The Summer Heats Up

We are getting well into summer now and my guest is just as hot as the weather. Please welcome Julie Eberhart Painter. Hi Julie. Glad to have you.

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.




“The Paper Caper” placed third and was published in The Writer magazine in 1994. I got the idea a few years earlier when our bank moved its main office and its safety deposit boxes by truck from the old location to their new one. They asked us to okay relocating our “treasures. “Most people were fine with it.



02: What inspired the story?



Fear spawned the story—knowing what could happen after writing it—I removed my things until they opened the new branch. It occurred to me how vulnerable the safety deposit boxes were out there on the street, and what a great opportunity for thieves to waylay the truck and take their time inspecting the goodies from each box without the problem of being observed—or caught!



03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?



I’m pretty amenable to anything that’s working.



04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.



Aside from blogging, Morning After Midnight, a saga about a clash of cultures North and South will be released in January 2014. It’s a family dynamic story.



05: Who are some of your favorite authors?



Harlan Coban, Greg Isles, Scott Turow, John Grisham, Alice Seibold, Anne Tyler, Jan Ruth, and Alice La Plant for her brilliant mystery, A Turn of Mind.



06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?



I have two in a manner of speaking. Hometown boy makes good, James A. Michener, whose love for the South pacific inspired me to write Daughters of the Sea. He was THE author from our hometown, Doylestown. My mentor, Robert Walker taught me structure. The authors mentioned above gave me freedom to expand on Walker’s tutelage.



07: Are your stories based on real events or people?



Most are based on real events, but “I did it my way.”



08: How much research goes into your work?



I pick familiar locations and histories and fine-tune the research after writing the first draft.





09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?



Not real, but redefined. Murders took place in my grandmother’s retirement home. I based the Ponytail Perp in Mortal Coil on that case.





10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?



Currently I’m stuck in the late 60s. This might have to do with my enthusiasm for Morning After Midnight. It’s a rich period with Women’s Lib, new fashions, the upheaval in the South with desegregation, and the Vietnam War that inspire the music we still listen to.





11: If you could gather together any three people in the world, living or dead, whom would you want to meet and talk with?



I don’t know how they would get along, but Peter Ustanoff (dead); Alice Seibold (alive), and my birth mother, Laura Jones (also dead). We’d have to arrange this is a Swedenborgian style after-life similar to Eben Alexander’s Proof Of Heaven venue. I wouldn’t mind including Emanuel Swedenborg (long dead) either.





12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?



Despite the activities I’ve had to forgo, I never gave up reading!





13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?



That we make a lot of money. Hah!





14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?



Fragmented nonfiction or truly literary fiction: I do some of that in my unpublished memoir, Elephant Walk, re grieving. It would be satisfying to write a thought-filled and culturally rich book.





15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?



I’d like to revisit New Zealand, and live there.



16: What is your favorite color? Aquamarine



17: What is your favorite food? Olives, any olives, all olives!



 18: What is your favorite TV show? The Good Wife



19: What is your favorite holiday? The Fourth of July—no gifts

Bio:

Julie Eberhart Painter, a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania and has nine books published. The tenth releases in January 2014. Previously, Julie worked with nursing homes as a volunteer coordinator and later as a community ombudsman. She spent eighteen years with a local hospice in Port Orange, Florida, her hometown for 26 years.



She is a regular blogger on The Writers Vineyard, and a columnist at Cocktails, Fiction and Gossip Magazine, a quarterly online slick. She’s a frequent blogger on http://thewriterbeat.com, where nothing is sacred.



