Author Nancy Stewart Talks About Narcissism

It’s my pleasure to welcome author Nancy Stewart as the special guest blogger today as she virtually tours blogdom with her latest children’s picture book.

Nancy’s book, ONE PELICAN AT A TIME, is a timely read for youngsters who have been watching the news about the gulf oil spill. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: Bella and Britt love living by the beach.  When they find oil washing to shore from a gulf spill, they want to help but are told there is nothing for kids to do.  But when their old friend, the pelican, becomes covered with oil, they help save his life by their quick thinking and action.

Nancy joins us today to talk about “Narcissism?  Let Me Check My Blog Stats…”

I’ve been thinking lots about narcissism and blogging and attention to one’s website. Is that the very definition of narcissism? Maybe.

Picture books are a passion of mine, and I’ve been writing them for five years. My first one in a series of three, ONE PELICAN AT A TIME, was published by Guardian Angel Publishing last week. All three of them took much time, thought, critiquing from my writer’s group and self-doubt right up to the end.

Never, though, during that process, did I run to the computer after having been away for an hour to look for comments or pour over stats. This realization may say something to, or perhaps, about me. Oops. There goes that narcissism word again…

The shift from creative writing to blogging/website production may carry with it the need to be more personal, more introspective, more in tune with one’s own psyche to convey who we are to our readers and, perhaps, to define our own worthiness to ourselves. And with that may come some narcissism by task default. I certainly hope that’s what it is.

In the meantime, I’ll continue writing picture books, consult with my publisher, meet with my writing group, revise, edit, use my Thesaurus endlessly and only occasionally be deeply introspective. That is, until it’s time to write another entry for my blog. Oh, yes.

And even when it’s posted, I’ll pour over it from every angle, perhaps move a photo a centimeter or two, recheck links to be sure they’re working, read my witty words for the zillionth time and be, well, narcissistic.

Please excuse me now. I have to check my stats.

Nancy, thanks for guest blogging today. I guess when it comes to blogging, writers and non-writers alike tend to be a bit narcissistic about our post but then, that’s part of the fun.

Let me tell you a little bit about Nancy now. After having been an elementary school teacher, a management consultant with New Options, Inc. in New York City and a university professor of education, Nancy now writes children’s books full time. She, her husband and three sons, lived in London for eight years, where she was a consultant to several universities, including Cambridge. Nancy travels extensively throughout the world, most particularly Africa. She is the US chair of a charity in Lamu, Kenya, that places girls in intermediate schools to allow them to further their education.

Nancy is the author of ONE PELICAN AT A TIME and two other Bella books:  BELLA SAVES THE BEACH and SEA TURTLE SUMMER.  All three are published by Guardian Angel Publishers.

She and her family live in St. Louis and Clearwater Beach, Florida. For more on Nancy and her writing, visit her online at www.nancystewartbooks.com or at her blog www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com.

Here's a cute book trailer for ONE PELICAN AT A TIME, enjoy.


What are your thoughts on narcissism? Do you check your stats often? Is that something that should be done monthly, weekly or daily?

Author Ethan Cross: Why I Love Stories

I’d like to welcome author Ethan Cross as the special guest blogger here today as he virtually tours blogdom with the release of his first novel.

Ethan’s thriller/suspense novel, THE SHEPHERD, was recently published by The Fiction Studio. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: “Marcus Williams and Francis Ackerman Jr. both have a talent for hurting people. Marcus, a former New York City homicide detective, uses his abilities to protect others, while Ackerman uses his gifts to inflict pain and suffering. When both men become unwilling pawns in a conspiracy that reaches to the highest levels of our government, Marcus finds himself in a deadly game of cat and mouse trapped between a twisted psychopath and a vigilante with seemingly unlimited resources. Aided by a rogue FBI agent and the vigilante’s beautiful daughter -a woman with whom he’s quickly falling in love- Marcus must expose the deadly political conspiracy and confront his past while hunting down one of the most cunning and ruthless killers in the world.”

Ethan stopped by to talk about “Why I love stories…”

Telling stories on a grand scale has been my dream for as long as I can remember. When a fireman or a policeman would come visit my school, most of my classmates’ heads would swim with aspirations of growing up and catching bad guys or saving someone from a blazing inferno. When these moments came for me, however, my dreams weren’t to someday be a cop or put out fires; I just wanted to make a movie or write a book about it. And my dream has come to fruition with the release of my first book, THE SHEPHERD.

But to what can I attribute my undying love of stories?
It started as early as I can remember. I wasn’t an only child, but since my three sisters are so much older than I am, it felt that way growing up. I’ve always been an introvert and my favorite pastime as a young boy was playing pretend with my action figures and my imaginary friends (as my parents called them). But I’m not sure if they were truly the imaginary friends that we traditionally think of. I say this because they were more like characters in my own little movies. At the time, it was a boy playing with his imaginary friends, but I still do basically the same thing as an adult, only my imaginary friends find life on the pages of my books.

