say and to leave a legacy for my children and I hope one day for my grandchildren.

How do you overcome writers block?

Write down what I hear on the television and improvise round it.

What advice would you give your 18 year old self?

Look hard before you leap.

Do you have a football/soccer team that you are passionate about and if so what?

Newcastle United

Most definitely the RIGHT answer, a TOON fan!!!  It has been a pleasure to meet with you Sola, even if you have heightened by complex about what doctors get up to behind the scenes…I am already paranoid about surgery…don’t think I will ever be able to face it again LOL!!!

You can buy the pregnant mule here http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=2032

 

Book Review: Esto Perpetua by S.A.Todd

A Book Review by Lenora

S.A. Todd is a poet based in the North East of England, he was recently interviewed by Ingrid..read full interview. As noted by Ingrid I know Steve and while that might make me  a little biased, his poetry speaks for itself.

Esto Perpetua by SA Todd

Someone once said that poets are the conscience of a nation – and I think that is true to some extent. However I have always felt that the power of a poet is in being able to express those feelings and emotions we all share but which most of us cannot put into words.

Esto Perpetua is such a book. Intrigued by the title I resorted to Google for a translation and came up with: ‘Is this forever’, ‘this is forever and ‘may she live forever’. All of them evocative and all of them subtly different and perhaps this is appropriate for a book of poetry – built upon the shifting sands of human emotions – why would you want to pin down a fixed meaning when there could be so many…?

From the outset this book draws you in, the prologue is a witty noir-ish prose scene in which the author reveals something of himself and his motives to an unnamed intruder….”Tell him that real poetry has returned.” he declares…

As I began to read the poems I could sense the echoes of Tennyson, Browning and TS Elliott in the meter and style, but this was not simply a pastiche or homage to older ‘greater’ poets. Todd creates his own distinctive voice dressed up in these ‘borrowed’ clothes. Sometimes moving, sometimes profound, sometimes quirky – he moves between the witty cleverness of Food For Thought (quoted in full below) to the brief but damning social critique of ‘On Salvation’ to the reflective and heart rending poems of Unexpected Meeting or Midsummer Images (Quoted in full below).

I think poetry speaks best for itself so, with the kind permission of S.A.Todd, I have reproduced two of his poems in full (Midsummer Images and Food for Thought Copyright 2012 S.A.Todd).

Details of how to purchase Esto Perpetua can be found at the foot of this post.

Midsummer Images

The clean skies.

The dirty roof guttering.

The elusive, icy shadows.

The cool, shadowed lies.

The churning stomach.

I wonder where you are…

Bird without fear treads the road.

Dead and drying flowers, crumbling in

the delicious breeze.

Humid, boiling green.

Torpid dogs slowly evaporating in their yards.

I wonder what you’re doing…

The bright white houses on the hill.

Forests of cables, seas of power lines.

Seven screams of children playing, still,

Their scraped-knee tears turning to steam

under the relentless UV assault.

I wonder if you ever think of me…

My memories pay homage to that summer afternoon

Absorbing what it might be like to be You.

Before age sounded the division bell

and the aeroplane jet stream cut my sky in two.

Food For Thought

Monosyllabic nonsense

Tastes best in a layer

in oxymoron BLT

on onomatopoeia.

Low fat pentameter

(Iambic or not)

Will give indigestion,

so don’t have a lot.

A short, rigid structure

Three good squares a day

I find is the best

To keep critics at bay.

I’m sure you’ll agree

for I’ve long promoted

That poets who ramble

Should be hung, drawn, and quoted.

Esto Perpetua by S.A. Todd is available to purchase from http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/3397402-esto-perpetua?redirect=true

Visit S.A.Todd on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepoetryofsatodd

Visit Lenora at http://www.hauntedpalace.co.uk

Review of Green Kitty by Alexandra Faer Bryan

Alexandra Faer Bryan describes herself as a  mother, nurse and author who loves to read, she began writing in 1985 and has written three books to date: An instructional manual for a massage class, a nonfiction account of her nursing experiences, and Green Kitty which is a children’s book.

