Friday, September 28, 2012

Author Kerry Dwyer- Ramblings in Ireland - a non fiction travel memoir...

Welcome!
I would like to introduce to you the lovely Kerry Dwyer, author of Ramblings in Ireland an non fiction travel memoir. I enjoyed getting to know her through the questions she kindly answered for me and click the book below to read the sneak peek of her book(Don't you just love the cover).  Don't forget to check out the trailer too (see way below)!


Ramblings in Ireland



Book Blurb: This is not a book about rambling in Ireland.

It tells the tale of one particular walking trip and the memories and musings it inspired.

Exploring the West of Ireland is a time for meditation, spiritual reflection and strengthening the bonds of life. More practically the ability to read a map might have proved helpful. The tourist office in Ireland has all their paths clearly marked. You can’t go wrong if you follow that little yellow man. Or can you?

As British ex-patriate Kerry Dwyer leads Bertrand, her trusting French husband, astray once more, they reminisce and reflect upon accents and accidents, family and friends, love and what it means to be alive. Bertrand doesn’t mind getting lost - he loves Kerry all the more for going off the beaten track.

This is a book about ramblings in Ireland. Walk with Kerry and Bertrand and follow where your thoughts lead you.



Author Kerry Dwyer


 


1. Where do you call home?

Charente Maritime in South West France

2. What is the title of your most recent book?

Ramblings In Ireland

3. What’s your Genre?

Non fiction : Travel memoir

4. Plans for a next book? Is this part of a Series?

I am writing another book about the lives of ex-pats in France and their interactions with the French, It is a work of fiction based on local knowledge and experiences. It follows the lives of some people who meet up once a month to exchange their English books.

5. Are you a self published author (Indie) ?
 
Yes -Indies unite!

6. Who’s your favorite author?

There are so many very good authors but I do like Jasper Fford and Ian Rankin, Fford consistently amuses me,

7. Your favorite book?

Apart from Fifty Shades of Grey, I think a book that has stood the test of time is To Kill A Mockingbird, I read it at school and still remember it.

8. What book are you currently reading?

I have three books on the go, Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, Virginia Wolf's A room of One's own and a book by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter Called The Long Earth

9. A book you would recommend?

That really depends on who I was making the recommendation to, Literature is so personal and we can't all like everything, I like Fford's off the wall humour but it is not for everyone. I love historical fiction but many don't. If you haven't read any Arthur Conan Doyle I would highly recommend one of the Sherlock Holmes novels if only for haing one of the best, most developed supporting roles in Watson.

10. How do you pick your books?

Very often it is from personal recommendation of friends and family.

11. Advice for other authors?

Write; Just that write, Write for the love of writing. Get it all out. Worry about formatting, proofing, editing later. Once you have written the story that you want to write then you should consider what, if anything, you want to do with it. - Wonderful advice:0)

12.Do you write under a pen name?

Kerry Dwyer

13. Where do you write?

I write on my laptop so I can write anywhere, If the weather is good I like to write on my terrace. If I have a long business trip writing can make a long train journey pass very quickly. -Great idea!

14. What do you wear when you write?

Pyjamas, but not when I am on a train journey,

15. Do you have a pet (s)?

Yes I have two cats, They are not really mine they belong to my daughter but I get to feed them now she is away at school, The plus is that I get the cuddles on the couch in the evenings,

16. Favorite food?

Chocolate– is there anything else? - Yum!

17. If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?

Robinson Crusoe would be useful to make shelters and catch fish. He might also be interesting for amusement but if not I would have to take Oscar Wilde – before he was too depressed. Then I think someone like Marie Antoinette or Anne Boylen so they could tell me what is was really like.

18. Of your characters, which one would you say is most like you and why?

As my book is about me and my husband I think the character of me is very much like me :)

19. What made you want to be a writer?

I have always done some writing so there was not a time when I made the decision, This is the first book I have ever written The decision to be published was really made when so many of my family and friends thought my writing was worthwhile.

20. Any weird talent?

I have double jointed thumbs- is that a talent or just weird? I sing a lot but I am not sure than many would call it a talent, I do have remarkable talent for getting lost and not quite understanding what people are telling me. - Cool on the thumbs! 