I’ve also been an ENORMOUS fan of movies since I was very young. How many ten-year-olds do you know that had a calendar hanging on their wall marking the release dates of every major Hollywood production? I would force my parents to take me to sometimes two or three movies in a single weekend. We would often hit the 4:30 matinee at the theater, walk out, and drive straight over to get a good spot at the drive-in or turn around and walk back into a 7 o’clock showing at the same theater. In high school, I would rent a couple of movies every night from our local video store, although I did still find time to date, sing and play guitar in a rock band, play sports, and serve as our senior class president and valedictorian. Not much has changed since then; my wife and I still take in a movie every weekend. Shortly after college, I also discovered a great love for reading, sometimes consuming three to four books a week. For me, movies and books have always been and always will be magical experiences. But still the question remains. Why?

I think there are many reasons, but I’m going to touch on two in particular for the sake of this article. The first of these is probably very unique and personal to me. The second is why I feel the entertainment industry exists in the first place.

The first, very personal reason is that the only time that my brain truly “shuts off” is during a great movie or book. What do I mean by that? The easiest way to describe it is that a thousand small televisions are constantly playing within my head. Imagine the giant wall filled with flat screens that you can find within most Las Vegas casinos, the ones that are playing all the sporting events and horse races. Now imagine that wall behind your eyes. That’s kind of what it's like for me. This example may be slightly exaggerated, but it gives you a basic idea of the concept. It’s not something that keeps me from functioning in any way, and I’ve learned to ignore most of the screens and focus on the real world around me, but it can be tiring. For some reason, when I’m sitting in a movie theater or reading a great book, the rest of the world and all of those other screens disappear.

The second big reason that I love stories is one that I think many others share with me: stories allow us to escape. They allow us for a few moments to be the hero, to get the girl, to save the day, to fall in love all over again or for the first time. Let’s face it, most of us live pretty ordinary lives. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing; I’m glad that no one is trying to kill me as I’m writing this and the world isn’t being overrun by hordes of alien parasites or flesh-eating zombies or the multitude of other bad things that often happen in books and movies. But isn’t it cool that we live in a world where we can pull back the curtain and experience a glimpse of what it would be like as an FBI profiler, a fireman, a lone assassin, a special forces commando, or the President of the United States. We only get to experience life through our own very limited perception, but through the magic of stories, we can become other people. We can stand on the outside and look in on a world of endless possibilities, and we can do so from the comfort of our own homes.

That’s why, for me anyway, stories truly are magical.

Ethan, thanks so much for guest blogging today. I agree with you, stories truly are magical. I love the fact books give us the chance to visit other places and times from the comfort of our homes.

Now about Ethan. Ethan Cross is the pen name of a thriller author living and writing in Illinois with his wife, two daughters, and two Shih Tzus. For more information about Ethan, you can visit his website at www.ethancross.com

What about you, do you think books are magical? What about the movies?

Author David B. Seaburn: Writing, A Natural Progression

Today please join me in welcoming a another ‘new-to-me’ author, David B. Seaburn, as the special guest blogger here as he makes a stop on his virtual blog tour.

David’s latest release is CHARLIE NO FACE from Savant Books and Publications. Here’s a brief synopsis of the book. CHARLIE NO FACE is a coming of age story about an 11 year old boy, Jackie, growing up in the late 1950s in western Pa. He lives with his father, his mother having died when he was an infant. The biggest preoccupation of Jackie and his friends (and many others) is Charlie No Face, a severely disfigured and deformed hermit who roams country roads at night and is reputed to kill children, animals and just about anything else he can get his hands on. Jackie and Charlie No Face eventually form an unlikely friendship that transforms them both, shedding light on Jackie’s mother’s lifer, helping Charlie make peace with his past and teaching Jackie how to look at people with his heart. It is a story for anyone who has ever been abused, bullied, rejected or misunderstood. It is for those who feel their true face has never been recognized. This is a story about the power of compassion.

David stops by to answer a couple of questions for me about his writing.

Mason - Have you always wanted to write or was there an event that lead you to writing?

David - I would say the desire to write grew on my over time. I wrote bad poetry and was on the high school newspaper staff as a teenager. That was about it until I went to seminary at Boston University (1972) where I had my first publication---a collection of poems for the alumni magazine. Also while I was in seminary, 1973 to be exact, I started keeping a journal, something I have done ever since. That solidified for me the importance of writing as a means of personal expression, as a way to make sense of experience.

In 1975 I was ordained as a Presbyterian minister and for the next six years wrote sermons every week¸ a creative discipline that served me well for many years. During that time I also wrote short stories, two plays and two full-length non-fiction manuscripts, one of which was accepted for publication but then rejected. I didn’t write anything for a few years after that!

