Mike Crowl's Blog, page 38

An interview with writer, Rosanne Higgins

Hi, Rosanne, thanks for being willing to be interviewed about your first book, Inmates and Orphans, which I’ve recently read ˗ and enjoyed.
Can you tell us a little about yourself? First of all, thanks for doing this, Mike!  I am glad you enjoyed the book. I am an anthropologist and small business owner living in Western New York. My husband and I own two doggy daycares. My business keeps me busy for about 60 hours per week so I do my writing and research in the evenings and...

Three Rendell movies

Here be spoilers...

We've watched three episodes from the ongoing series, Ruth Rendell Mysteries, over the last few days. They're not all from the same year, but have been bundled together as a package. The titles are Master of the Moor, Vanity Dies Hard, and A Case of Coincidence. 

Master of the Moor dates from 1994, and stars a youngish Colin Firth. It was made a year before his appearance in Pride and Prejudice. This was the least satisfactory of the stories. It seemed to be dragged out...

Quilter's piano pieces

I don't buy a lot of music online, either downloaded music or actual sheet music. However, about three weeks ago I happened upon the fact that Roger Quilter (1877-1953) had written some piano music. I'm familiar with a number of his songs, almost all of which I love, and which, in some cases I've been playing for singers for decades. I'd never heard of his piano music, and thought I'd check it out.

In the end the only ones I could access easily that particular day were a set called Three Studi...

Culinary musical items

Looking for unusual gifts for the musicians in your life? Try this link:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/unique-unusual-gifts. 

Among other things you can have a 20-watt hand-wired head. Now, that's unusual. I'm quite glad I don't have a hand-wired head. The one I've got is confusing enough at the best of times. 

Another option is Minotaur stands. No wait, that's monitor stands. Always did have trouble spelling certain words. Similar, for instance. I always used to spell it as similiar,...

An interview with Traci Lawrence

Traci Lawrence is the author of the e-book Accept No Trash Talk, which I read recently. I've been in touch with Traci and asked if I could send her some questions about the book. She's sent me the answers and here's the result. [My questions and comments are in italics.]
This is your first book, I believe. Has it taken a long time for you to get this book off the ground?
In a word: yes. About a year and a half passed from the time when I got the idea for the book until it was first publis...

I think this quote is doing the rounds on the Net, ...

 I think this quote is doing the rounds on the Net, but it's worth putting it here anyway: 

Here’s the thing. When we talk about race relations in America or racial progress, it’s all nonsense. There are no race relations. White people were crazy. Now they’re not as crazy. To say that black people have made progress would be to say they deserve what happened to them before.... So, to say Obama is progress is saying that he’s the first black person that is qualified to be president. T...

Review of Accept No Trash Talk, by Traci Lawrence

I read Traci’s book over the last week, and as usual with an e-book, highlighted a number of things that struck me, or that I ‘argued’ with. This is one great advantage of e-books, that you keep track of the notes you make so easily. It’s the equivalent of scribbling on the printed page or putting in exclamation or question marks.
Traci’s book looks at the difficulties people face who have limitations, or who are more sensitive than others, or who struggle to make themselves heard against thos...

Review of The Blood Secret

Nice review of my second children's book, The Mumbersons and the Blood Secret, has just appeared on Amazon, from Rosanne Higgins. I'm sure she won't mind my copying it here...

I found The Mumbersons and the Blood Secret, by Mike Crowl, to be a most delightful story. Billy Mumberson, and his friend, Olivia, risk life and limb to uncover a long kept secret at the factory where his father is employed. The children have in common parents who are preoccupied and spare them little attention or affec...

Not a winner this time round....

Didn't win the Gallipoli Songs competition organised by ABC Classic FM radio and our own Radio NZ Concert. But a young fellow called Andrew Baldwin was one of the six winners. (Now if 119 of the other 124 entrants hadn't entered, I might have had a fighting chance.

Andrew Baldwin is fairly well-established as a young composer; I've twice heard his music on the radio in the last couple of weeks. When I knew him first he was only a skinny little lad with a very good boy soprano voice. He pe...

Interview with Jim Heskett

I've been doing some promotional work on Google+, getting to know some other writers and interacting with them. It's been fruitful for me, and hopefully for them. I asked a few of them if they would like to read my latest book, The Mumbersons and the Blood Secret, and give me some feedback. Some have responded, and the first one to read it, Jim Heskett, who's published a book of poetry recently, Love Poems, Hate Poems, was the first to come back to me. I gave him a list of questions that...