Val Tobin's Blog, page 34
August 6, 2015
Give and Take – the idea
Author Tom Benson titillates with promises of a new erotica novel.
Originally posted on Tom Benson - Creative:
Any venture which involves a partnership requires ‘give and take’, and it was from this perspective that I chose to attempt one of my latest projects.
Regular visitors to this blog will be aware that I said, if my book, Coming Around and other erotic storiesproved successful and received positive reviews, I’d consider writing an erotic novel.
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Guess what?
Okay, so I haven’t made enough money from that title to retire to a little place in the country. Neither will I be swapping spit (or anything else) with a famous author who made a fortune from a badly-plotted erotic novel which appealed to so many people – but not to me.
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How have I measured success for that particular experimental collection?
1. It has been bought on a regular basis since publication.
2. It has been read by both male and female readers.
3.It has amassed…
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July 28, 2015
Here is my interview with Val Tobin
Originally posted on authorsinterviews:
Name – Val Tobin
Age – Fifty-three
Where are you from – Ontario, Canada
A little about your self `ie your education Family life etc
A Canadian who hates winters, I muddle through by spending as much time as possible snuggled up with a book.
I studied literature and philosophy at the University of Waterloo, then switched to computers and got a diploma in Computer Information Systems from DeVry. While I worked in the computer industry, I received a Bachelor of Science in Parapsychic Science from The American Institute of Holistic Theology (AIHT). I’m currently working on a thesis for a master’s in Parapsychology from AIHT.
During those years, I also became a Reiki Master/Teacher and an Angel Therapy Practitioner® with Advanced Standing trained by Doreen Virtue, PhD in Kona, Hawaii.
I have two kids and three grandkids, and live with my husband and cat.
Fiona: Tell us your…
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July 25, 2015
*A Ring of Truth* 5-Star Paranormal Thriller*by Val Tobin
Originally posted on Write-Escape:
A Ring of Truth is the second book in Val Tobin’s exciting paranormal series, The Valiant Chronicles. This book can be read as a stand alone.
I started this series out of curiosity, and I’m so glad that I did. A Ring of Truth is a fabulous story, superbly written, with a compelling plot and well-developed characters.
Carolyn Fairchild is a medium, and because of her unique gift she is wanted by the aliens and imprisoned by their ally, the government. The Agency, a particular branch of the government has been manipulating Carolyn’s memories and allowing the aliens to steal from her for years. Jim Cornell from the Agency considers Carolyn his prize possession and tortures and blackmails her for his own gain.
There are several subplots within A Ring of Truth which add depth and intrigue to this fascinating story. My attention was captured from the very first…
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July 11, 2015
I’m drinking whiskey. Or maybe he is drinking whiskey.
Thoughtful piece on the horrors of war.
Originally posted on CHICADEROCK:
I think I can still hear the tinkling of ice cubes in my glass.
I’m drinking whiskey. Or maybe he is drinking whiskey. It’s a long time ago. I’m trying to knit the snippets together.
“But this isn’t about the village. It’s not what I ought to be writing about. I ought to be writing funny anecdotes about villagers and their escaping donkeys.” I tell myself firmly and turn my attention to the clouds in the sky instead. Villager O had explained to me that castle clouds predicted thunder.
The clouds are no longer just castles. They have taken on fortified proportions. A rumble in the distance. Villager T walks past with his horse and donkey. The sun has changed his face. His hair no longer grey, it’s white. “Cold isn’t it.” I shout. Our ongoing joke. We tell each other it is cold when it’s hot and visa versa…
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July 9, 2015
Count Down to X-Files
I’ve started watching The X-Files series again. For the fourth time. This is in preparation for the new season, which I fear might be as awful as David Christopher Bell on Cracked says it’ll be.
But, as Bell points o
ut, some of us do want to believe, so I’ve joined the committed hordes who are watching one episode a day until the new season starts on a channel I don’t get because we don’t have cable. I want to believe I’ll find a way to watch it. If my daughter is reading this, expect company that night, sweetie.
Two nights ago, I started the adventure with the pilot, which introduces us to Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The Cigarette-Smoking Man (CSM) also makes an appearance.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson look so young. Since Duchovny’s a year older than I am, he was in his early thirties when the pilot aired, Anderson was twenty-six.
It’s interesting to go back there and see how far the show evolved from the pilot.
In this first episode, Scully claims she’s never retrieved a tissue sample from a body before, though in later episodes, she’s doing autopsies, and we’re told she did her residency in forensics. She seems meeker than in later episodes in this one, but I guess you could chalk it up to getting a feel for the new job and working with “Spooky” Mulder.
Mulder changes as well. In this first episode, he jumps out of the car to mark a hot spot with an X using a can of spray paint, and it gave me the impression the first time I saw it that we were supposed to think this was something routine that a UFO hunter might do. But then he never does it again in the rest of the entire series.
The X-Files is a fun show to watch and pick apart.
In this episode, they find a nasal implant in what was supposedly the body of one of the kids who died mysteriously. Yet they don’t look for a nasal implant in the two remaining kids who are in the hospital. Scully also said the exhumed corpse looked like that of a chimpanzee, but no one talked about DNA testing.