21. A favorite quote?

I love this quote from Maya Angelou the author of 'I know Why the Caged Bird Sings'
"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that making a "living" is not the same thing as making a "life." I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
22.What is the one thing you never go without.

My family and a sense of humour.

23. Your biggest influence?

My family. They give me such encouragement and support. I could not have done this without them. My father encouraged me right from the beginning with a love of books. My mother always taught me that simple acts of kindness go a long way and that you too can go a long way with 'please' and 'thank you' in any language.

24. Favorite TV show?

I haven't watched television for about ten years. I used to enjoy The X Files,

25. A great blog you would like to recommend for others to discover?

Well yours is right up their with my favourites. As are all those lovely supporters of Indie authors. They are so many and so generous giving time and space to struggling authors who often have no other platform. -Aww, thanks Kerry...I agree, there are many wonderful Indie Supporters out there.
 

View the trailer and give it your like:
 


Connect with Kerry on Goodreads
Give Kerry you like on Facebook
Visit Kerry's Amazon author page and give her your like

My humble thanks again to Kerry for allowing me to spotlight her on my blog and thanks all for dropping in.


 

Friday, September 21, 2012

Paulette Mahurin, Historical Fiction Author of The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

Hello my wonderful blog followers...I would like to introduce you to the wonderful Paulette Mahurin, Historical Fiction author of the book- The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap. Paulette kindly answered a few interview questions for me and I must say, I really enjoyed reading her answers and getting to know this lovely lady more. I hope you enjoy getting to know her as well and do take a peek inside her book and add her to your to-read list on Goodreads! 
The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap
Click book to read the first few chapters and purchase your copy! Available in both Kindle & Paperback!

 
Image of Paulette Mahurin
Paulette is the one on the Left

 Book blurb:
A women's Brokeback Mountain. The year 1895 was filled with memorable historical events: the Dreyfus Affair divided France; Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta address; the United States expanded the effects of the Monroe Doctrine to cover South America; and Oscar Wilde was tried and convicted for gross indecency under Britain's recently passed law that made sex between males a criminal offense. When news of Wilde's conviction went out over telegraphs worldwide, it threw a small Nevada town into chaos. This is the story of what happened when the lives of its citizens were impacted by the news of Oscar Wilde's imprisonment. It is a chronicle of hatred and prejudice with all its unintended and devastating consequences, and how love and friendship bring strength and healing.


1. Where do you call home?
Ojai, California

2. What is the title of your most recent book?

3. What's your Genre?
Historical Fiction

4. Plans for a next book? Is this part of a Series?
 I am working on a love story, based on real events of a couple who met in an oncologists office,
both having cancer, and developed a magical-poignant-beautiful relationship.

5. Are you a self published author (Indie) ?
Yes

6. Who's your favorite author?
Too many to pick, but love Steinbeck.

7. Your favorite book?
Again too many to pick but love The Grapes of Wrath. I love a book that I don’t want to put down and am sorry when it’s over, there are so many of those, thankfully!

8. What book are you currently reading?
The Afflicted Girls by Suzy Witten

9. A book you would recommend?
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz because it’s the most helpful beautifully written relationship book, that I read over and over and over and grow from.

10. How do you pick your books?
Interest, if the synopsis grabs me.

11. Advice for other authors?
An author writes. Just sit down and do it and don’t let the critic in your head get in your way. Doesn’t matter the time put in or judgments involved by self or others, a writer writes. Leave the editing and critiquing up to others when the writing is ready for that but pay attention to seeking out supportive positive friends for feedback in the early stages so you don’t get your creative light turned off. -I love that!12. Do you write under a pen name?
Paulette Mahurin
13. Where do you write?
I have a den that looks out over trees running down to a creek, I write there.

14. What do you wear when you write?
Jeans and a t-shirt.

15. Do you have a pet (s)?
Max and Bella, rescued from a kill shelter, puppies. He’s a purebred rottie born with a missingpaw and thrown away cause the breeder couldn’t sell him. She’s a rottie-sharpei mix found homesless and thrown in a kill shelter to be disposed of. They are the two sweetest dogs we’ve ever adopted. My hubby and I are into animal rescue, been rescuing rotties for 28 years. The profits from my book are going to the first and only no-kill animal shelter, Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center, in Ventura County, CA where I live.- That is so wonderful Paulette, your an inspiration!