My career aspirations changed and I went back to school for another master’s degree and eventually a PhD. I entered the mental health field and have spent the remainder of my career as a family psychologist. I was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center for almost 20 years. I did considerable academic writing during this period of time, publishing two professional books and over 50 journal articles and books chapters. One seldom thinks of academic writing as creative, but my focus was often on clinical work and involved what might be thought of as creative nonfiction from time to time. It was in academics that I learned how to be self-disciplined as a writer. I had excellent mentoring, feedback and editing on all my work. During this period I realized that I needed to write as much as I wanted to write. It became a vital part of who I was becoming.

While I did a lot of writing between 1986 and 2004, I never wrote any fiction during this period. My work as a psychotherapist, though, taught me how to be a good story-listener, something that I believe is important to becoming a good story teller. My clients often told me remarkable stories about their lives, stories that resonated with me, stories that often went to the core of what it means to be a human being.

A turning point came when a client told me a devastating story about an incident that had occurred when he was young. I made notes about that incident and my imaginings about what it must have been like. This expanded into a fictional rendering of the incident and those who might have been a part of it.  Soon I had a folder full of notes for a novel, but wasn’t sure how to proceed, so I put the folder away in 1990. I returned to those now dusty notes in 2004, when I felt ready to write the story, and in 2005 published my first novel, entitled DARKNESS IS AS LIGHT.

It is interesting that even then, after so many years of writing, I didn’t think of myself as a writer. Being a writer was a declaration of identity I felt hesitant to make. I left my position at the University in 2005 for many reasons, among them being the desire to devote more time to writing fiction. The result was the publication of my second novel, PUMPKIN HILL, in 2007 and my third, CHARLIE NO FACE, in 2011. It was during the writing of PUMPKIN HILL that I began to think of myself as a writer, as someone whose work and identity were as one.

My current novel, CHARLIE NO FACE, has, thus far, been the most enjoyable to write. It is a first person narrative told by an 11-year-old boy, Jackie, growing up in the late 1950s in a small western Pa. town called Ellwood City, which happens to be my home town. In those days there was a real life person known as Charlie No Face who had been severely disfigured and deformed in an electrical accident as child. He spent most of his life being taunted, mistreated and sometimes beaten by teenagers and others who went looking for him when he roamed country roads at night, the only time he could safely go outside. In this story, Jackie and Charlie No Face create an unlikely friendship that transforms and redeems them both; teaching Jackie, in particular, the importance of compassion for those who may seem different but who are actually the same under the skin. I fictionalized Charlie No Face and was able to use incidents from my own growing up in this story, which made it fun and transformative for me as well.

As I said earlier, I grew into writing. In my view it was a natural progression from my training in theology and my work as a psychotherapist. My theological background taught me about the importance of making meaning out of our life experience, often through the use of language. Psychotherapy exposed me to the primary way by which people make meaning---telling stories about their lives. When I sit down in front of the computer, I am trying to tell an engaging story about characters that are doing their best to live meaningfully, sometimes even heroically, despite the steep odds and occasional failures. 

Mason - What can readers expect from you next?

David - About two years ago, while I was finishing CHARLIE NO FACE, I read a newspaper story about an incident that had occurred in England. A husband and wife jumped off a famous cliff to their deaths a day after their young son had died of an incurable disease. They were found at the bottom of the cliff with two sacks beside them, one had the body of their young son, and the other had his toys. I couldn’t shake the story and read as much as I couldn’t about what had happened. Two questions tugged at me: How did this decision come to make sense to both of these people? What would have happened if one of them had survived the jump? Those questions are what I am now addressing in my fourth novel, CHIMNEY BLUFFS, which I anticipate completing in the next few months.

David, thanks for guest blogging today. It was interesting learning how your writing evolved.

Here’s a bit more information about David. Recently retired, David is a family psychologist and ordained minister who spent the majority of his career as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Family Medicine at the University of Rochester (NY) Medical Center. He is married and has two adult daughters and two wonderful granddaughters. He lives in Spencerport NY. He is currently completing work on his fourth novel, CHIMNEY BLUFFS.

For more on David and his writing, check out his website at www.davidbseaburn.com or contact him directly at dseaburn@gmail.com. You can also listen to a podcast interview with David about his book on KHOW radio (Denver) at http://www.authorsden.com/adstorage/119251/CharlieNoFaceInterview.doc.mp3. CHARLIE NO FACE is available at www.amazon.com/dp/0984555285 or it can be ordered through your local bookstore.

In addition, you can see a video about CHARLIE NO FACE on YouTube by clicking on this link: http://youtu.be/wR8OeYfXpsg
 
If you’re a writer, was there an event that lead you to write or have you just always wanted to write? As a reader, what are your thoughts on coming-of-age stories?