Reach her at



Twitter: @JulieEPainter

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com  (Search) Julie Eberhart Painter

http://www.linkedin.com/search/fpsearch?type=people&keywords=Julie+Eberhart+Painter&pplSearchOrigin=GLHD&pageKey=member-home&search=Search

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_tc_2_0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AJulie+Eberhart+Painter&keywords=Julie+Eberhart+Painter&ie=UTF8&qid=1321374034&sr=1-2-ent&field-contributor_id=B005EYUYSK



Or, for paperbacks www.lulu.com

www.champagnebooks.com

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Published-Authors-Network-84480?homeNewMember=&gid=84480&trk=EML_downshift_home&ut=2V-Y8nkUGC9lg1

www.thewritersvineyard.com

http://www.books-jepainter.com

Julie’s books:



Mortal Coil uses the nursing home setting because to murder a helpless old woman in her bed, cut off her hair and repeat that crime is the antipathy of what nursing homes are about, a safe place to be treated and rehabilitated. The subplot is driven by a behind-the-scenes scandal of greed and neglect.



Tangled Web begins with a Welsh family in 1934.



The cohesive Welsh community was a haven of Protestant values and mutual support. It was also a hornet’s nest of gossip. Neither a canary’s death nor a girl’s fall from grace escaped the community chatter.

Good girls avoided the attention of the grandmothers’ grapevine by behaving--in public--as ladies were expected to behave with good manners and self-control. In private, emotions roiled, passions were explored, appetites satiated, and the end results “talked about.” Or hidden.



Kill Fee, Penny a young environmentalist and occasional bridge director shows that even a friendly duplicate bridge game can lead to murder. (Although, bridge players have been known to feel the urge.) When she inherits, a beach house and a lot of money, everything changes. Medium Rare is the sequel, set among a bunch of hospice workers who can’t stay out of trouble, or crime.

Daughters of the Sea , is set in the South Pacific where legends create magic, danger and love.

Thanks for being here Julie. I'll see you all next week. In the meantime, stay cool.:-)

Rolling On With The Bash

Welcome back to my summer bash. Hope you're summer is full of fun, swimming and barbecues. Here with me this week is Kelly Whitley. Hi Kelly and thanks for coming by this week.:-)

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.


Into the Red; it’s a paranormal romantic suspense about vampires.

02: What inspired the story?

I work in the medical field; over the years, I evolved my own idea about how vampires might have come about.

03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it? Most of the time, I make an outline and then fill it in. I often add things as I revise.

04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.

I’m working on a contemporary romance about a doctor working at a medical mission in Africa.

05: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Julie Lynn Hayes; John Sanford; Patricia Cornwell.

06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?

I’d say Anne Rice. Those were the first vampire stories I read.

07: Are your stories based on real events or people?

I’m sure bits of real people work their way in, but no, nothing is a factual account.

08: How much research goes into your work?

It depends on the subject; I’m comfortable with medical topics, so not a lot of research in that arena.

09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?

No.

10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?

Hmm…I’d say the time of Christ. I’d love to hear him in person.

11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?

No good answer here—sorry!

12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?

Painting; movies; gardening.

13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?

That it’s easy! It’s not—at least for me, it’s very labor-intensive.

14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?

Urban fantasy and steam punk.

15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why? Italy! I’ve always wanted to visit there. The light is supposed to be fabulous for painting.

BIO:

Once upon a time, Kelly dreamed of becoming an entomologist. Instead, a career in healthcare became the chosen path. After years of devouring other people's books, Kelly decided to give writing a try. An arduous journey and many hot fudge sundaes later, the first paranormal romantic suspense debuted in July 2012.

Now Kelly writes a variety of fiction, spanning the genres from humor to paranormal, and flash fiction to full-fledged novels. A career in the medical field and interests like painting and home restoration provide plenty of inspiration for the characters who find themselves populating the stories.

An ideal day consists of coffee, no phone, and writing quirky characters for fans to fall in love with. Stop by www.kellywhitley.com, where the paranormal is an everyday occurrence and get your fix for vampires, werewolves, shifters and more. Kelly loves visitors, human and otherwise.

Kelly lives in the Rocky Mountain Midwest. Contact Kelly at kelly_book_maven@yahoo.com.

BUY: Muse It Up Publishing http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=513&category_id=32&manufacturer_id=248&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Into-the-Red-ebook/dp/B008LBAW58/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1371317668&sr=1-1&keywords=into+the+red

Thank you so much for being here Kelly. I'll see you all next week. In the meantime...PARTAY!

