Category: Interviews

Book Brief: Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines

Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines
by Carol E Wyer
Genre: Humorous Women’s Fiction
120,000 words (approximately)

Amanda Wilson can’t decide between murder, insanity and another glass of red wine. Facing 50 and all that it entails is problematic enough. What’s the point in minking your eyes, when your husband would rather watch ‘Russia Today’ than admire you, strutting in front of the television in only thigh boots and a thong?
Her son has managed to perform yet another magical disappearing act. Could he actually be buried under the mountain of festering washing which is strewn on his bedroom floor? He’ll certainly be buried somewhere when she next gets her hands on him.
At least her mother knows how to enjoy herself. She’s partying her twilight years away in Cyprus. Queen of the Twister mat, she now has a toy boy in tow. She really shouldn’t have pressed that send button. The past always catches up with you sooner or later. Still, her colourful past is a welcome relief to her monochrome present; especially when it comes in the shape of provocative Todd Bradshaw, her first true love.
Soon Mandy has a difficult decision to make; one that will require more than a few glasses of Chianti.

This title is available from Amazon US, Amazon UK, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble. Continue reading “Book Brief: Mini Skirts and Laughter Lines”

Book Brief – Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip

Dissolute KinshipDissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip
by  David Antrobus
Genre: Nonfiction
6,000 words

When David Antrobus set out on a personal, reflective solo road trip from the Pacific Coast of Canada to New York City, he picked a random date: Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

This coincidence, despite the horrors of that day, proved oddly serendipitous in the sense of the author’s struggle for understanding of his own relatively small trauma, which he was then only beginning to face.

Evocations of the quiet melancholy of the landscape alongside poignant descriptions of grain elevators, motels, convenience stores and gas stations as he heads eastward across the Canadian Prairies are complemented by the dawning reality of New York City’s wounded presence looming ever nearer. Upon arrival, the author is at first haunted by the visceral horrors that remain just days after the attacks on the World Trade Centre, yet finds unexpected comfort in the people of the city as they relate their own personal trauma stories.

This title is available from Amazon US and Amazon UK, Smashwords, and Barnes and Noble. Continue reading “Book Brief – Dissolute Kinship: A 9/11 Road Trip”

Meet the Author: Shevi Arnold

Author Shevi Arnold

Shevi Arnold loves writing, illustrating, and making people laugh—and she’s been doing all three since 1987 when she started working as an editorial cartoonist for a newsweekly. She’s also worked as a comics magazine editor, an arts-and-entertainment writer specializing in comedy and children’s entertainment, and a consumer columnist. Nowadays, though, she enjoys writing (and sometimes illustrating) humorous fiction, fantasy and science fiction, mostly for children and young adults.

Her novels to date include the children’s book, Dan Quixote: Boy of Nuevo Jersey — a modern, American retelling of Don Quixote set in a middle-school — and Toren the Teller’s Tale — a YA fantasy about the magic of storytelling and about one teenage girl’s struggle to accept that magic within herself. Her latest novel, Ride of Your Life, a romantic YA ghost story, won third place in SmartWriter’s Write It Now contest in the YA category, which was judged by Alex Flinn, the author of such novels as Beastly and Cloaked. Two humorous YAs — Why My Love Life Sucks: The Legend of Gilbert the Fixer (book one) and The Secret Life of Mira Levy, Rabbi’s Daughter —  are scheduled for release in 2012. Continue reading “Meet the Author: Shevi Arnold”

Meet the Author: Jordan Dane

Author Jordan Dane

Harper-Collins launched Jordan Dane’s suspense novels back to back in 2008 after the 3-book series sold in auction. Ripped from the headlines, Jordan’s gritty plots weave a tapestry of vivid settings, intrigue, and dark humor. Publishers Weekly compared her intense thrillers to Lisa Jackson, Lisa Gardner, and Tami Hoag.

This national best selling, critically acclaimed author’s debut novel NO ONE HEARD HER SCREAM was named Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2008. Dane writes her Sweet Justice adult thriller series for Harper-Collins. Her young adult novels, IN THE ARMS OF STONE ANGELS and ON A DARK WING, are with Harlequin Teen. Currently, she is writing a new series for Harlequin Teen – THE HUNTED – slated for release in 2012-2013. Formerly an energy sales manager, she now writes full-time. Jordan and her husband share their Texas residence with two cats of highborn lineage and two very lucky rescue dogs.

Jordan describes herself as a sponge for learning. “I’m self-taught (from reading) and I’m never satisfied with my ability to tell a story. I want to challenge myself with the craft and try new things with every book. I combine first person with third. I write through flashbacks woven into the present. I do these things because they intrigue me and new things are fun to try. When people ask me which one is my best book, I always say that it’s my next one. I don’t ever want to get complacent about what I do. If there is a way to paint myself into a corner and write my way out of it, that’s what I choose to do. I don’t believe in writer’s block.” Continue reading “Meet the Author: Jordan Dane”