Coming Soon: The Haunting of Springett Hall, by E. B. Wheeler

This week I'm announcing the debut of a new book that comes out July 14, 2015. The Haunting of Springett Hall, by E. B. Wheeler. The newly released cover looks great.

The description on Amazon reads: "Eighteen-year-old Lucy doesn't know how she became a ghost, but the more she remembers of her life in Victorian England, the more she wants to forget. Her only hope of changing the mistakes of her past is to enlist the help of a servant named Philip- the one living person who can see her. This impossible romance story is filled with delightful period detail and plenty of mystery."

I'm looking forward to reading this book. I love a good ghostly mystery/romance. In the mean time I've asked Emily a few questions that might help you get to know her and her writing quirks.

1. Tell me a little about yourself. Anything fun or goofy that we should know?

I'm a total history geek. I love stories about how people lived in the past, and I love discovering the ways they were like us as well as the ways they were different. As for goofy, I'm not a great singer or dancer, but that doesn't stop me from doing both at home or in the car. The crazy lady singing to herself in the car next to you? That might be me. :) At least when I have my kids in the car with me, I look a little less nuts, but sometimes they complain.

2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?

I live in the mountains of Utah. It's beautiful in the summer, but bitter cold in the winter, and winter lasts about six months of the year. Luckily, that gives me lots of excuses to curl up on the couch with hot chocolate and good book.

3. Tell me a bit about your family/home life (if you don't mind).

My husband and I will celebrate our ten-year anniversary this May! It's hard to believe how fast time goes by. We have two wonderful, energetic daughters who keep me on my toes. My family is super patient and supportive of my writing habit: all the frozen dinners, critique group meetings, and "Hold on just a minute while I write this idea down!"

4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits? (I know that's 3 questions; just tell me about your writing.)

I've been writing nonfiction for about ten years, mostly about history and historic preservation. I had story ideas that wouldn't leave me alone, though, so I started writing them down. THE HAUNTING OF SPRINGETT HALL is a YA Victorian paranormal mystery, and I'm working on some other historical fantasy as well as realistic historical fiction. I love the process of getting to know my characters and working through plot problems within the bounds of history. I get a thrill from diving into historical research and finding some little detail that just clicks with the story and brings it all together. I think I'm addicted. :)

Learn more about Emily Wheeler and her new book at these links:

Facebook
Twitter @EB_Wheeler
Official Web Site
Pre Order: THofSH on Amazon

Review: White Plume by Niki Gamm

White Plume is a little different than the normal books I read. It’s a young adult historical thriller set in the Ottoman Empire during the 1716.

Twelve year old Charles Henby and his father are sent on an errand by the “real” king of England to take a letter to the sultan enlisting his help in regaining the throne.
His father is killed and Charles is caught up in the battle between the Ottomans and the Austrians for control of the Balkans. He is taken to the sultan’s court where he becomes a favorite. However, he is still determined that the sultan receive the letter that he and his father were commissioned to deliver. Can he survive this strange culture with it’s strict and deadly rules long enough to fulfill his commission?

Reading White Plume gave me insight into a part of history that I was not familiar with. I think it has merit, not only as a story but as an enjoyable history lesson. The Author, Niki Gamm, has obviously done a great deal of research into the Ottoman cultures of the time. The only complaint might be that it is a little too heavy on the history, but that is more a personal opinion.

The writing is easy to read, though it seems a little stilted at times. It could be that, as it was actually written in Turkey, the differences in language have influenced the meter. It was annoying at first but as it went on it rather added to the feel of the story. The boy had to learn to speak the language at court. Intentional or not, the formal, chopped, sentences worked okay. There were however some awkward sentences that didn’t work and a few things that the editors missed. These however did not distract all that much from the story.

White Plume is newly released in the United States and I’m pleased to be a part in it’s unveiling.

