Review: Me & Her by Karen Tyrrell

Karen Tyrrell demonstrates great courage in bringing her true story of her battle with bipolar disorder into the public domain. Told with honesty, this story details the terrifying descent into mania that could beset anyone. Karen documents the progression of her illness and the false starts she made at recovery, until she ultimately triumphed and was able to return to her loved ones. A sobering yet uplifting story and hats off to Karen for having the courage to not only overcome her illness but also to write about it in an attempt to help others who might be on a similar course.

Available here: http://www.amazon.com/Me-Her-Memoir-Of-Madness/dp/0987274007

Review: Safe Harbor by Rosemary McCracken

When a young woman abandons her infant son with financial advisor Patricia Tierney, Pat is forced to take care of him, even though she is still grieving the death of her errant husband Michael. When Tommy’s mother is murdered, Tommy’s plight touches Pat in an unexpected way. She realises that Tommy’s life might be in danger too and she sets out to find out who is pursuing him and why.

In Safe Harbor, Rosemary McCracken weaves a tale of intrigue and suspense that will keep you turning the pages until the heart-stopping climax.

Find Safe Harbor on Amazon.

Free Ebook Download

A Merry Christmas to everyone and as a present I’m making my debut novel, Chameleon, available as an ebook for two days, 19 and 20 December. Please download it at Kindle and enjoy.  If you don’t have a Kindle, you should still be able to download the Kindle version via an app on your tablet, iPad or other device.

Chameleon is a saga set in South Africa and the surrounding territories between 1914 and 1946, and traces the lives of five main characters from two families as they unravel the mystery that triggers events at the start of the book.

Chameleon was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association Debut Dagger Award in the UK in 2010.

Here is some more info:

It’s 1914.

Troops mass for war in Europe, and even at a remote trading store in Transkei, South Africa, the Moss family and their sometimes-guest Richard feel the impact on their lives. Then Richard enlists, taking fifteen-year-old Fred with him. Albert and Martha are furious and afraid for Fred, but fourteen-year-old Eve is shattered, her hopes of eloping with Richard dashed. All she has to remember him by is a strange wooden mannikin …

If you’d like to read an interview about Chameleon I did earlier this month, you can find it here.

Happy reading and I look forward to hearing from you in 2013!

Have a wonderful, merry Christmas and New Year!

Interview with Kathy Stewart, author of Chameleon

The past few years have been full of high profile reads — 50 Shades of Gray, Twilight, and more. Love them or hate them, you have to admit you have at least heard of them.

As independent authors, authors with small press publishers, or mid-list authors we all dare to dream we will be next, and well let’s face it, you never know …

With that thought I jumped on this Hop. What is a blog hop? Basically, it’s an authors’ game of tag.

One author posts, and then tags up to five other authors, who each link back to them. It has the potential to reach different audiences, and you, dear reader, have hopefully just increased your “to read” list, finding new and exciting authors you may never have found otherwise. Some of us are published, some still writing, others are just being released.

Either way, for you fiction lovers a treasure trove awaits and I’d like to thank fellow author Sandy Curtis for tagging me to participate.

Click the links to find out about Sandy Curtis’s books.

Web site: http://sandycurtis.com/

Blog: http://sandycurtis.com/blog/

Buy Fatal Flaw: Clan Destine Press  and Amazon Kindle

In this particular hop, I, and my fellow authors in their respective blogs, have answered 10 questions where you get to learn about our current WIP (Works in Progress) as well as some insights into our process, from characters and inspirations to plotting and cover decisions. I hope you enjoy it.

If this or any other item piques your interest, please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions.

HERE ARE THE QUESTIONS

1: What is the working title of your book?

My newly released book is Chameleon, but I have a number of others in the pipeline: The Mark of the Leopard, Race Against Time and Clear Island Murder.

2: Where did the idea come from for the book?

The idea for Chameleon came to me when I was researching my family history and I began to ask What if? Chameleon is pure fiction but it’s based on events that could have occurred and is set against a backdrop of what did occur, that is, the Herero Rebellion and the First and Second World Wars.

3: What genre does your book come under?

It would come under African saga, but it could equally be classed as historical fiction, crime and mystery.

4: Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I would choose Morgan Freeman to play Ntando, Anne Hathaway to play Catherine, Keira Knightley to play Eve and Jonathan Rhys Meyers to play Richard. David Oyelowo would be perfect for Mandla and Octavia Spencer or maybe LaChanze would be ideal as Zukisa. I’d have to give the others more thought.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Against a backdrop of the impending Great War, Richard, the Moss family’s sometimes-guest, leaves the remote Transkei to enlist, taking fifteen-year-old Fred Moss with him, thereby catapulting the Moss family into turmoil and fourteen-year-old Eve into crisis.