And The Summer Rolls On

Welcome back to my summer bash. I just came back from swimming and the water's great. Now grab yourself a margarita as Stan Hampton Sr. joins us. Welcome Stan.:-)

01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.

The first story published was “The 24th of December” back in late 1992. It is Christmas Eve and a man writes a letter to a close friend, telling her of a Christmas Eve incident during the Vietnam War when he was a little boy. He fell asleep waiting for Santa Claus but was awakened by his father, a soldier who was still dressed for combat. His father visited one last time to say good-bye to him. Of course no one believed him. Days later word came that his father, a Special Operations Group soldier, was missing in action.



02: What inspired the story?

I’ve always been fascinated by, and in awe of, the small teams of Special Operations Group soldiers who undertook secret missions against the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos during the Vietnam War. It took special guts for soldiers to land by helicopter deep in enemy territory, knowing that the enemy would be hunting them as soon as they landed. A lot of men were killed and wounded on those missions; sometimes they simply disappeared and to this day no one knows their ultimate fate.



03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?

Not really. I have an idea, I research the subject if needed, write brief character biographies, a brief outline, and start writing. Usually.



04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.

Okay. Here’s an excerpt from “Moloch.” But remember, this is a Work In Progress. I do not have an editor to make me shine as if I was a magnificent writer. Anyway, there are several novellas that I am working on. One novella is about a Kansas couple who decide to change their daily routine after sending their daughters off to a university. Another is about a haunted German Tiger tank in North Africa during World War II. A third takes place in the Pacific during World War II, and is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.



05: Who are some of your favorite authors?

Frederick Forsyth, H.P. Lovecraft, Tom Clancy, Stephen King, James Michener, Bernard B. Fall, and Cornelius Ryan.



06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?

No, not really. I have been inspired by the imagination and story telling skills of many authors. If there is one early influence, it was Rod Serling and THE TWILIGHT ZONE. The show caught my interest the first time I saw it—I do not remember the first episode I saw, but I have been a lifelong fan of this wonderfully imaginative and fascinating show.



07: Are your stories based on real events or people?

Sometimes stories take place against a backdrop of real events, and sometimes a historical person may make a brief appearance. Otherwise, I do not base anything on a “real person.” Because I generally write military fiction (with a strong flavor of the supernatural or horror) I will not base a story on a real person, meaning someone I know. If I did, and I wrote that the character was killed or crippled, I would feel like I had cursed the real person to suffer such a fate.



08: How much research goes into your work?

It depends. It depends on the time period, if an historical event is important to the story, even what a character does for a job, if that is a part of the story. Regarding a story set in Rome or Greece, oh yes, a lot of research is needed.



09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?

No.



10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?

The Roman Empire in the first century A.D. Rome was at its height of military prowess and civilization, while beyond the frontiers were mysterious lands that were labeled (to use a cartographic phrase from centuries later) “here there be dragons.”



11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?

I have been asked this type of question before; most of my adult life I have either served in the military or been associated with it, so I usually name military figures. This time I think I will stretch my wings. I would like to visit with Sappho, William Shakespeare, and Edgar Allan Poe.



12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?

Ah, maybe gamble a couple of dollars while drinking a beer, or drink a couple of beers with friends.



13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?

Nothing that I can think of.



14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?

Steampunk, and maybe a romance.



15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?

I have always said the Himalayas because I love mountains, and “Himalayas” sounds mythical and mysterious. But these days as I get back into photography, an old dream has reawakened. I would love to visit the ruins of Crusader castles in the Middle East. The ruins would be wonderful backgrounds for photographing women, who by the way, happen to be my favorite photographic subject.



16: What is your favorite color?

Either red or royal blue.



17: What is your favorite food?

Steak, French fries, creamed corn, and thick Texas toast.



18: What is your favorite movie?

Ah, either BLACK HAWK DOWN or LORD OF THE RINGS.



19: What is your favorite TV show?

THE WALKING DEAD!



20: What is your favorite holiday?

I can’t decide if it’s Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Year’s.