And does Mulder know that Scully handed the implant over to the CSM at the end? I suppose they had to surrender it, but they don’t show any discussion about it between Mulder and Scully. We just see Scully turning it over. Then we had a scene reminiscent of Indiana Jones, where the CSM takes the implant and files it away in a warehouse.
At one point, Mulder talks about time stopping, when really he should have talked about missing time. I was expecting a discussion about that (something I recall from my first viewing, and which comes up every time I see that episode). Missing time is a common feature in alien abductions.
But Mulder said time stopped, though his watch at the beginning of the anomalous period said 9:02, and at the conclusion, it read 9:13 (if I remember the readouts correctly). So, time passed, because the watch kept going. They were just unaware of it passing. Therefore, time didn’t stop. They were missing time.
It’ll be a fun couple of hundred days.
Image courtesy of Stallio on Flickr.
Author Ian D. Moore
BUY ON AMAZON
Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller
My first novel created originally as a short story, this book crosses the realm of scientific warfare with the greed of shale gas fracking producing horrific results. A multi billion pound energy company chooses a sleepy secluded purpose- built town to drill beneath in the quest to find shale gas. A freelance reporter and the mysterious leader of the town residents committee team up to fight the corporate giants who unwittingly unleash one of science’s fiercest creations into the atmosphere, turning tens of thousands into mindless zombies intent on one thing and one thing only……..KILLING.
The race is on to find a cure and save the population inbetween a quest for power, bribery and corruption. The story features very graphic scenes of violence, explicit love scenes and an edge of the seat storyline culminating in an end with a twist you won’t see coming. If you’re into your zombie stories and revel in a bit of blood, guts and gore then grab yourself a cuppa, kick back and enjoy the ride, you’ll LOVE this!!
About Author Ian D Moore
A trucker based at Goole Tesco DC, fledgling author of Salby Damned. I live with my partner of two years in Selby, North Yorkshire but am originally from Sutton Coldfield, just outside Birmingham. Now aged 43, I have two sons of my own and another step son and step daughter, all of whom I love dearly. Having written short stories and poetry for many years, I was challenged to write a story for my sister Helen which lead to the first novel being published. It has been a learning curve but I have thoroughly enjoyed it and am now working on another novel, but all in good time ;’)
YOU’RE NOT ALONE Anthology
BUY ON AMAZON
Author Ian D Moore Spearheads Anthology for Cancer Support Charity
An international group of indie authors, inspired by the personal grief of one, decided to collaborate in the spring of 2015 in a project to create this multi-genre smorgasbord of original short stories, all with the same potent theme – relationships. Some are heartfelt, some funny, some poignant, and some are just a little bit scary – much like relationships themselves. All are by authors fired by the shared enthusiasm to give something back in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Cancer touches us all. It has in some way affected those who have contributed their time and talent here. This is our way of showing that we care. Indie authors carry forward a revolutionary shift in publishing, which allows the author to be creative director in their own work. There are many exceptional, experienced and acclaimed writers who have decided to take this bold step in publishing. In producing this anthology we have also had the inestimable assistance on board of artists, graphic designers and bloggers – all of whom have a place in our acknowledgements.
You, the discerning reader, are the other vital part of this equation. By buying this book you are supporting the work of indie authors, as well as discovering their worth. You are also supporting the charity to which we have chosen to dedicate our work. 100% of the royalties earned or accrued in the purchase of this book, in all formats, will go to the Pamela Winton tribute fund, which is in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
MEET THE AUTHORS
July 6, 2015
Author Rhoda D’Ettore’s Books on Amazon
Buy Rhoda D’Ettore books on Amazon
No One Is Safe While…
ZODIAC LIVES
A Novel by Rhoda D’Ettore
After surviving a car accident that killed her father, three-year-old Jennifer begins having nightmares. It’s soon obvious she suffers from something more dreadful than the accident when she provides clues to a murder committed 3,000 miles away—and two decades before she was born.
Jennifer’s nightmares set off a chain reaction that prompts the infamous Zodiac Killer to emerge from dormancy and terrorize San Francisco for a second time.
Visit Rhoda D’Ettore’s Website
Goin’ Postal & The Creek
Rhoda D’Ettore began her writing career by publishing humorous tales about working at the United States Postal Service. Fifteen years of dealing with bombs, anthrax, and human body parts in the mail made for an interesting read. Her co-workers laughed so hard at the nostalgia, they encouraged her to publish the writings. Since then, D’Ettore has fascinated readers with plot twists mixed with sarcastic humor.
D’Ettore knew postal workers would buy her story, yet she also wanted to show them she could write interesting, serious work with shocking twists. In Goin’ Postal & The Creek, the reader gets two very different stories in one book. The first containing the hysterical tales of postal worker life. The second story is a historical fiction that spans 200 years with a slightly supernatural twist. Topics include war, love, romance, death, Prohibition, the Great Depression, and how families survive such events.