6: Will your book be self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

Chameleon has been self-published. I’m not sure if I’ll do the same for The Mark of the Leopard.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About eight months, but it’s taken years and many iterations to achieve the final product.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

At the risk of sounding pretentious, Chameleon is probably most like Bryce Courtenay’s earlier African works, such as The Power of One; Wilbur Smith’s African works; Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell; or sagas written by Australia’s Peter Watt.

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always wanted to write – ever since I can first remember, but the inspiration for Chameleon came from researching my family history, and then the opening scene when Mandla is running through the veld covered in blood came to me as if in a vision and the story was born from there.

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Chameleon entailed vast amounts of research, particularly into little-known conflicts such as the bloody Herero Rebellion. The story is set in a part of the world which is beautiful but also remote, which means very few will have been privileged to visit it. I hope that my book will give readers a chance to explore the wilds of the Transkei and discover how life was for Africans, both black and white, in the time before Apartheid but when prejudice was still ingrained. I have tried to portray how this bias affected the lives of everyday people and how this could lead to tragic and unexpected consequences.

Kathy Stewart

Web site: www.authorsally.com

Blog: http://authorsally.wordpress.com

Chameleon can be bought via Amazon as a paperback or ebook.

Below you will find authors who will be joining me by blog next Wednesday (28th). Do be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates on WIPs and new releases! Happy writing and reading!

Daniel Prokop

Find out about Daniel and his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Prokop/

http://www.goodreads.com/

http://www.leavingneverland.net/

David Byerlee

Blog: http://davidjamesbyerlee.wordpress.com/

London’s Falling can be bought at http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.redhen.com.au/

Amazing prizes at the Gold Coast Writers Festival!

Thanks to the fabulous retail sponsors who have so generously supported us, the Gold Coast Writers Festival is able to offer over $12,000 in prizes.  You have to be in it to win it, so don’t miss out! See you at the Gold Coast Writers Festival 26 – 28 October: www.goldcoastwritersfestival.com

WAR AND OTHER JOURNEYS by Frances Bolton

WAR AND OTHER JOURNEYS by Frances Bolton.

via WAR AND OTHER JOURNEYS by Frances Bolton.

News – Festival Of Independent Writers and Publishers

The deadline for the Festival of Independent Writers and
Publishers short story is drawing close so don’t forget to get your entries in
before 30 September.

More news about our featured authors:

A United Nations report that 80% of all chronic diseases are related to diet and lifestyle
led Jane Hanckel to compile a research- and evidence-based book on how
to make healthy choices for our children and the planet. Through her work in
early childhood settings, Jane realised that there was a need for a reliable
resource through which to understand the factors that impact on our children’s
wellbeing.  From her home in NSW, Jane
has created a series of books that call for parents to reconnect with their own
intuition and wisdom to protect their children’s health.

John G Clark is a mechanical engineer and has spent a number of years in various engineering-related
industries. He was also involved with a tourist company carrying young folk
around New Zealand and a Thai restaurant. In his younger days he hitch-hiked
from Melbourne to London. He remains an enthusiastic motorist and an equally
avid motorcyclist, having owned forty or so, none of them terribly fast. His
Tales from Down Under – a collection of Australasian short stories is available
in libraries.

Iris Detenhoff is the author and publisher of the Moontime Diary. She studied general nursing in Munich and
migrated to Australia in 1987. Her strong interest in nature, health, astrology
and anthroposophy has guided her to publishing a yearly almanac as this moon
diary turns out to be.

Otterly Delightful by Julie Boyd

Australia may have some of the strangest animals in the
world, but America surely has some of the most playful.

From dancing with dolphins in Florida to swimming with sea
lions in California and playing hide and seek with chipmunks in Michigan, their
creatures seem as fascinated by humans as we are by them.

The most playful of their animals, and possibly the cutest, are
sea otters. And the best place to see them – Monterey Bay in California. Otters
were once hunted to near extinction and it is due to the persistence of people
like Margaret Wentworth Owings, often called the Jane Goodall of California,
and the Friends of the Sea Otters, that these little guys have survived and
thrived.

As you drive from San Francisco towards the Monterey
Peninsula, the entrance sign to Point Lobos, a State Park so popular that
bookings are essential even for a day trip, states proudly ‘Sea Otters in
Residence’ with the pamphlet you are handed beginning ‘The sea otter is without
doubt the most observed and beloved marine mammal in this park.’