  Moloch Excerpt:   Feldwebel Helmut Schneider wrinkled his nose at a faint odor carried on the dusty wind that swirled through the cab from the open window of the Opel Blitz truck. The growling truck at the head of a dusty column bounced along a rugged, barely visible path that wound across the haunted, timeless Tunisian desert toward a range of rugged hills on the horizon. It was another bright day, gloomy nonetheless because the Fifth Panzer Army was in continuous retreat, closely pursued by the British Eighth Army. He remembered that a “fighting withdrawal” was the preferred phrase for their westward movement, but he also remembered “a rose by any other name…”

Helmut was a stocky man with broad shoulders, short cropped hair, and piercing green eyes within a narrow grimy face. The eyes were tired now, exhausted. Through half-closed eyes the rifle squad leader become acting platoon sergeant, armed with an MP 40 Maschinenpistole across his lap, peered at the tan and yellowish sandy desert of low rocky ridges and flowing sand dunes, peppered with scattered brush. Dust clouds gathered by the wind drifted across the rolling landscape.

Two years of see-saw battles from Tunisia into Egypt and back, and the savage battles at Tobruk, and El Alamein, wore a man down. So did endless days and nights of hunting and being hunted, of rationing water, living on cold food, broiling by day, and freezing by night. A man was worn down by the bittersweet smell of frying bacon from burning tanks that young crewmen never escaped from, or burying comrades in the ocean of sand knowing that soon their final resting place would be lost forever as if they never existed.

This wasn’t the life that the young Helmut Schneider had dreamed of while growing up in the Bavarian Alps among the vineyards that his family tended. He wanted to be a famous explorer. Perhaps his father, a World War I veteran of the disgusting trenches and horrific gas warfare of the Western Front, felt the same at one time. Helmut discovered and pored over his father’s books of the German19th century explorers Gerhard Rohlfs and Gustav Nachtigal. Separately the men had explored the vast expanse of North Africa in the last half of the 19th century. Even in the 20th century there were vast stretches of Africa that remained to be explored in detail. Who knew what might still be discovered?

Author Bio:   SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 wonderful grandchildren, a published photographer and photojournalist, and a member of the Military Writers Society of America. He is a serving member of the Army National Guard with the rank of staff sergeant, with prior service in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Ready Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004, after which he was mobilized for Federal active duty for almost three years. Hampton is a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007); he has recently been told that he must retire from the Army National Guard on 1 July 2013. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. Second-career goals include becoming a painter and studying for a degree in photography and anthropology—hopefully to someday work in and photograph underwater archaeology. After 12 years of brown desert in the Southwest and overseas, he misses the Rocky Mountains, yellow aspens in the fall, running rivers, and a warm fireplace during snowy winters. As of December 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Hampton officially became a homeless Iraq War veteran.



Melange Books

http://www.melange-books.com/authors/sshampton/index.html



Musa Publishing

http://www.musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=50



MuseItUp Publishing

http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=514&category_id=60&manufacturer_id=249&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1



Amazon.com Author Page

http://www.amazon.com/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ



Amazon.com. UK Author Page

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SS-Hampton-Sr/e/B00BJ9EVKQ



Goodreads Author Page

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6888342.S_S_Hampton_Sr_

Thanks so much for being here Stan. I'll see you all next week.:-)

Summer Bash!

Welcome back to the bash of summertime.:-) This week Cheryl Carpinello is stopping by to help me celebrate the dog days of summer. So, without further ado, welcome Cheryl to the party!

Summer Bash Questions



01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.



Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend, my first Arthurian tale, gives young readers a glimpse at the young princess. Guinevere and her friend Cedwyn enjoy life as only kids can do. They spend their days hunting rabbits and exploring around the castle. As her 13th birthday approaches, hints are dropped that her life is about to change. First Merlyn shows up, then she finds herself in trouble with her tutor among other happenings. However, it the meeting with her father King Leodegrance and Merlyn that pushes her to rebellion. Guinevere finds herself having to make the decision of a lifetime: Will she choose wisely? Standing by to help her are not only Merlyn and Cedwyn, but also a painted dragon, unicorns, and red deer.