A little bit about the author:

1. Tell me a little about yourself; anything fun or goofy that we should know? 

What a challenge! Tell me a little about yourself. How do I shorten 72 years in a paragraph? I’m a rebel, but of the old school. My first act of rebellion was apparently staged at age 2.5 or 3 when I slipped out the front gate of our home in Seattle and was found half a block away watching a mother bird feeding her young in a tree. The family I was adopted into thought men went to college and women became were store clerks or stayed at home so I got a Ph.D. Tourist traveling was for retirement years in the family so as soon as I got a driver’s license and my own car at age 18 I took off to see friends in L.A. and four years later went on the “Grand Tour” of Europe by myself.  Somewhere along the line I fell in love with Turkey and in particular, Istanbul. Now I’ve spent more than half my life there, nearly 35 years as a journalist, although I’ve maintained contact with friends in Seattle. As you can probably discern, I love challenges (time limits, new and different subjects for example) and change for better or worse.

2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?

As for where I live, I have an apartment in the center of Istanbul in an area called Cihangir, not on the historic peninsula with its “Old City” Byzantine and Ottoman buildings. Cihangir was full of gardens and orchards and wooden mansions in the 19th century but now is covered with apartment buildings along a hill from which you can see the Bosphorus Straits, Sea of Marmara and the Old City.  Although Istanbul has shopping malls and large supermarkets, my area has lots of small mom-and-pop stores, fast food outlets, butcher shops, pharmacies, repair shops and the like with all of them willing to do home deliveries without an extra charge. Even the veterinarians will send someone to pick up one of my cats if necessary. If a delivery isn’t too heavy, you just lower a basket from your window.  We even have garbage pickup five or six times a day.

3. Tell me bit about your family/home life (if you don’t mind).

These days I write a column once a week for the daily newspaper where I’ve worked for more than 30 years and that’s quite different from the 24/7 life as a news reporter for a daily paper.  I’m single and I share my third floor apartment with nine cats – there used to be more. It’s quite large so I’m rarely bothered by them unless they need cuddling or are hungry and what’s available doesn’t suit them.  There’s a green area in back without cars or dogs so they’re free to roam there. Two or three of them have figured out how to get down to the street in front of our building and will sit there crying very loudly until someone lets them in and I find them pawing at my door. When they let me, I monitor news reports, keep up on my e-mail correspondence, translate from Turkish to English for friends, write articles for the paper in addition to my column and work on / think about the several writing projects I have in mind, including a second and third follow-up to White Plume, which will shortly be up on Amazon. I also, with a Turkish friend, write a website (www.theottomanfiles.com) click here for link which is a blend of information and a blog.

4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits? (I know that's three questions; just tell me about your writing.)

When I was young, I used to write little scenarios or mostly dream them up without committing them to paper.  Since those were the days before television, I used comic books to stimulate my imagination or novels. Then my rebellion took me into academia with its quite different style of writing and eventually journalism. I kept my imagination to myself for the most part until a serious health scare made me aware of the passing time.  So I felt I should commit some of the more recent scenarios to paper and see about sharing them with others. I first wrote a trilogy, set in southwestern Wyoming about half way between Cody and Rock Springs which is still hibernating on my computer and then White Plume.  If there’s anything peculiar about my writing, it’s that I do my first draft by hand in spite of my arthritis – blank, unlined white paper and a fine-point pen, one page a day regardless of other commitments.  I don’t prepare an outline for my story but they’re fiction set in historical periods so the frame is already there.


(A note of interest to me here was that Niki has written a trilogy set between Cody and Rock Springs WY as I live in Cody and my newly released book is set in the badlands of WY. What a small world we live in to have such a connection to someone half way across the globe.) I've enjoyed meeting Niki online. What an interesting person, a true free spirit.

Look for White Plume at:
The White Plume on Amazon

Review: The Crystal Bridge, the Lost Shards, Book One by Charlie Pulsipher

My only criticism of this book is that it ends with a cliffhanger. Now I have to get my hands on the next book, fast. Ahhhhhh! Charlie Pulsipher, how can you do this to me?

At first I had a little trouble getting all the characters into my head because this is one of those epic books where several different stories are playing along beside each other. I often hate that, but in this case it was worth it because all of the stories were equally interesting. Once I got past the several beginnings, getting to know the characters in each thread I became very much enthralled in the stories.

I don’t want to put out any spoilers here, but the basics of the story revolve around a young boy named Kaden who has a secret power to travel between worlds, a girl name Aren who can see into peoples memories and a man named James who is involved with a dark, underground science project that has untold mysterious possibilities.

Put them all together with a lurking, godlike evil presence and you have the beginning of a story that will draw you in and keep you reading into the wee hours on a school night.