Author Gary Alexander On Vietnam And Writing

It’s my pleasure today to welcome ‘new-to-me’ author, Gary Alexander, as the special guest blogger here at Thoughts in Progress as he tours blogdom with his latest release, DRAGON LADY.

Here’s a brief synopsis of DRAGON LADY (which was recently acquired by Istoria Books):  In 1965 Saigon, Joe, a young draftee, becomes obsessed with a Vietnam girl named Mai, his own "Dragon Lady" from his beloved Terry and the Pirates cartoon strips that his mother still sends him. As he pursues a relationship with her, Saigon churns with intrigue and rumors--will the U.S. become more involved with the Vietnamese struggle? What's going on with a special unit that's bringing in all sorts of (for the time) high tech equipment? Will the U.S. make Vietnam the 51st state and bomb aggressors to oblivion? But for Joe, the big question is--does Mai love him or will she betray more than just his heart? Gary Alexander’s intelligent voice, filled with dry wit, and his own experiences give this story a sharp sense of truth, recounting the horror and absurdity of war. Reminiscent of books such as Catch-22, Dragon Lady serves up equal measures of outrageous humor and poignant remembrance. Gary Alexander was one of 17,000 US soldiers in Vietnam that spring. When he left in the fall, there were 75,000 troops in-country.

Gary has answered some questions about his book and his writing.

In DRAGON LADY, you used your own personal experiences in Vietnam to craft an absurdist love story. In a previous interview, you mentioned visiting the Vietnam War Memorial. Could you tell us a bit about what that experience was like - did you go alone, how long did you stay, what were your thoughts as looked at the wall?

Gary - My wife and I visited the Memorial about 20 years ago. I remember it as an overcast day. Lots of visitors. Lots of folks were taking rubbings of names. Not too many dry eyes, including mine when I discovered a name of a good friend I hadn't known had succumbed. The Memorial itself was stunning because of its stark simplicity--a low, black V with 58,000 names on it.

Do you stay in touch with other Vietnam War veterans? If so, could you tell us a bit about that?

Only one, but one of my best friends ever. We lost touch about 20 years ago. Kenneth Ralph Brown, 1959 grad of Severna Park, MD high school, are you there?

Do you read any literary fiction yourself? If so, what kinds?

Yeah. Some fiction crosses over between literary and genre; almost anything by Elmore Leonard qualifies in that regard. I've probably read MAXIMUM BON four times. I like Don DeLillo, Graham Greene, Nick Hornby and Ron Hanson a lot too.

What makes up the ideal story for you, one that keeps you reading and involved?

I teach writing at a local senior center. I'm often asked what's the most important--plot, character or setting. I tell them they're like heart, lungs and liver. You ain't gonna make it without all three. I suppose a terrific character is numero uno, somebody you can ride along with, so long as he isn't a serial killer. There's just too much of that.

Tell us a little about your writing process now -- how much do you write every day, whether you set page quotas, if you think of your characters first and flesh out the story, or if you plot the story first and plop the characters into it, etc.?

I treat it like a day job, though, unfortunately, there isn't always a pay envelope on Friday. I'm an early riser--downstairs, breakfast, serious caffeine, physical and mental calisthenics. The last involves reading the paper and doing the puzzles. I have a serious sudoku jones. I do it and the Jumble, then I’m upstairs at the keyboard by six. The writing process, I can't really pin it down, things just evolve, but I always have at least one project going. Probably the most successful genesis of a project is a story line "what-if.” A good example is DISAPPEARED (a Buster Hightower mystery published by Five Star/Cengage). What if there was a hit man who wasn't, who collected from those who assigned him the hit and the victims who paid him not to do his job, and what if they reappeared? This developed from a short story to a novel.

What are you working on now?

I'm going back into LOOT, the fourth Buster Hightower Mystery. It's based on a true unsolved crime that occurred in Seattle in 1954. I've accumulated a pile of research material on it and have tried to figure out how to use that crime for 25 years. Buster and Carla are finally going to solve it, and it's about time!

Gary, thanks for guest blogging today and sharing your thoughts on your writing. Though I’ve never seen the Memorial Wall, I’ve seen the Moving Wall and it is heart-wrenching.

Now a little background on Gary. He enlisted in the Army in 1964 and served in Saigon. When he arrived in country, there were 17,000 GIs. When he left, 75,000. DRAGON LADY is Gary’s first literary novel. He is the author of several mysteries featuring stand-up comic Buster Hightower--DISAPPEARED, ZILLIONAIRE, and INTERLOCK -- published in hardcover by Five Star/Cengage. He has had short stories published in several mystery publications, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. He resides in Seattle.