The Monterey Peninsula itself is full of wonderful
surprises. One doubts whether tourism was on anyone’s mind when John Steinbeck
came out in the mid-1940s with his famous fictional classic, “Cannery
Row,” but that novel ultimately had the effect of turning the Monterey
Peninsula into one of the most popular destinations for a Northern California
vacation. Aspiring writers find real pleasure in being able to walk the same
streets as Steinbeck, where the smell of fish from the sardine factories has
now been replaced by the great coffee and wonderful food on offer at cafes and
restaurants; and souvenir and book shops now grace the old buildings. Thank
goodness this is not somewhere developers have been allowed to destroy the
heritage which brings millions of visitors a year.

It’s always an advantage having friends who live locally and
can show you around an area. If they are heavily involved in their local
community, so much the better.  My dear
friends are docents (helpers) at the famed Monterey Bay aquarium just down the
road from Cannery Row. Financed by David Packard (of Hewlett Packard) for his
marine biologist daughter, Julie, who is currently Executive Director of the
aquarium, this is not only possibly the most incredible aquarium in the world,
it also houses a crucially important research institute.  Located right on the famed San Andreas
faultline, there is a submarine canyon immediately off Monterey that drops sharply
to 3,600metres, so the research institute has access to some very unusual
deepwater creatures. This also makes the water extremely cold, so swimming is
not really an option, though it is one of the premier scuba diving spots in the
world. The most famous aspect of the Monterey aquarium is a wall of glass, more
than three storeys high, which enables a view into a giant kelp forest and the
habitat this provides. Outside the aquarium, a favourite pastime is kayaking
out among the otters, though knowing the depth of the water beneath can be
slightly intimidating.

I was visiting Monterey to attend a conference which was
being held at the Asilomar Center in Pacific Grove, just down the road. Arguably
one of the best conference locations in the world, Asilomar consists of a
series of log cabins, the largest of which has an open fire which spans the
entire wall, and is the perfect location for a fireside chat or glass of good

Californian red. Venturing outside, you simply walk down to the beach, past
wild deer grazing on berries along the path, to craggy rocks from which you can
see otters frolicking. These delightful little creatures have a very endearing,
and highly practical habit of rolling themselves in kelp to sleep or eat, belly
up, often with a very cute baby lying on top. The mums also roll their babies
in kelp to keep them secure while Mum is off finding shellfish for dinner. The
sound of waves is accompanied by the knock, knock of the stones they hold in
their paws to break open molluscs on their stomachs. They are also great
parents and watching otters teaching their babies is one of the best
time-wasting pleasures I’ve ever experienced.

An easy walk around the end of the small peninsula is a
little like rounding a mini Cape Horn. Raging seas on one side give way to
slightly calmer waters just around the corner. A park bench near the tip
provides a welcome resting spot to otter watch, gaze at the sea of wildflowers
which carpet walkways on this side, and the plethora of Victorian houses that
frame the town. For those who remember a singer by the name of John Denver,
this bench also carries a plaque in memory of his death, in a plane crash
immediately off this point. Sitting there quietly you can hear ‘Annie’s Song’
being sung by the wind.

Pacific Grove also marks the beginning of the 17-mile drive
– a large gated community which is home to many wealthy celebrities, which
stretches from Pacific Grove to Carmel-on-the-sea. The lovely guy at the toll
booth told us to be sure we visited the Lone Cypress. To Aussies used to seeing
trees growing out of granite mountain-sides, this is nothing special, however
here, for some reason, a single tree has become a major tourist attraction.
This is just opposite the famed Pebble Beach golf course, home of the US Open.
If you spend more than $25 at any of the Pebble Beach Company restaurants along
the 17-Mile Drive, they’ll deduct the toll fee from your bill. Roy’s restaurant
at the Inn at Spanish Bay is famous for their great views and service. Their
prices are also much more reasonable than the Lodge at Pebble Beach, and after
the fee was subtracted, our lunch bill was only a few dollars more than a mediocre
breakfast we had in Carmel the previous day. My friend enjoys her food so much
that she sings to it, often unconsciously, and her rendition of the day saw our
bill reduced even further, much to our delight.

Carmel is a beautiful seaside village. The town is known for
its natural scenery and rich artistic history. In 1906, the San Francisco Call devoted a full page to
the “artists, poets and writers of Carmel-by-the-Sea,” and in 1910 it
reported that 60 percent of Carmel’s houses were built by citizens who were
“devoting their lives to work connected to the aesthetic arts.” Early
City Councils were dominated by artists, which may explain their street system,
and the town has had several mayors, including Clint
Eastwood, who were poets or actors. Clint sat beside us at breakfast at the
Carmel  cafe with some of his mates, all
of whom seemed to be fascinated by Aussie accents.  The quaintness of the tiny houses is
highlighted by the fact that no street numbers exist here, which made trying to
find another friend an exercise all the more interesting with the cuteness of
the homes continually distracting us.