I recommend this book to readers young adult and up, boys, girls, men, women, anyone can enjoy this book. It also gets my G rating approval. 5 out of 5 stars

Note: I have now read the next book and it ties up all the ends very nicely, thank you Charlie.

About the author:

1. Tell me a little about yourself. Anything fun or goofy that we should know?

I'm a huge biology nerd who loves woodworking, art, and funny television shows. I'm a writer. That probably makes me goofy right off the bat, but I also built a teardrop trailer from scratch and I do a mean velociraptor impression. It has been know to make grown men and women scream and hide behind large vehicles.

2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?

I live in St. George, Utah. It's one of the most beautiful places you will ever see, stunning red cliffs, crystal blue skies, majesty and more majesty. You just have to ignore the fact that it turns into the molten underbelly of Hades every summer. No matter how hot it gets, you never have to shovel sunshine, and that makes me pretty happy. I also enjoy the hiking and camping at my fingertips year round.

3. Tell me a bit about your family/home life (if you don't mind).

My wife and I have one neurotic dog that is literally afraid of his own shadow, vacuum cleaners, other dogs, people, exercise balls, and our yellow clothes hamper. He goes by Mahoney, Moopers, Honzers, Moopy, and Nugget. We spend a lot of time watching well-written television and reading when I'm not puttering around my garage.

4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits? (I know that's 3 questions; just tell me about your writing.)

I write because I love creating something from nothing with something as intangible as words. Serious, these little letters that appear on the screen as I type are just photons that represent sounds. Can you get any more insubstantial than that? Yet, words are how we create and paint our realities. I will never stop loving these sorcerous abilities. I write science fiction, fantasy, the combination of the two, zombie humor, and health and fitness articles. It's a weird mix, I know. My day job is as a copywriter for a plant-based supplement company and then I tinker with my own stories when I get home. I don't know if I have weird writing habits. I suppose spend a lot of time not actually writing, but dreaming up scenes, conversations, histories, and just letting my characters play in my head. Anyone watching me would think I was just a lazy guy who likes laying on the couch and staring at the ceiling for hours, but I'm writing.

Links where you can find more of Charlies books:

The Crystal Bridge, the Lost Shards, Book One

Obsidian Threads, The Lost Shards Book 2

Zombies at the Door: Planning for the Inevitable

Book Review: Book Of Immortals: Canidate by Kassandra Lynn

Candidate, is the second in a series. To read my review of the first book see: My review of Book of Immortals Disciple for Online Book Club

I really enjoy a book where the bad girl is seeking redemption. Preserving her soul in a crystal pendant, Shann lies dead for almost one hundred years in an apparatus that has preserved her mortal remains.
She is not the only thing that has been preserved however, her child, still in the womb is still alive. Her former master, not knowing he is the father of the baby girl removes the child and takes it as his own. He hangs Shann's pendant on the baby's neck.
This allows Shann to go out among others, to find a suitable body that she can take over.
Her spirit watches over her daughter, Eadon, for a time and she has a connection with her. Her daughter would be a candidate for her soul to intrude but she would never do that. However, through the connection that her daughter has with her the master becomes aware that she is trapped in the pendant.
He sends the pendant out to find its way to others. Eventually it comes in contact with someone that is suitable, who is also evil enough that she has no qualms about taking over his body, changing it to suit her own needs and then, because the body belongs to a devil cult leader, she has to escape and find her way back to the immortals she cares for.
She later joins a quest to find the Book of Immortals. The devils also want the book, and war ensues when it is found. Shann, who has not been able to completely annihilate the devil she shares a body with is sometimes taken over by him. In the end, well, no spoilers from me. Read the book if you want to know how it ends.
I give the book four out of five stars, you know I'm stingy with stars so that's a good score. It's reasonably clean though not squeaky, the magics are sound and well thought out. I recommend this book to fantasy readers from older young adults and up.


A bit about the Author: (this is always my favorite part)


1. Tell me a little about yourself. Anything fun or goofy that we should know?

I grew up reading stories in both English and Chinese.  The structure behind fiction and the roles each characters play had intrigued me since I was a child.  Somehow, I like many of the antagonists and minor characters more than some of the protagonists—perhaps because the antagonists are the ones with the more interesting traits and strong personality?  In my writing, I want to incorporate some of the things I like about minor characters into my protagonists.  My protagonists are not always good in the traditional perspectives—some of them might be downright evil and selfish—but they're the ones I like to read about.  I hope you find them interesting too.