Newborn Nazi
Newborn Nazi tackles the issues of right and wrong as well as self sacrifice when fourteen-year-old Edmund is forced into the Hitler Youth in 1935. His older siblings vow to destroy Nazi Germany, and the family gets swept up in espionage and the Underground Movement. When Edmund becomes an adult and joins the feared SS, his sister’s secret endeavors to save Jews in her home endangers lives—including her own. This suspense thriller is sure to keep you guessing.
Newborn Nazi is based on Rhoda D’Ettore true family history. There was an Edmund who was forced into the Hitler Youth, and his sister did help Jews escape. D’Ettore found the story so riveting, she took the plot of the story and added murder and espionage to create this intense thriller.
Tower of Tears: The McClusky Series 1
In Tower of Tears: The McClusky Series, we find Jane traveling to America from Ireland with her three-year-old son. Expecting to find a better way of life, Jane finds nothing but intimidation, betrayal, violence, and heartache. This family saga includes blackmail, murder, mystery, and a touch of romance.
While writing Tower of Tears, D’Ettore gave her mother one chapter at a time for feedback. D’Ettore was undecided who the murderer in the book would eventually be, so she wrote the story with five characters hating and threatening the murder victim. Halfway through the book, D’Ettore’s mother shouted, “I know who killed him…. it was ####”. D’Ettore then finished the book with a different character as the murderer. When her mother read the final draft of the book, she replied, “That’s not who the murder is. I told you who is was.” D’Ettore then said, “I wrote the book, so I know who the murderer should be. Thanks.”
10 Shades of Blush: The Softer Side of Kink
10 Shades of Blush: The Softer Side of Kink is a collection of naughty fantasies of ordinary women. Teachers, mothers, and professionals submitted their wants and desires for kinky fun. All the tales are told as if the women are speaking directly to their partners. The audiobook of this has been called “Two hours of phone sex for $7″.
Rhoda D’Ettore works are available as ebook, paperback, and audiobooks
Follow Rhoda D’Ettore on Facebook
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November 4, 2014
Punish predators, not their potential prey
photo courtesy of flickr – by tambako https://www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/4304497784/
Until last week, I’d never heard of Jian Ghomeshi. But when the story that he abused women broke, I followed it and the subsequent updates, hoping the allegations weren’t true, though, sadly, I suspected they were. I wanted to see how it played out, because, as a woman, a mother, and a grandmother, I hoped justice would be served. For the first time, due to social media, we’re seeing the whole sordid thing play out from accusation to, well, wherever it goes.
It also, coincidentally, echoes some events in the novel on which I’m working. So there was that life imitating art thing, too, though I conceived the idea for the novel over five years ago.
I hadn’t planned on commenting on anything. What would I have to say that hadn’t already been said by everyone else? I only know what I’m reading in the media.
Then I saw this article in the Toronto Star on students warned away from Q internships, and couldn’t stay quiet. Here’s what caught my attention: “Students were told two years ago that internships at Q were ‘off limits’ due to concerns about inappropriate behaviour by Ghomeshi, a former Western student told the Star.”
The article goes on to say that the journalism program stopped sending interns to Q for reasons to do with the relevance of the internship duties after a male student was placed at the show in 2008. But there are indications female interns were denied internships at Q because of Ghomeshi’s behaviour.
According to the Star report, “Jeremy Copeland, a journalism lecturer at Western, said the concerns stemmed from a 2012 incident in which Ghomeshi allegedly ‘prey(ed) on a young grad who wanted to work (at Q).’ Because of this, he recently stopped a female student from pursuing an internship at Q.”
So my take away from this is that women should be protected from predators by being denied internships that might benefit their careers. Women should limit their prospects, because it’s easier to deny potential victims the right to further their careers than to change the predator’s behaviour or remove the predator from a position of power. Does that sound reasonable?
I’m happy the men at the university showed concern for these young women. But it wasn’t fair to decide for the women what was best for them, to deny internship opportunities, while allowing Ghomeshi to carry on as usual, reinforcing to him that what he did was acceptable. If the university had contacted the CBC to alert them to what was going on, they haven’t revealed it, but it’s what should have happened.
Remove the predator from the hunting grounds, so the potential prey can live without fear.
July 31, 2014
The Experiencers – Val Tobin
Originally posted on booksandopinions.com:
Although this is not the normal type of genre I would read, I was excited to dig into this book and see what it had in store. Some may consider it Sci-Fi, some consider it truth, and some just may not like it very much at all. I enjoy science fiction movies, as well as documentaries about government, history, and all things unknown or hard to explain. The paranormal, the mystical; it’s all right here.
The thing I enjoyed most about this story was that it wasn’t crowded. You know; when you meet 16 characters (and their back-story) in the first two chapters of a book. Then you spend the next 18 chapters trying to sort out who’s-who. I have been reading too many of those stories as of late, so it was nice to read a story where by chapter 5, I still knew who everyone in the story…
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July 19, 2014
The Experiencers Available on Smashwords and Amazon
The Experiencers, Val Tobin’s debut novel, hit virtual shelves in March 2014.
The story of a disillusioned killer and the psychic target whose life he tears apart, the novel is like Jason Bourne meets the Ghost Whisperer on an X-File.
Details on the e-book can be found on Smashwords or Amazon Canada, Amazon US, Amazon UK, or Amazon Australia.