For more on Gary, check out his website at http://garyralexander.com/. You can also read an interview with Gary about his Vietnam experiences at the Istoria Books blog at: http://istoriabooks.blogspot.com/2011/03/interview-with-irreverent-goldbrick.html

To read excerpts from DRAGON LADY, click on this link: http://www.istoriabooks.com/excerptDragonLady.html. ISTORIA BOOKS - eBooks You Want to Read at Prices You Want to Pay ™

Here are what reviewers are saying about DRAGON LADY: 

“…a refreshing book… DRAGON LADY is a highly entertaining book that I heartily recommend…It’s one of those books that grabs you and doesn't let you go and leaves you thinking about it even when you are finished.  So run, don't walk, and try this author out, see if DRAGON LADY grabs you like it grabbed me.” Crystal Fulcher, My Reading Room blog

“Positioning the narrator in the afterlife gives DRAGON LADY a third dimension that elevates it above a simple boy-meets-girl story... But his love-sick pursuit of his impossible dream is entertaining.”  Bill Furlow, Great Books Under $5 blog - www.greatbooksunder5.blogspot.com

What are your thoughts on using personal experiences in writing? As a writer do you do that and as a reader do you enjoy reading books that incorporate them?

Sunday Salon: A Hard Day's Fright by Casey Daniels

Can you believe another week has come and gone bringing us to Sunday Salon once again.

Time to share our thoughts on the books we’ve read and/or received. Settle in now, get comfortable and let’s talk books. The book I share today is a light-hearted cozy mystery that has it’s share of surprises and suspense.

A HARD DAY’S FRIGHT by Casey Daniels

Pepper Martin learns it’s a small world (or universe) indeed when her latest client turns out to be the best friend of her boss 40-plus years ago.

Pepper, you see, has an unusual side job. She works as a private investigator for the dead helping them find out who killed them so they can rest in peace. Her paying job is just as unusual, she’s a cemetery tour guide.

It seems Pepper has garnered quite a reputation on the ghostly grapevine so Lucy Pasternak knows just who to see to help her. One night in 1966 Lucy and a group of her friends went to a Beatles concert. Lucy ran on stage, kissed Paul, and then she and her friends headed home. Lucy was the last one off the train that night and she was never seen again. That is until Pepper sees her ghost 45 years later. She wants Pepper to find her killer and her body.

As Pepper begins checking into Lucy’s disappearance, she learns her boss, Ella, was one of Lucy’s friends and the last one off the train before Lucy. Pepper can’t tell her she’s seen Lucy but Ella has always felt guilty about Lucy’s disappearance and is glad Lucy’s checking into it.

Throw into the mix Ella’s 15-year-old daughter, Ariel, who’s rebellious to say the least. Pepper has her own personal problems to deal with too - longing for her ex-boyfriend, Quinn, who took off when she told him she talked to dead people. You’d think a cop could handle such revelations.

When Pepper starts questioning Lucy’s other friends, one turns up missing and another is found hanging from a ceiling fan.

The closer Pepper gets to the killer, the more dangerous it becomes for them all. Can Pepper solve the mystery of Lucy’s death, find her body and keep all the people she loves safe at the same time?

Pepper Martin is a refreshing protagonist that you will be drawn to immediately. She’s got wit, charm and a knack for solving murders. A HARD DAY’S FRIGHT is the 7th installment in the Pepper Martin Mystery series, but is a stand alone book. It will entertain you from beginning to end. Author Casey Daniels weaves in a few surprises along the way and an ending that I didn’t see coming.

Author Casey Daniels’ website is www.caseydaniels.com

A Hard Day’s Fright by Casey Daniels, A Pepper Martin Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime, @2011, ISBN: 9780425240564, Paperback, 304 pages

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publihser in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

Care To Finish The Sentence?

Do you enjoy quick and easy challenges that take your mind off what you’re doing for a bit?

I’m starting to enjoy these exercises more and more. They get your imagination working and sometimes that can even help with what you were doing prior to the challenge.

Here’s a brief practice for today. Finish the last sentence in the following paragraph. You can even add more, if you wish. Make it a mystery, a romance, a sci-fi or any genre you’d like.

Stella reached for the wooden box and saw that her right hand was shaking. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she touched the tiny jewels embedded on top. Holding her breath, she slowly raised the lid. It was good that the box still rested on the table otherwise Stella would have surely dropped it when she saw …………….....

Okay, what did Stella see? Was it good/bad, shocking/delightful, scary/funny, or something totally out of this world?

One reason I enjoy these type challenges is that we all see such diverse elements from the same sentences.

Sorry for the short and crazy post today but I put this together quickly last night as we once again had severe thunderstorms headed our way. I wasn’t sure we’d have power or not. Last week we lost power twice during the storms. I just wanted to get something scheduled before hand. Hope you enjoy it and find it fun.