2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?

I live in Vallejo, CA where the weather is always nice.  The town is not huge, but it's close to major cities and recreational areas.

3. Tell me a bit about your family/home life (if you don't mind).

I live with my husband and a sister who is my first beta reader.


4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits? (I know that's 3 questions; just tell me about your writing.)

I like to make up stories in my head when I lie on my bed at night—it's like telling myself a bedtime story.  But thinking about something in my mind can be very disorganized and illusive.  I want to put them down in writing to make them more concrete and to share my fantasy with others.

I like to read and write fantasy and romance.  My finished books include "Book of Immortals: Disciple" and "Book of Immortals: Candidate."  I'm currently working on the third book in the series.

I have so many new concepts I want to write about after finishing the Book of Immortals series.  It's hard to choose which one to do first!

I don't think I have any weird writing habits unless if you consider the fact that I never know where the plot is going to turn until it does.

Kassandra Lynn's Web Page

Book of Immortals: Disciple

Book of Immortals: Candidate

Spotlight on Aften Szymansky

I've had so much fun since I started doing these spotlights and book reviews. I've gotten to know some wonderful fellow writers.

Today I'd like to tell you about Aften Szymanski.

Aften and I have traded manuscripts in the past and she has encouraged me in my writing. Although I have never physically met her, I feel like we have become friends.

She writes stories for young people that help them to deal with some of the crazy stuff that they have to face growing up. I read one called Liar Lindy Brant that brought back some of those awful feelings I had when I was in middle school and there were misunderstandings and mean kids who made the most of them.

Here are her answers to my four questions.

1. Tell me a little about yourself. Anything fun or goofy that we should know?
When I make ramen noodles I add tomato sauce, sriracha, lemon juice, and a little soy sauce. Sometimes I’ll add thin sliced onion, capers, or green olives to the cooking process, or green peppers. However, if I have any kimchi in the house- it’s all about kimchi in my ramen.  I love ramen noodles.

I love to travel and have been to Germany, Haiti, Ecuador, and Mexico. I want to travel more, but since I’ve been married and had kids it’s been more difficult to find the time and money.

I startle easily. If you’ve been standing in front of me for three minutes, but I was looking down—as soon as I look up I will freak out at you. Also, don’t approach me in silence, from around a corner, or at night without first making your presence known well in advance.

When I was thirteen I purchased the script for Return of the Jedi so I could study writing from my favorite movie. I also bought Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as a script. (I loved George Lucas works until Jar Jar Binks came to be).
After reading the scripts I bought I wrote a Christmas play and somehow convinced my siblings to play parts in it. I made them rehearse for a month and a half so they could perform for our parents. It was a tragic comedy about three self-absorbed elves who scheme to overthrow Santa, who they believe gets all the credit and does none of the work. They’re later tricked into believing Santa choked to death on a tainted cookie, and then have regrets when they realize they aren’t prepared for the social skills demands of Santa’s job requirements as well as coordinating the drops worldwide. Santa later laughs at them because he ‘totally played them’. They learn that everyone has a valued role in the production of Christmas joy and Santa tries harder to show his appreciation and recognition for the elves effort.

2. Where do you live and what is it like to live there?
I live in Star Valley, WY where there is snow a minimum of five months out of the year. My first year here it snowed on September first and we hid Easter eggs in three feet of snow when spring came. We invest in quality hot chocolates because it takes the drab edge off of winter. I own a lot of sweaters. I own no tan lines…

3. Tell me a bit about your family/home life (if you don't mind).
I’m a mom first, writer second, and part time educator third. Day starts with getting kids up and ready for school all except my youngest who gets to hang with me most days. Up at 6am, read scriptures as a family, breakfast, hair and out the door. I double check my list with things to get done and then drag around for another hour debating getting myself out of jammies.
It generally takes me until 10am to think straight. I’ll sometimes get a workout in before 10am, but not always. At 10 I get to work going over any revisions or writing done the previous day and from there plunge into the new days work. I tend to my three year old the whole time so it’s a very broken day’s effort, but I love that.
When kids get off the bus it’s homework, dinner, and reading time. We read every night. My husband’s reading The Hobbit to our kids for a second time now—it’s their favorite.