Cleverly written, Green Kitty is a series of stories within a story which revolves around the touching relationship between a young girl and her grandmother.  Grandma has been placed in a residential home due to her dementia and the author deals with the issue so sensitively that at times it is heart breaking and yet uplifting at the same time.   I was hooked from the opening paragraph which I found compelling and powerful as I can imagine that having a beloved grandparent placed into residential care would raise all sorts of questions for a young child and is a situation that families the world over are having to deal with on a daily basis. Each chapter involves a different visit to grandma and as such is neatly broken down and sign posted so that young readers know what to expect.   The use of repetition is also great for consolidating the information learned.

Grandmas dementia is extremely well presented, the author clearly has a lot of experience in subject.  I love the way Grandma’s mind is stretched and worked with the story telling and the fact that routine is important for those suffering with dementia is also highlighted.  Grandma’s stories are funny and amusing, indeed I found myself chuckling at the story of the male cat that hadn’t been neutered because I have refused point blank to have our dog castrated in spite of everyone repeatedly telling me that I should…A multitude of educational aspects are adeptly woven into the story, for example we learn how to identify whether or not a snake is poisonous and this is done in such a way that youngsters wouldn’t even realise that they were learning.   We also learn about fables and what they are and this is showcased through Aesops (Ancient Greek) which I am familiar with from my own childhood and also the fables of the Cherokee, an American tribe which up until this point I have never studied and the author highlights the similarities between the two whilst also pointing out the differences.

I have tried (as I always do) to find some fault with this book.  On this occasion however I cannot find a single bone to pick with it and would recommend it without hesitation to parents everywhere.

http://www.greenkittybook.com/

Interview with Jan Hunter

Jan Hunter is the author of MY TWO LIVES a book which I am absolutely dying (pardon the terrible pun) to read and review and is not too far down my list!  Hi Jan, sorry I am a teeny bit late, thank you for waiting so patiently for me! Now that I am here why not start by telling us a little bit about you?

Hi Ingrid, where do I begin, well, I am an ex head of Drama. I started my career teaching Police lyrics as poetry to skin-heads in Bovver boots with MUFC tattooed on their heads.

I also work as an examiner for GCSE practical Drama. I have just applied for a job as a local reporter.

Ah, With your background you are ideally placed for a successful writing career then! We’ve all had some bad jobs in our time, what is the worst you have ever done and why?

That would be walking down Oxford Street with a heavy wooden billboard advertising Scandinavian  furniture. Nightmare!

OMG I just can’t imagine you doing that…Poor thing you are trembling now at the thought of it! I’d better move onto happier stuff swiftly…If you could have written any book by any other author what would it be and why?

Anything by Dickens. A genius of character.

He most certainly was and the themes that he wrote about are as relevant today as they were back then…I am curious about your book, how would you define the genre?

My genre is historical but  it is also set in the 21st century. It’s a time travel, supernatural thriller.

So what inspired you to write your first book?

I was inspired by Castle Howard and my love of literature .Also being a Drama teacher I love creating characters and scenes.

I am getting more and more like that now. I am being drawn to certain places and almost “seeing” a story unfold.  My problem is that I have too many ideas and they don’t seem to like having to queue! Do you ever get random ideas and if so how do you hang onto them?

I always carry a notebook or put something on my phone. I seem to get inspired by the atmosphere of a place. I write at Castle Howard and get my best ideas on the train journey to London. I wrote my first chapter on that journey.

You seem like a pretty organised lady Jan, I am guessing you have a structure to your writing?

No. That’s where you are wrong! I don’t have a definite structure but when I am inspired I can write for hours.

You have surprised me there! Who is your favourite character and why?

I am lucky that I got to really like my characters and was able to get under their skin. Writing in the first person meant that I was with Jill all the way. People say she is very like me, but that was not intentional.

I LOVE writing in first person, it gives you a sense of immediacy and intimacy that you don’t get with say, third person…To be able to write the novel you have written then I am guessing that you must have an opinion on life after death?

Life after death is an interesting one. I had a past life regression session for my research. It is so much a part of my book, I had to give it a go. Strangely enough I saw myself in the Great Hall of Castle Howard in the 1920s.

I don’t think that is at all strange, I think it is perfectly possible given your fondness for the place that you do have prior memories of it…Changing the subject completely, London, Paris or New York?

London is my favourite city every time, because of the history. My daughter lives there and we did a lot of research together, walking the streets of Dickens and Pepys.

What do you have in the pipeline?

I am writing the sequel at the moment. I am doing a lot of book signings at Castle Howard, so when there is a gap, I make notes.