16. Favorite food?
A good salad.

17. If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?
Vicktor Frankl: he wrote the most powerful book I ever read, Mans Search for Meaning, where he tells of his concentration camp experience—lost all his family, and came out with an enlightened attitude about life. He’d be my inspiration and teacher. Then I’d bring someone I was attracted to, eternally, lol! And, lastly, a doctor.- Smart!
18. Of your characters, which one would you say is most like you and why?
Charley because he grows the most and reflects back the power of the heart.

19. What made you want to be a writer?
It’s just something that’s been with me all my life, natural for me, like breathing. I just love to write and started at the age of ten, in college I wrote a couple of award winning short stories, and in the last six years penned my first novel. I was able to write because I got a tick bite, contracted Lyme Disease, and was down for the count with lots of time on my hands, where I was incapable of much else. I think I can honestly say, writing and my dog Tazzie probably saved my life, along with my wonderful husband Terry.- We are so glad you are better! Youch!
20. Any weird talent?
I love improvement classes and spontaneity with people which sometimes gets me in trouble when I’m being silly and inappropriate but it bodes well on an improve stage, lol.

21. A favorite quote?
Be yourself, everyone else is taken.- Oscar Wilde. My book’s really an homage to him, each chapter. Starts with a quote from hm and the story revolves around his imprisonment. An amazingly brilliant man who really was born too early for his fate, but never let it stop him.
22. What is the one thing you never go without?Dogs in my life.

23. Your biggest influence?
Kindness. The simplest thing reaches me and fills me with gratitude that kindness shines through and does so much good, in the worst of situations, and it’s always available. A smile, a hand touch a hand, a simple action one person at a time changes the world. It moves, motivates and inspires me. Thanks for asking!

24. Favorite TV show?
Right at this moment, The X Factor. The ramped up the game and talent and I’m really enjoying it.

25. A great blog you would like to recommend for others to discover?
Right now, yours! There are so many wonderful giving bloggers out there, who do reviews, who feature authors, who help with giveaways, to strangers. It’s a wonderfully supportive community. -Aww... thank you Paulette, I couldn't agree more, I myself have recieved that same warm welcome and help from many wonderful fellow authors.

 Paulette's book is also available in the Amazon UK Store
 Fan or add Paulette's book to your to-read list on Goodreads

Like The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap on FACEBOOK
Follow Paulette's BOOK'S BLOG
Follow Paulette on TWITTER
Her WEBSITE
PRESS ARTICLE:
VC STAR Sept. 9, 2012 Sunday Life Section:
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/sep/08/ojai-authors-historical-novel-teaches-tolerance/
 
Visit Paulette's Amazon Central Author Page and read her wonderful Bio!
 
Thanks again Paulette and thanks to all my wonderful followers for the drop by,
 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Remember the Pickfair Estate? Home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks... Why was it really razed?

I've always loved a good ghost story, but I'm not so sure I liked this one. Let me explain why...
picture courtesy of danshollywoodtours.com


 

Back in 1990, the new owners of the Pickfair Mansion, the home that once belonged to silent film stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks was razed  to clear space for a small palace for actress Pia Zandora and her husband.

Pia Zandora? Remember the flop The Lonely Lady (1983)?
Yeah..her.

Well, back in 1990,  she chose to demolish the house, stating it was necessary due to termites. Many people were upset about it.

Now 22 years later, Pia tells us really why.

It's been known that the Pickfair Estate was haunted. On several occasions, Mary and her husband both had witnessed the spirit of a a female servant. When the couple divorced in 1936, Pickford kept the estate, and eventually married Charles "Buddy" Rogers. After she died in 1979, Rogers reported being visited by a woman in a long, white gown that he believed was his deceased wife.