4. Why do you write? What do you write? Do you have any weird writing habits? (I know that's three questions; just tell me about your writing.)
I write at the kitchen table. I have no office space, which works well for a mommy-writer like me. My kids constantly interrupt me with needs, questions, demands, and hugs. It’s nice to be accessible as well as let them see that I am dedicated to the thing I love—writing.
Every day I make sure to write. Even if my only time is right before I switch my lamp off and fall to sleep. I have a standing goal of writing 500 words a day. I don’t expect more of myself because I have a lot of demands throughout the day and can’t always anticipate free time. But 500 is doable for me no matter what demands are set. It’s the way I unwind.
Weird habits? I fill empty Pepsi bottles with water so while I’m writing I can reach for what looks like a soda, but it’s really water. Except that it’s clear and Pepsi is the color of bubbling manure, so it only really tricks my mind if I’m totally into a scene and reach and drink without looking too closely at the liquid inside the bottle.

Books by Aften:

 O. Potamus

Liar Lindy Brandt

Peter Holt Is A Hottie

Forever Frenemies

Haven Waiting by Tifani Clark

 

Blog tour schedule

I am pleased to be involved with this blog tour for Haven Waiting. I am eagerly waiting to read the book as I really enjoyed the first book in the series Shadow of a Life. I fell in love with the characters and can't wait to read what they do next.

About Haven Waiting: Fifteen-year-old Jamie Peters is a Soul Saver. She helps ghosts finish their business and move on. When a mysterious map comes into her possession, she knows a new adventure is waiting. With the help of her friends, Peter and Camille, she follows the map. Her friends hope to find treasure, but Jamie suspects there is more to the map than riches. She never imagined the map would lead her to Haven—and a book of spells.

Haven Mills was accused of practicing witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Unlike the other women hung during the trials, Haven wasn’t as innocent as she claimed to be. In one moment of weakness and desperation, she did something sinister—something that has been bringing evil to the world for centuries.

Jamie promises to help Haven, but the reality of what that promise entails comes back to haunt her as she fights not only for Haven’s soul, but for her own as well.  

About the Author:I have a special connection with Tifani Clark. Her husband is my husbands nephew. So I guess that makes her my niece by marriage though she feels more like a friend and fellow writer. We also share the same publisher which is a crazy coincidence too. Seems we write the same type of books, entertaining but still clean and wholesome.

Anyway, I have enjoyed getting to know her a little better as I hope you will. Following are a few questions that she answered for me.

Q: When did you first decide to become a writer and what fuels your passion?

A: I think I've always wanted to be a writer. I had quite the imagination growing up and I always had a "story" to tell. I never know what's going to fuel my passion or ideas. Sometimes the strangest things will trigger plot ideas and even entire stories. When that happens, I can't wait to get back to writing.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for the Soul Saver series?

A: I love history and I love mysteries, but sometimes it's easier to read books set in our own time period. The Soul Saver series was my way of combining those elements. By having the characters from real historical events come back as ghosts, their stories can be told.

Q: How many books do you anticipate being in this series?

A: That's a good question...and one I can't really answer. Right now, there are three books written (or almost finished), but I have ideas for many more. When I started this series, I didn't want it to be something that necessarily had a beginning and an end, and I wanted to write the books in a way that the reader could read the second without having read the first, etc.

Q: Are there any traits you have given your characters that are actually your own?

A: I don't think anyone's ever asked this question in quite that way. In the Soul Saver series, I think there are bits of me in both the main character Jamie and her friend Camille--although I didn't intentionally put those traits there. I love to read and enjoy learning, like Jamie, but I'm far more outgoing and talkative than she is...like Camille.

You can find the books and more about Tifani  at these places.

Haven Waiting on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Haven-Waiting-Soul-Saver-Book-ebook/dp/B00QP6HUK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420477324&sr=8-1&keywords=haven+waiting

Shadow of a Life on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Life-Soul-Saver-Book-ebook/dp/B00MMTWHG2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420477377&sr=8-1&keywords=shadow+of+a+life

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/tifaniclark

Twitter

@TifaniClark

Haven Waiting Blog Tour (and her blog)

http://tifaniclark.blogspot.com/2015/01/haven-waiting-blog-tour.html