Month: February 2012

Meet the Author: Pat Valdata

Author Pat Valdata

Pat Valdata received an MFA in fiction writing from Goddard College. She has two published novels: Crosswind (Wind Canyon Books, 1997) and The Other Sister(Plain View Press, 2008), which won a gold medal from the Árpád Academy in 2009. Her poetry chapbook, Looking for Bivalve (2002), was a finalist in the Pecan Grove Press chapbook competition. In 2009, three poems from the chapbook were set to music and performed in New York City by composer Dennis Tobenski.

Pat says her writing strength is in providing descriptive detail that lets her readers picture the characters, setting and action in her books. “People who have read The Other Sister tell me that they couldn’t put it down, which is wonderful to hear, so I guess I am good at telling a compelling story, which is really what I try to do.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Pat Valdata”

Give Me A Dramatic Truth or Give Me Death! by Bill Johnson

Author Bill Johnson
Author Bill Johnson

To satisfy an audience a story must ring true. One way to create a story that rings true is for the storyteller to understand how to create characters and situations that embody what I call dramatic truths.

Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz wants to find her way home, the Tin Man a heart, the Scarecrow, a brain, the Cowardly Lion, courage.

Rocky wants to be somebody.

The Velveteen Rabbit wants to be real.

Harry Potter wants to fit in.

Each character embodies a truth that defines them. These truths are dramatic because they are in need of resolution. Will Dorothy find her way home, Rocky become somebody, Harry fit in, the Velveteen rabbit become real? Continue reading “Give Me A Dramatic Truth or Give Me Death! by Bill Johnson”

Sneak Peek: Barbara Gaskell Denvil’s Satin Cinnabar

Satin Cinnabar CoverToday we have a sneak peek of Barbara Gaskell Denvil’s novel, Satin Cinnabar: 

Set in 1485 against the aftermath of the Battle of Bosworth when the first Tudor King Henry VII took the throne from Richard III, Satin Cinnabar is both an off-beat historical romance and a straight forward murder-mystery-adventure. These plots and sub-plots interweave, held together by the strong atmospheric medieval backgrounds and the depth of characterization.

On his escape from the abandoned battlefield, Alex, younger son of a slain lord, throws off his armour which would mark him as a knight of the vanquished Yorkists. The Lady Katherine, having heard tales of marauding soldiers both vanquished and victorious, is dressed for greater safety as a boy. She and Alex, both in disguise, meet in unusual circumstances.

The consequent adventures take place against a background of reeking bustle, the confusion of medieval London’s prosperous growth, back alleys, the horrors of Newgate Prison, the sewerage ridden river, the quarrelsome and diverse population, and all the inevitable power struggle, politics and turmoil accompanying the very beginning of the new Tudor dynasty.

Satin Cinnabar is available on Amazon.com, Sony, Barnes & Noble and Apple’s iBookstore. Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Barbara Gaskell Denvil’s Satin Cinnabar”