Sounds very glamorous! Do you write short stories or poetry as well?

I have written short stories and that is how I got started. I wrote a story about my mother’s battle with Alzheimers, won a competition and was invited to The Orange Awards. The story is now being used for carers by The South Tess Hospital Trust.

You must get a tremendous sense of satisfaction that in spite of what your mum went through you are helping others…Do you ever suffer from the curse that is writers block and if so how do you get around it?

To overcome writers block, I will take a break and do something very different. I always come back refreshed. I can’t stop writing, I love it.

What advice would you give your 18 year old self?

I would tell my 18 year old self, Carpe Diem

Seize the Day, I like it!  Jan it has been a pleasure getting to know you.  I am truly looking forward to reading your book (and the sequel!) 

You can visit Jan and find out more about her and her work at

http://www.janhunterauthor.com

New: Flash reviews and giveaway

Hi

I am constantly thinking about ways to help indie authors promote their books and I also want to market and promote my own work, so I have come up with a way in which with your help I can kill two birds with one stone.

I want to start doing a series of FLASH REVIEWS – Reviews of the first 1000 words of a book and I am looking for people who would like to HELP me.  Here’s the deal:

If you are an indie author you can submit the first 1000 words of your book to me for review.  In return I ask that you commit to also doing at least 1 flash review in return. (Ideally I would like people to do at least 1 per month however this is not compulsory)  You would then post the review(s) that you do on your blog/facebook/social media sites in the same way that I would actively promote the reviews.

If you are not an author but love reading this is a great and easy way to show your love for indie authors.  Simply contact me to register your interest.

In addition to actively promoting ALL of the reviews I will ALSO put the names of all the books reviewed each month into a hat and will draw one at random which I will then purchase and send to someone randomly drawn from our pool of flash reviewers…

This is a great opportunity to

1. Get your work out there

2. Support indie authors with very little impact on your time

3. Win some books

Full reviews will continue to run as normal…

Please email Ingrid@grannyirene.com if interested…

Indie author interviews are changing…Please read

Hi everyone

Right, I fear this might be an epic post due to the amount of stuff that I need to say, so I will try to keep it as rational as possible:

As you know I have been running the indie author interviews for some time now and whilst they are proving incredibly popular with authors I am not too sure how they are resonating with the wider audience (I seem to lose some followers after certain interviews go live)  I have also noticed that whilst some authors clearly put heart and soul into their submission some seem to rush it off – this is abundantly clear by the answers to some of the questions which I am asking, which if I am honest narks me just a little bit seeing as each interview takes me anywhere between 1.5 and 2 hours to complete.

My time is precious to me.  In addition to the FREE promotion that I am offering to indie authors I also have my own books to write, edit and market and due to my ever changing domestic situation I also need to be looking more and more at how I can generate regular income from my writing.  I also have a house, husband, kids and a seriously ill mother to look after and I am considering taking on a part time job.

I want to keep my blog fresh and innovative and I want the time that I spend on it to be happy and pleasurable.  I do not want to be muttering and cursing away to myself  (or worse still to my husband) about the amount of time that I am spending promoting people who haven’t put as much time and effort into the content that they have sent me as maybe I think they should.

So here is the deal:

I am booked out on interviews until Mid-October.  Over the next couple of weeks I am going to go through all of the interviews that I have pending from now until then and I am going to check them and make sure that the content is something that I want to publish.   If for whatever reason I have concerns I will email the authors concerned, the rest I will honor in full.

After that point I am going to switch to “character interviews” as I think this will serve several purposes:

1. It will filter out those authors who cannot be bothered to make an effort.

2. It will make for really interesting reading and it should hopefully generate more interest in your book and therefore more sales.

I will need to some preparation for this and I will shortly draft a new set of questions etc.  I will also run a description of the book with each interview and I will TRY but cannot guarantee to run a mini review alongside each one. Because of the new format I will only be running 1 interview per week so places will be limited, therefore if you are interested please email ingrid@grannyirene.com ASAP and I will put you on the shortlist.  You are welcome to contact me for a character interview even if you have already had an author interview.

Lenora, Amanda and I will continue as we are with our standard book reviews so please continue to submit your requests for them as normal.

Hope this all makes sense.