02: What inspired the story?



My students were one part of my inspiration. They were curious about Guinevere because they didn’t know much about her. Getting young readers excited about reading was the other part of my inspiration. After seeing how motivated my high school students were to read about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, I decided to write Arthurian Tales for elementary students in hopes of hooking them on reading.



03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?



As a teacher of writing, I’ve encouraged my students to think about what they want to write about before they actually sit down and write. I do the same. An idea may run through my head for a long time before it takes shape. Once it does, I do a short outline of events and list characters. Next, I expand upon the outline by writing out longer summaries of potential chapters. I then let what I’ve written settle in my brain while I take a break. When I sit down to write the first draft, I have a more focused idea of what my story will look like. Once the first draft is finished, I start the process of editing and rewriting until I get the story I want. My drafts also go through my critique partners and one, if not two, outside editors.



04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.



My current work-in-progress is Sons of the Sphinx, a YA adventure that starts in modern day and then takes place in Ancient Egypt. Rosa, my main character, is enticed to travel back to ancient Egypt to help a famous pharaoh find his missing queen. Here are the first few paragraphs:



I don’t see dead people. I hear them. I talk to them. Boy, you should try that. Talk about people looking at you like you’re a freak. That will do it.

It would be one thing if I talked to famous dead people. You know like that Elvis guy my mother still drools over? I mean really? Like the guy would be ancient today! Anyway, if I talked to him, I could give my mom a personal message like, “Sorry we never got to hook up.” That would be worth a few extra bucks for allowance, don’t you think?

No, the dead people who talk to me are just dead nobodies. Nothing exciting to say. Nothing going down. They’re just hanging out, waiting for, I don’t know, to be more dead, I guess. Or, to see how much trouble they can get me in.

Take today in math class. We are taking this test, see. I’m concentrating real hard on this problem trying to figure height or something. Then I hear this.

“Hey you.”

I jerked up in my chair, looking around for the guy doing the talking. I glanced at the kids on either side of me. Nothing. I looked up at my teacher. He’s glaring at me.

“Great,” I whispered. “He probably thinks I’m trying to cheat.” I bowed my head and focused on the problem again.

“You, I’m talking to you.”

I shook my head in hopes of tossing the voice out. I know now. Some dumb dead guy is trying to talk to me while I take this test.

Inside my head I say, “Would you be quiet? I’m trying to take a math test.”

“Oh sure, that’s okay for you to say. I’ll never take another test again.” His voice broke up, kind of like bad radio reception.

“Not my problem.” I formed the words in my head.

“I died too soon, I really did.”



05: Who are some of your favorite authors?



I have many because my reading spans so many genres. The writing duo Lincoln/Child, Rick Riordan, Tolkien, Avi, Robert Ludlum, Jon Krakauer, and Joseph Campbell to name a few.



06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?



That’s a tough one, picking one author. I would have to say it would be Joseph Campbell. His hero’s journey is the basis for so many stories, and has been the basis for all three of my stories. The timeless tale of finding out who you are and where you belong in this world.



07: Are your stories based on real events or people?



I’m of the belief that the King Arthur Legend is more a state of mind rather than a determination about whether he was real or not. For me, the proof of his life lies in the fact that all these centuries later, people still flock to the legend.



Sons of the Sphinx is based on real events and people. I’m just not ready to revel which ones yet.



08: How much research goes into your work?



For my Arthurian tales Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend and Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom, I didn’t have to do a lot of research. I taught British history along with British literature and the Arthurian Legend for twenty years so I feel comfortable in writing in that time period. I did a small amount of research on daily life.



For my current work-in-process Sons of the Sphinx, I have done a tremendous amount of research. My living room is stacked with books on ancient Egypt, the monuments, the Valley of the Kings, and the pharaohs. Plus I have my journal and pictures from our visit there.



09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?



No, I haven’t.



10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?



I love ancient civilizations like the Egyptians and the Greeks, probably because I taught so much literature in these eras. I would also like to visit Medieval Wales and catch a glimpse of King Arthur!