So give a go at the sentence and see what your imagination comes up with. As for my take. It was good that the box still rested on the table otherwise Stella would have surely dropped it when she saw a note had replaced the last piece of German Chocolate Cake. In bold letters, the note warned .. NO CHEATING ON YOUR DIET!!

Do you enjoy exercises like this? Do you like seeing what others come up with that didn’t even cross your mind?

Author Lisa Dale On Falling In Love Starry-Eyed Or Jaded

It’s my pleasure to welcome the charming and ‘new-to-me’ author, Lisa Dale, as the special guest blogger today at Thoughts in Progress as she makes a stop on her virtual book tour.

Lisa’s latest romantic release is SLOW DANCING ON PRICE’S PIER. Doesn’t the cover make you think of summer fun? Here’s a brief synopsis of the book: Fifteen years ago, Garret Sorensen's family, trust, and heart were destroyed when Thea Celik betrayed him and married his brother. Now they are divorcing. Garret's ready to finally mend his relationship with his brother. But being back in Newport, Rhode Island, triggers a lot of memories-all leading back to Thea.

Thea's not ready to let go of the Sorensens-even if it means being around Garret. As they cautiously circle around each other-finding themselves drawn together-they realize following their hearts could cast them adrift.

Lisa was kind enough to answer some questions about her book and her writing for me.

Mason - The age old question, how did the idea for SLOW DANCING ON PRICE’S PIER come about?
 
Lisa - It’s “age-old” because it’s a good one! SLOW DANCING was born when I was working as a barista in a little local coffee shop. Not only was the atmosphere wonderful—quirky baristas, friendly customers who know me by name, fascinating conversations—but “coffee” in and of itself has many stories to tell. That cup of joe that so many of us take for granted holds amazing secrets.
 
I’m a total nerd when it comes to research—and researching the history of coffee blew my mind. That’s why each chapter of SLOW DANCING starts with a bit of coffee lore.
 
As for the story of Thea and Garret—I really wanted to explore the differences between what it means to fall in love when you’re young for the very first time, and what it means to fall in love as an adult. With Thea and Garret, it’s like two love stories in one: their first love story when they were starry-eyed teens, and their second—when they are much more guarded, even jaded adults.
 
The parallels and contradictions are so intricate—a writer’s dream.
 
Mason - What was the most fun about writing this book and what was the worst thing?

Lisa - Ooh! Interesting question. The most fun was the research—as I’m sure you’ve guessed. The worst thing? Hmm. Writing the proposal for this book when it was just a glimmer of an idea in my mind. I invited some friends over and we sat around and hashed out this one particular plot point for hours—which ultimately ended up being what I’d thought it would be in the first place. It’s good to have friends—at least, the kind who can be bribed with pizza and beer!
 
Mason - Do you have a favorite place to write or a favorite time?

Lisa - I write best at mid-morning. And, to tell the truth, I do most of my writing in bed. J I have a perfectly good desk to work at—but it feels congested by tasks I have to do that are not writing. You know—work. When I write in bed, I can kick back and let my imagination lead me with no pesky thoughts of the actual work that needs to be done.
 
Mason - What message would you like readers to take away from your book or is it just for pure enjoyment?
 
Lisa - Well—on some level, all my books are about pure enjoyment. But I always hope there’s a takeaway too. Aside from the fact that readers’ will have a slew of new coffee trivia to show off at cocktail parties, there is an emotional component. The best letters I get from readers say, “This book taught me something about myself.” But I would never sit down and write a book in order to teach someone a lesson: instead, the “lessons” are born in readers’ hearts because of something they read in my words.
 
Mason - What can readers expect next from you?

Lisa - I have another book coming out in January called THE PROMISE OF SAFEKEEPING. It’s about three people: a lawyer, the (innocent) ex-con she accidentally sent to prison, and the ex-con’s best friend. It’s set in Richmond, Virginia—in part because the city is fascinating, and in part because I have a girlfriend who lives there and so visiting her is a tax write-off!

Readers can friend me on Facebook page at (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Dale/158780257466338) to stay posted on my schedule! I also host contests and giveaways there!
 
Lisa, thanks so much for guest blogging today. First off, any book with coffee trivia gets my attention and then add in a great storyline and I’m sold on it.

Here’s a bit about Lisa. She writes romantic stories for the head and heart. Her third novel SLOW DANCING ON PRICE’S PIER was released on April 5. Stop by Lisa's blog at www.LisaDaleBooks.com. Leave a comment on her blog for a chance to win in one of her giveaways! Or hang out with her on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lisa-Dale/158780257466338.

Do you read books for pure enjoyment or do you look for a hidden message or meaning?