LOVE

INGRID xxx

Interview with Texan Cowgirl: Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo

Happy Trails to you Kandy, I have been keen to interview you for sometime, let’s start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

By day I work as a behavior skills teacher in an alternative junior high school. By night I work as an animal behaviorist teaching good behavior to naughty dogs. In between, I keep a barn full of horses. In all my spare time, I am an author and a blogger.

Sounds like you have a busy life and I think I could use some help with my own naughty dog! What is the worst job that you have ever done and why? 

I started my career as a parole officer. Having to go get people who refused to follow the rules out of questionable places in the middle of the night, turned out to be not so much fun. I would rather work with the younger hoodlums and try to make a difference before they are completely gone.

Sounds like a very challenging career and quite a big leap from where you are now. I am not sure I would have the patience for it… If you could have written any other book by any other author, what would it be, and why?

That would be Crime and Punishment. I love the way the author had the conscience win out in the end, just like the Tell Tale Heart by Poe.

How would you think your parents would describe your book and does this differ from how you would describe it?

My parents don’t read my work however I really think it is a story that needs to be told.

Yeah, my mam likes to show her friends copies of my book but I don’t think she would actually read it herself. What Genre is your work – Do you have any plans to work outside of it?

My book is a nonfiction, memoir. I haven’t really thought about moving genres

I think most nonfiction writers tend to stay with nonfiction…What inspired you to write your first book?

Pie’s story is so amazing and inspiring, I felt it needed to be shared.

I have had a look at your website and I am curious about Pie…I think I will certainly be reading your book when I get a chance. Do you ever get ideas at random moments, and if so how do you hang onto them?

I have spent a fortune in sticky notes. I have tons of them everywhere.

Do you have a structure when you are writing, and if so what?

I am not really a structured kind of person.

An informal, go with the flow kind of girl eh? Which was your favourite character to write, and why?

My favorite character was Pie. The whole book is about him, he is amazing.

Yeah, your love for him really shines through, tell me Kandy what are you reading at the moment and why?

I am reading Seer by Patick O’Scheen. It has dragons and gypsies in it.

Sounds like a fascinating combination! What is your favourite movie and why?

I have two favorite movies, Arsnic and Old Lace and Pirates of the Caribbean. They both amuse the dog out of me every time I watch them.

Pirates of the Caribbean is FAB…Do you have an opinion on life after death, and if so what?

I don’t think it is my place to deny the existence of anything.

When you eat out would you choose Chinese, Indian or Italian, or other, if so what?

I would have to choose Italian. I am married to an Italian.

Ah, that explains the unusual surname. I hope he does the cooking…I think that must be every woman’s fantasy man! London, Paris or New York and why?

I would have to say London. I am of Druid descent.

Do you write poetry or short stories as well? If so what?

I don’t write poetry, but sometimes I do short stories and guest blogs. My co author Pie also does short stories and blog posts.

How do you overcome writers block?

Knock on wood, I have not had a problem with writers block yet….

Where would you like to be in 5 year time?

I would like to be retired on a ranch writing and blogging full time.

If you only had 60 seconds remaining on this planet, what would you say, and who would you say it to?

I would tell my husband and daughter I love them and they better take care of my critters or I will come back and haunt them.

I love it!  Actually, I love the word critter – It’s one of those words that you don’t hear very much of over here…Speaking of critters do you have any pets and if so what?

At the moment I have 7 horses,several of them rescues. I have 3 cats at home and 4 at the barn. I have a German Shepherd, an Australian Shepherd and a part time Corgi. I also have an albino rat/corn snake.

Do you have a football/soccer team that you are passionate about and if so what?

Sorry, I am horse racing fan. Still waiting for someone to beat my boy Secretariat’s record.

My dad was a big fan of horse racing – He used to spend a fortune!  I guess, it’s different in Texas though because you get to race your own horses!! Must be so cool to raise a winner!

Where was your best ever bucket and spade holiday, and why?

When my husband and I took our daughter to a dude ranch in Colorado. It was an awesome bonding experience.

Dude ranching is like being in the wild west right? So lots of horse riding, hiking, fishing that type of thing? Sounds a bit too high energy and “outdoorsy” for me but I think Lenora would love it.  Thanks Kandy for taking time out from Pie to talk to me…Good luck with your next book!

You can visit Kandy and Pie at http://www.kandykayscaramuzzo.com