11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?



How about sitting down with my favorite storytellers: Homer, Tolkien, and with Joseph Campbell? What a conversation we could have about the themes in all their writings.



12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?



My husband and I love to travel. We go to Mexico very summer, attend college football games around the country in the fall, travel quite a bit in the Caribbean, as well as to visit family. Internationally, we’ve been to Egypt and are planning a trip to England and Wales in Sept. 2013.



We are both avid readers, and we love spending time with our son and daughter and their families and our two grandsons.



13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?



Nothing comes to mind that upsets me. I’m always amused though at the surprise when I tell people how long it takes me to write a story.



14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?



I’ve satisfied with writing for Tweens/MiddleGrade/YA.



15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?



Sorry, I wouldn’t visit one place. I’d buy a ticket on a trip around the world and stop everywhere! So many places and people make up this world. I want to step out of my comfort zone and experience them all.





Five Bonus Questions




16: What is your favorite color?



Definitely blue.



17: What is your favorite food?



A smothered burrito washed down with a margarita.



18: What is your favorite movie?



The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.



19: What is your favorite TV show?



NCIS! Lots of action and humor mixed with intriguing plots. I watch all the reruns.



Young Knights of the Round Table: The King's Ransom

2013 EVVY Finalist and Merit Award from Colorado Independent Authors Association

2012 Silver Award from Children's Literary Classics



Meet 11-year-old Prince Gavin, 13-year-old orphan Philip, and 15-year-old blacksmith apprentice Bryan. Each wants a future different from the others, but they all want to belong. They owe their friendship with each other to one man they call The Wild Man. When an advisor to Gavin’s dad King Wallace is murdered and the valuable jewell known as The King’s Ransom is stolen, The Wild Man is captured and proclaimed to be the culprit. Gavin, Philip, and Bryan bravely vow to clear their friend by taking the Knight’s Oath and embarking on individual quests to save The Wild Man. In the end, each one faces their fears and even death in their determination not to fail.



Ride along with these unlikely friends as they learn the importance of the cornerstones of Arthurian Legend: Honor, Loyalty, and Friendship. And, don’t miss the characters from the Legend who shown up: King Arthur and his famous sword Excalibur, the Knights of the Round Table, and Sir Lancelot.



Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend

2011 Global eBook Finalist



Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend, my first Arthurian tale, gives young readers a glimpse at the young princess. Guinevere and her friend Cedwyn enjoy life as only kids can do. They spend their days hunting rabbits and exploring around the castle. As her 13th birthday approaches, hints are dropped that her life is about to change. First Merlyn shows up, then she finds herself in trouble with her tutor among other happenings. However, it the meeting with her father King Leodegrance and Merlyn that pushes her to rebellion. Guinevere finds herself having to make the decision of a lifetime: Will she choose wisely? Standing by to help her are not only Merlyn and Cedwyn, but also a painted dragon, unicorns, and red deer.



A unique look at this princess who lived several hundred years ago, but who acts just as many young kids today would when they suddenly find that they have to grow up and accept their future whether they understand or not.

About me: I am a twice-retired high school English teacher. I’m afraid I’m one of those people who do not do retirement well. Working with kids is a passion I have never lost. I regularly conduct Medieval Writing Workshops for local elementary/middle schools and for the Colorado Girl Scouts. We explore writing and reading, and it is fulfilling to see young students excited about writing and reading. It seems I'm not the only one who loves Medieval Times and the King Arthur Legend. The kids thoroughly enjoy writing their own medieval stories complete with dragons, wizards, unicorns, and knights.