Author Eileen Dreyer Becomes A Character For A Day

I’d like to welcome the ever-delightful and award-winning author Eileen Dreyer back to Thoughts in Progress as the special guest blogger today to talk about changing places.

Eileen is currently on a virtual blog tour for her latest release, NEVER A GENTLEMAN, the second installment in the Drake’s Rake’s series. The first installment was BARELY A LADY and the third installment will be ALWAYS A TEMPRESS coming in the summer of 2011. Thanks to Eileen, Brianne and the good folks at Hachette Book Group, I have 3 copies of NEVER A GENTLEMAN to giveaway. Please check the end of the post for the giveaway guidelines.
 
Even busy authors need a break sometimes so I asked Eileen if she could changes places with one of her characters for a day, who would it be and why.

Actually, considering the backstory I give most of my characters, I should probably be self-protective enough to say none of them. But I love the idea of having adventures. As long as I've been writing, I've lived through my characters in a way, giving them the challenges and new experiences I'll never have. So if I were to be one of my historical characters, I'd be Grace Fairchild in NEVER A GENTLEMAN.

Grace has spent her life following her father around the world with the Army, experienced exotic cultures, survived war, saved lives. Think of the places she's lived, the history she's been a part of, the people she's known. She's lived all over the world. She's saved lives and created homes for people who were far from home. In many ways, I envy her.
 
If I were to change places with a contemporary character, it would be Maggie O'Brien, who is a medic on a SWAT team. I actually took the training, and in another life think I might have loved to do something like that. She doesn't carry a weapon, but she places herself in danger, protecting the life of her team and the victims the SWAT team is trying to protect.

One of my teachers at Tactical EMS school once defined a warrior as someone who ran towards disaster as everyone ran away. And someone who does it to save lives is a warrior healer. I really like that. Since both of my heroines, past and present, are warrior healers, I wouldn't mind at all following their example.

Eileen, thanks for guest blogging today. I like your choice of characters (both historical and contemporary) and they would be fun to changes places with.

Here’s a brief synopsis of NEVER A GENTLEMAN:
HE HIDES HIS TRUE COLORS . . .
Miss Grace Fairchild is under no illusions about her charms. Painfully plain, she is a soldier's daughter who has spent her life being useful, not learning the treacherous ways of the ton. She may have been caught in a scandal with society's favorite rogue, but how can she marry him when it means losing herself?
WHILE SHE HIDES HER TRUE SELF . . .
Diccan Hilliard doesn't know which of his enemies drugged him and dumped him in Grace's bed, but he does know the outcome. He and Grace must marry. To his surprise, a wild, heady passion flares between them. Yet Diccan is trapped in a deadly game of intrigue Grace knows nothing about. Will his lies destroy Grace just as he realizes how desperately he needs her? And how can he hope for a future with her, when an old enemy has set his murderous sights on them both?
 
Now for a little background on Eileen. Born and raised in Brentwood, Missouri, and a product of Catholic Schools, she lives in St. Louis County with husband, Rick, and her two children. She has animals but refuses to subject them to the glare of the limelight.

Eileen won her first publishing award in 1987, being named the best new Contemporary Romance Author by Romantic Times. Since that time she has also garnered not only five other writing awards from Romantic Times, but five RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, which secures her only the fourth place in the Romance Writers of America prestigious Hall of Fame. Since extending her reach to suspense, she has also garnered a coveted Anthony Award nomination for her last paperback, Bad Medicine. She has over three million books in print world wide, and has made regular appearances on the Waldenbook and B.Dalton bestsellers list, and now the USA Today list.

A frequent speaker at conferences, Eileen maintains membership in Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and, just in case things go wrong, Emergency Nurses Association and International Association of Forensic Nurses, for which she is the unofficial mascot.

Eileen is an addicted traveler, having sung in some of the best Irish pubs in the world, and admits she sees research as a handy way to salve her insatiable curiosity. She counts film producers, police detectives and Olympic athletes as some of her sources and friends. She's also trained in forensic nursing and death investigation, although she doesn't see herself actively working in the field, unless this writing thing doesn't pan out. For more on Eileen and her writing, check out her website at http://www.eileendreyer.com/index.shtml or find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EileenDreyer

As for the giveaway, here are the guidelines. To enter this giveaway, send me an e-mail (mcbookshelf@gmail.com) with the subject line, “Win Never A Gentleman.” Your message should include your name and mailing address. The contest is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada only and no post office box addresses can be accepted. In addition, Hachette advises winners that they will be subject to the one copy per household rule, which means that if they win the same title in two or more contests, they will receive only one copy of the title in the mail. (Winners here have always be great about letting me know if they have already won the book somewhere else so another winner can be selected. However, this announcement is something that has to be passed along from Hachette). And, just so you know, I don’t share the mailing information or use it for any other purpose. The deadline to enter this giveaway for a chance at 1 of 3 copies of NEVER A GENTLEMAN (ISBN: 0446542067), a 480 page paperback, will be 8 p.m. (EST) on Friday, April 22.