Rogers soon moved out, subdivided the estate and put it on the market. In 1980 it was bought by Jerry Buss who too reported spirit sightings. Now instead of just a woman in white, he now saw a male servant in the entry hall and a spirit carrying sheet music.

In 1988 the estate was put up for sale again, where Pia Zandora and her husband purchased it. The couple had promised to restore the home, but did not keep to that word. (http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrity-haunted-homes?op=1)


 And the Hollywood community wasn't too happy about it.  In 1989, against the protests and outcries from movie historians, preservationists and the neighborhood, Zia Pandora and her husband had the house torn down.  On Celebrity Ghost Stories, Pia tells us the "truth" behind the demolishing of the Estate.

Her story tells about she and her children being haunted by this lady in white and it wasn't the ghost of Mary Pickford either. She claimed the ghost haunted them so much, they lived in fear. So instead of termintes, a ghost was the cause of the house being razed.

I'm not so sure that made it any better.



Watch the full episode to get the whole story...


What do you think?

Pickfair History- http://www.squidoo.com/pickfair

Thanks for the drop by,







Friday, September 14, 2012

The Fourth Kind- Nome Alaska Alien Abductions...Was it all true?

Ok, I know this has absolutely nothing to do with writing, books or even giveaways, but it does have something to do with the paranormal (are aliens considered that?) and hey it could be considered a movie review.

We've all heard of the movie The Fourth kind- you know the one with actor Milla Jovovich  who portrays Dr. Abigail Tyler- the one who was the therapist to a bunch of  patients of Alien abductions in Nome , Alaska and then finds out she's one herself.
Yep...that's the basis of this movie story and I just finished watching it this afternoon.

 
The movie starts off with actress Milla Jovovich coming up and  stating
"although she would be playing the part of “real life” psychologist Dr Abigail Emily Tyler, the movie would be interspersed with real footage of interviews with patients and police video of events that besieged the small Alaskan town of Nome. " -http://creation.com/the-fourth-kind
 

So you now proceed on into this movie believing this is all based on real evidence that happened in Nome, Alaska. As Milla Jovovich said you find "actual" recordings of Dr. Abigail Tyler's  voice and "actual" recordings" of interviews of her and her patients intertwined within the movie.  This now is giving you the impression that every last detail of the script was based upon factual occurrences and not speculation.

By the end of the movie, you are now perhaps, maybe, sorta, oh yeah I am! just as scared as the those patients and Dr. Abigail Tyler was. 

You've just watched these "actual" recordings of these "patients transmogrification into contorted shapes as they scream with ear-piercing terror". ( This was stated so much better than I could have) and have got to be at least thinking, Is this real? 

I must confess through out and a little while after, I believed that it was. I mean come on...those were supposed to be actual footage and then  a couple of actors said they will be portraying actual persons. - Wait...I did just write a couple of actors....hmmm...

Really?

Yes, we've heard tons and tons of times of declarations of alien abductions or sightings. Its talked about just as much as ghost phenomenon. First, please don't take this as me saying everything about aliens is not real, cause I'm not. I have my thoughts, but I'm keeping those to myself. This is not about my thoughts, this is about if this movie is about real stuff that supposedly happened in Nome, Alaska .

It's a very good question and I wasn't the only one who asked it.

So now tell us A.D. What's the scoop.

No. It is not real. It was all made up and you would be surprised how far Universal went to make you think it was.
 
 
 
 
Yep, Universal has been a bad, bad, um boy?  Apparently they created  a bunch of fake newspaper articles for viral marketing for the movie The Fourth Kind. 
 
In real life, there was a string of disappearances in the small town on the west coast of Alaska, not far from the Bering Strait, in which the FBI were brought in to investigate in 2005. The victims were largely native men traveling to the town from smaller villages and went missing. The FBI looked into about 20 cases and found alcohol and frigid temperatures to be cause of death. Nine bodies were never found. -Source-Fourth kind real?
 
So...now you know and knowing is half the battle...right.
 
Either way, the movie was pretty good and even though Universal lost oh about $20,000 in a settlement with the Alaska Press club and then out of the kindness of their hearts contributed $25,000 towards a scholarship fund, they did make some pretty good money. The movie was pretty scary  and yes I too did believe it all was real as I watched it, so they fooled me!
 