Purchase Links:

Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom

MuseItUp Publishing Bookstore: http://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=322&category_id=191&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0086MEW76

Amazon Knights Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/148252709X

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/Boo86MEW76

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kings-ransom-cheryl-carpinello/1112317555

Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025KUJ36

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0025KUJ36

Amazon Guinevere Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/143273704X



Author Links:

Blog: http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com

Author Web Site: http://www.beyondtodayeducator.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.carpinello1

Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/cherylcarpinello



Twitter Home Page: https://twitter.com/ccarpinello

 Cheryl Carpinello


author/speaker

ccarpinello@mac.com



Award-Winning Author



"Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend" 2011 Global E-book Finalist



"The King's Ransom (Young Knights of the Round Table)" 2012 CLC Silver Award for YA Fiction; 2012 USA Best Book Awards Finalist for E-Book Children's Fiction



http://www.beyondtodayeducator.com

http://carpinelloswritingpages.blogspot.com



World of Ink 2013 Tour: Some Stories become Legend, and Some Legends become Stories. http://storiesforchildren.tripod.com/worldofinknetwork/cheryl-carpinello-jan-13.html

Thank you so much for being here Cheryl. It was a blast having you. And make sure you all tune in next week. Till then, enjoy the hotter days.

Summer Bash Is Here!

Woohoo! Summer is officially here! I'm swimming and having so much fun that it's time to share the joy. Every Wednesday between now and the 4th of September some of my author friends will be stopping by to introduce themselves and help me celebrate summer. Today, to open the bash my very first guest is Margay Leah Justice. She kindly stopped by to answer some questions. Welcome Margay!

Summer Bash Questions






01: What is the first story you’ve published. Tell us a little bit about it.



My first book was called Nora’s Soul and it was about a woman who is at a crossroads in life and is hunted by the forces of good and not-so-good (not necessarily evil!) in her quest to find herself again. It is a story that is dear to my heart, which I intend to re-release myself at a later date.



02: What inspired the story?



It was actually inspired by two dreams I had one night that somehow seemed linked, so when I woke up, I thought, I need to know this story. What’s going on?



03: Do you have a writing process? If so what is it?



I don’t have a tried and true process. I just write. Whenever I can. I do try to make it the last thing I do before I go to bed, though.



04: What do you currently have in the works? Give us a small preview.



I am working on a romantic suspense novel about a woman whose niece is nearly kidnapped, which brings back haunting memories of her own near-abduction when she was a girl. Complicating matters is the fact that the detective in charge of the case is a man she holds responsible for the death of her brother, a man she has a lot of unresolved feelings for – not all of them bad! It is called The Scent of Humanity.



05: Who are some of your favorite authors?



Julia Quinn, Jane Austen, Meg Cabot, Jennifer Armentrout, Lauren Willig and Luanne Rice, to name a few.



06: Do you have one author in particular who inspired your writing career? Who and why?



Well, I started writing when I first learned how to hold a crayon, so I don’t know who would’ve inspired it! But I am inspired by the above authors all the time.



07: Are your stories based on real events or people?



The story I’m getting ready to self-publish, The Scent of Humanity, has some basis in reality. When I was younger, my friend and I were nearly abducted, as depicted in the book, and my niece was nearly abducted a few years ago. So a good part of the story is real, but most of it is fabricated –for dramatic purposes!



08: How much research goes into your work?

It depends on the story. Some require a lot of research, some don’t. With Scent, I had to do my fair share about all kinds of things, from criminal procedures to kidnapping statistics to injuries.



09: Have you ever killed off a character based on someone real? If so why?



Not yet – not that I’d tell, of course!



10: If you could visit any period in history, what time would you go to? Why?



The Regency period (around 1820). I don’t know, I just have a real affinity for it. I love everything about that period, which is why I read a lot of books set in that time.



11: If you could gather any three people in the world, living or dead together, whom would you want to meet and talk with?



Jane Austen, of course! Robin Roberts and Alex O’Loughlin ( watch him in Hawaii Five-0 and you will understand why).



12: What do you do for fun when you aren’t busy writing?



Knitting! I am an avid – some might say mad – knitter. I love creating new things, so I give away a lot of handmade gifts for birthdays and Christmas.



13: What is the one thing people believe about writers that upsets you?



Hmm, I don’t know. I never really thought about that.



14: Is there any genre you haven’t written that you’d like to try your hand at?



Maybe New Adult. That seems to be quite popular now.



15: If you were independently wealthy what is the one place on Earth you’d most like to visit? Why?