Which character (and from what book) would you change places with for a day if you could?

A WORLD I NEVER MADE by James LePore Featured

What would you do if you were called to another country to identify the body of a loved one who apparently committed suicide, only to find out it’s not your loved one but they are now missing?

That was the basis of attorney turned author James LePore’s first novel. James is currently on virtual blog tour with the paperback release of that book, A WORLD I NEVER MADE (ISBN: 978-0981956855).

The 352-page paperback was released last month by The Story Plant. Here’s a brief synopsis of it: Pat Nolan, an American man, is summoned to Paris to claim the body of his estranged daughter Megan, who has committed suicide. The body, however, is not Megan’s and it becomes instantly clear to Pat that Megan staged this, that she is in serious trouble, and that she is calling to him for help. This sends Pat on an odyssey with Catherine Laurence, a beautiful but tormented Paris detective, that stretches across France and into the Czech Republic and that makes him the target of both the French police and a band of international terrorists.

Juxtaposed against this story is Megan’s story. A freelance journalist, Megan is in Morocco to do research when she meets Abdel Lahani, a Saudi businessman. They begin a torrid affair, a game Megan has played often and well in her adult life. But what she discovers about Lahani puts her in the center of a different kind of game, one with rules she can barely comprehend, and one that puts the lives of many—maybe even millions—at risk.

A WORLD I NEVER MADE is an atmospheric novel of suspense with brilliantly drawn characters and back-stories as compelling as the plot itself—a novel that resonates deeply and leaves its traces long after you turn the final page.
 
Here’s also a brief excerpt from the book:
Pat arrived at his hotel at a few minutes before noon, which gave him just enough time to put the roses into a vase with water and wash his face and hands before going down to the lobby to meet Officer Laurence. When he unwrapped the roses, a prayer card of some kind fell out; he put this in his pocket without thinking much about it. He told the desk clerk that he was expecting an Officer Laurence of the Paris police and pointed to a stuffed chair in a corner where he would be waiting for her. There he sat and began to ponder his strange meeting with the flower girl, but within seconds, or so it seemed, he was interrupted by a tall angular woman in her mid-thirties dressed in a chic dark blue suit over a white silk blouse. Her nose was on the large side and slightly bumpy, and would have dominated her face except that it was nicely in proportion to her high, wide cheekbones and full-lipped broad mouth. The eyes in this face, forthright eyes that met his squarely, were an arresting shade of gray-green that Pat had never seen before. Her gold bracelets jangled as she extended her hand to him and introduced herself with a half smile and a nod of her head.
“Do you speak French, Monsieur Nolan?”

A WORLD I NEVER MADE has also gotten rave reviews. Here are just a few samples.

“A WORLD I NEVER MADE is a compelling page turner—one of those wonderful books with characters as strong as the story and a story worth reading. Don't miss it. LePore is an author to watch!” —M.J. Rose, author of THE MEMORIST

“I picked up A WORLD I NEVER MADE and was riveted from start to finish. An adventure to places both exotic and intimate, told with great sensitivity, inventive plotting, and propulsive suspense. Jim LePore is a great discovery.” —William Landay, author of THE STRANGLER

“James LePore has written a fascinating suspense story of power and treachery, broken relationships and redemption….I highly recommend this compelling suspense story filled with vivid characters and haunting storylines. A story that will stay with the reader long after the final page.” —Bella Online

Now for some background on James. He is an attorney who has practiced law for more than two decades and is also an accomplished photographer (his work can be seen at www.nakedeyeimages.com). He lives in South Salem, New York, with his wife, Karen Chandler, who is an artist.

A WORLD I NEVER MADE is his first novel and was written after extensive research into the history of Islam on the Iberian Peninsula, and travel in Europe and North Africa. James writes novels of suspense, driven as much by gripping stories as by strong, complex characters. His second novel, BLOOD OF MY BROTHER, was released on December 25, 2010; and his third novel, SONS AND PRINCES, is available now at Amazon.

In addition, James is a writer of short fiction. His stories stand alone as dramatic works, but are also meant to illuminate the central characters in his novels. ANYONE CAN DIE, a collection of short stories written to accompany A WORLD I NEVER MADE, was released in February 2011. He is currently at work on his fourth novel, the story of a Manhattan district attorney whose son is wrongly accused of murder, which The Story Plant will publish in the fall of 2011.

To learn more about James and his writing, check out his website at  James LePore Fiction.

Do you enjoy novels that make you consider what your own actions would be in the same situation?

*If you're having problems with the photos not showing up and messages from Photobucket on the sidebars, please let me know in your comments.