So to all you Paranormal lovers, sometimes what you read or watch may not be true,but doesn't mean you have to stop believing :0)
 
Happy Reading and Happy Alien hunting,
 

 
 
 



Friday, September 7, 2012

The Crazy Dream Blog: September Madness Giveaway! (INT)






The Crazy Dream Blog: September Madness Giveaway! (INT): Yay! It's September, the beginning of Autumn, my favorite season of the year. But poor Autumn. It doesn't get too much attention, does it...

Just had to reblog this from The Crazy Dream Blog---Come check out this giveaway of these great reads below!

Author Spotlight- Jason Felts, author of Daybreak, a Mystery Thriller in a Kindle Store near you!

 
I would like to introduce you to author Jason Felts, author of the book Daybreak, a murder mystery thriller avialable in paper back and in the Kindle Store. Jason kindly answered my interview questions and take a read into the mind of this murder mystery writer. It was great getting to know him and don't forget to hop on over to Amazon to sneak your peek inside his book!
Thank you Jason!
 
 
Daybreak
 
 
Jason's Bio:
Jason E. Felts was born in Carlisle Pennsylvania, but moved to the south with his parents and sister as a teenager. He currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and two children. He started writing in his spare time while he was on the road, driving a tractor trailer.
He is now a stay-at-home dad and is trying to make his stories available for everyone to enjoy.


1. Where do you call home?
 Hamlet, North Carolina, United States
2. What is the title of your most recent book?
 Daybreak
3. What's your Genre?
 Crime/Mystery/Suspense

4. Plans for a next book? Is this part of a Series?
 I have started working on another book, no title yet, but it's not a contuation of the first book.
5. Are you a self published author (Indie) ?
 Yes, I am.
6. Who's your favorite author?
 Current: James Patterson. Old: Mark Twain

7. Your favorite book?
 The Quickie
8. What book are you currently reading?
 Sempre by JM Darhower
9. A book you would recommend?
 The Quickie
10. How do you pick your books?
 Mostly by known author.

11. Advice for other authors?
 Promote, promote and then when you think you are done advertising, promote some more...
12. Do you write under a pen name?
 No, I use my birth name, Jason E. Felts
13. Where do you write?
 At my computer mostly, however, I do usually carry a small pocket-sized notebook with me, just incase something pops into my head.

14. What do you wear when you write?
 Usually whatever I have on, sometimes nothing.
15. Do you have a pet (s)?
 No.
16. Favorite food?
 Philly cheesesteak. Having growed up in Pennsylvania, I sure miss the "real" ones.- Yummy!

17. If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?
 Mark Twain, for his wisdom. Ernest Hemingway, because I know he would have a bottle of whiskey. Lastly, Salma Hayek, because, well, being with the other two guys, my chances just got better.

18. Of your characters, which one would you say is most like you and why?
 I realized, that there is a little of my own personality in the three characters that carry the last name "Stone".
19. What made you want to be a writer?
 Well, I have read a lot of good books, although none of the stories happened the way I wanted them to. So, I wrote my own.
20. Any weird talent?
 I can wiggle my nostrils. -Cool!
21. A favorite quote?

"Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." -Mark Twain Also, "I'd rather be judged by twelve, then carried by six."-Unknown

22. What is the one thing you never go without?
 My wife. -AWWW!
23. Your biggest influence?
 I would have to say, my children. --A bigger AWWWW!
24. Favorite TV show?
 It would have to be a three-way tie. NCIS, Big Bang Theory and Final Witness. -I love the Big Bang Theory aka the nerds!
25. A great blog you would like to recommend for others to discover?

I am just starting to get into the whole blogging thing, so at this moment, I really don't have a favorite.

Jason's Author page on Amazon- Hop over and give him your like!
Connect with Jason on Facebook
Add Jason's book Daybreak to your Goodreads to-read list
Become a Fan of Jason on Goodreads
Give your like to Jason's Facebook page
Visit Jason's website

Thanks again Jason for your paricipation and thanks all for the drop by!


P.S. Don't forget to leave your author a review, they really appreciate them!