I’ve always wanted to visit Paris. It is quite a beautiful city and I am part French, so there you go!





Five Bonus Questions




16: What is your favorite color?



Red.



17: What is your favorite food?



Love me some pasta!



18: What is your favorite movie?



Oh, too many! Um, The Holiday



19: What is your favorite TV show?



Hawaii Five-0



20: What is your favorite holiday?



Christmas

Sloane Wolf Blurb:



Micah Sloane is a shapeshifter who will do anything to protect his kind - especially his family - from the threat of outsiders. Any outsiders. And that includes, Shiloh Beck, a reluctant empath who will do anything to escape from a dangerous organization. An organization that ruthlessly separated her from her family when she was young - and is trying to manipulate her into using her talents for their nefarious purposes. When Micah and Shiloh meet, it is a match made in paranormal heaven, as they square off against the enemy - and sometimes each other - in the quest to protect themselves from fates worse than death.





Fate brings them together, but will they survive when the legend of the wolves collides with the men behind the Institute?

The Scent of Humanity Blurb:



One family, two attempted kidnappings nearly twenty years apart. Coincidence – or the work of the same man? Detective Nick Fahey will do anything to discover the answer.





Arriving on the scene of the latest abduction attempt to strike his small town in recent years, Nick expects to run a routine investigation into the crime. Everything changes, however, when he meets the victim, the niece of a woman he once considered a dear friend. Unfortunately, these days Silvie Childs can barely stand the sight of him.





Once there was a time when Silvie Childs worshipped Nick Fahey, believing he could do no wrong. Until the accident that nearly killed her brother. The accident that Nick reportedly caused. Coming on the heels of her own near abduction, the accident skewed Silvie’s ability to trust men – especially Nick. But now, with the attempt on her niece’s safety, Silvie finds herself in the untenable position of having to trust Nick to bring the kidnapper to justice.





That trust is severely tested when, after only two months, the case is closed for lack of new evidence. Feeling betrayed by the system in which she works as a paralegal – and by Nick – Silvie takes matters into her own hands by going after the kidnapper herself. Contacting local news stations to generate interest in the case, allowing herself to be filmed hanging sketches of the suspect on telephone poles, she will risk her own safety to protect that of her niece. When her efforts re-open the wounds of her past, she is once again forced to put her trust in the one man who still has the power to hurt her – Nick.





Nick is furious with Silvie for putting herself at risk, but he must put aside his own feelings when he’s called in to investigate a series of odd break-ins at her house. He soon discovers that ignoring his feelings for Silvie is an impossibility. One way or another, those feelings – and the misconceptions and hurts of the past – will need to be addressed.





The last thing Silvie expects is to become intimate with Nick. So she’s caught completely off-guard by her softening emotions for him, and by how quickly – and insidiously – their lives become entangled once again. But this doesn’t stop her from working to find the man who tried to take her niece.



Bio:



Descended from the same bloodline that spawned the likes of James Russell, Amy and Robert Lowell, Margay Leah Justice was fated to be a writer herself from a young age. But even before she knew that there was a name for what she was doing, she knew one thing: She had a deep and unconditional love for the written word. A love that would challenge her in times of need, abandon her in times of distress, and rediscover her in times of hope. Through her writing, Margay has learned to cope with every curve ball life has thrown her, including the challenges of single parenting, the harsh realities of living in a shelter, coping with the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, and the roller coaster ride of dealing with a child who suffers from bipolar disorder. But along the way she has rediscovered the amazing power of words.



Margay currently lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, two cats, and a myriad of characters who vie for her attention and demand that their own stories be told. In her spare time, she is an avid knitter, knitting her way through a stash of yarn that almost rivals her tbr pile!



Here are my links:



http://margayleahjustice.blogspot.com/



http://moonlightlacemayhem.blogspot.com/



http://www.myspace.com/margay1122



http://twitter.com/Margay



http://www.facebook.com/MargayLeahJustice


Thank you so much for being here Margay and kicking off the bash. You have been a joy.See you all next Wednesday.:-)