Driving home, this time along the freeway, we took another
detour as my friend, Laurel, is also an avid supporter of the magnificent Monarch
butterfly, and she was on duty, again, as a docent (trained volunteer) so I was
fortunate to spend some time as a docent assistant at the butterfly sanctuary.

Pacific Grove is often nicknamed
“Butterfly Town, U.S.A.” The community has always welcomed the
butterflies and fought for their protection. Citizens of Pacific Grove even voted
to pay an additional tax to create the Monarch Grove Sanctuary. The Pacific
Grove Police Department continues to enforce strict regulations that prohibit
the “molestation of butterflies.” The fine? $1,000.

Arriving in October, the Monarch butterflies
cluster together on the pines and eucalyptus trees of the Sanctuary so that the
entire forest becomes a stunningly beautiful, giant moving entity.

That night, as a perfect finale, we
visited the Feast of Lanterns, with a picnic. This festival has
evolved over its 100-plus year history to a lantern parade down to the beach
and fireworks over the bay – a multi-cultural community event filled with
entertainment. A special pageant on the final night celebrates the legend of
the “Blue Willow”. While the origins of the story are a little
obscure, the Pacific Grove version tells a story where the lovers fly away as
Monarch butterflies, to return again every fall(autumn).

The Monterey Peninsula is one of my
favourite places in the world. Stunningly beautiful, teetering on the edge of
Big Sur and the Monterey underwater canyon, it is not only full of playful
animals, but wonderfully playful people. It is otterly delightful.

FIWP – Festival News

Stephanie Dale

It’s all go with the Festival of Independent Writers and
Publishers to be held on the Gold Coast on 29 October 2011. The program is
coming together nicely, with an exciting array of speakers and interviewers
lined up.

We’re privileged to have on board Stephanie Dale, who
recently won an award in the USA for the best indie-published novel in the
Australia/New Zealand category. Stephanie has made a spectacular success of
marketing her books, and in her session, Going Solo, she’ll impart plenty of
hints and tips to other aspiring indies.

Watch this space for more news on the festival or check out
the website:

http://www.indieauthorsfestival.com

Publishing Today by Julie Boyd

On 26^th March I attended two workshops, each purporting to show how to write
and publish in these changing times. The two events could not have been
starker in their perspectives. One was run by a publishing company,
which, I remember, began publishing ebooks over a decade ago, when they
were still highly unfashionable. Their presentation yesterday showed that
while they were ahead of the industry at the time, their move back into
paper-based publishing, albeit with options of inexpensive downloads, was
not just a step back in time, but a quantum leap backwards. Their
dependence on the often fickle attention of bookshops and distributors who
are now either in, or about to go into, liquidation shows that authors
need to take the ‘Business of Writing’ very much into their own hands, if
they want exposure. The way this is achieved depends clearly on whether
you want to make money from your writing, or whether you are doing
it for more personal reasons.

The second workshop was much clearer about the need to use
internet-based social networking effectively. Combining and cross-linking
effectively optimised web-pages and blog sites with Facebook, YouTube,
Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, establishes a self-perpetuating cycle of linkages
which enable the construction of a personal web. This, in turn, links with
others internationally. Staging your writing from blog entries to
articles to smaller ebooks as a series of ‘tasters’ in the lead-up to the
publication of your paper-based book, and the effective placement of these
bite-sized pieces, will build momentum.

One example of how to achieve this can be seen in how ‘Quakebook’ has
evolved.

The Quakebook project is an example of the rapid evolution of the
publishing industry where books now appear, literally, overnight. It also
shows what can be done when the mainstream media fail the people most
affected by disasters, by not telling their stories, by focusing on the
wrong story (nuclear leakage rather than the humanitarian crisis) then
moving on to the next front page, far too soon.

Started by ourmaninabiko, an anonymous blogger, the Quakebook project
rapidly became a global movement of people wishing to help all those
affected during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. He put a call out
across Twitter for contributors to create a book to raise funds for the
Red Cross, Japan. The idea was to share the stories and experiences of
people actually on the ground during the earthquake, whilst raising funds
for the Red Cross.

Completed in one week, and in the final stages of publication now, the
contributions include photographs, personal accounts and illustrations; each
telling their own tale. Notable contributors such as Yoko Ono have lent
their support to the project.

As every penny from sales of the book goes directly to Red Cross, Japan,
you are urged to buy the book, buy a copy as a gift, promote it, share it,
tweet about it, review it, blog about it, link to it, etc.
http://ourmaninabiko.blogspot.com/
http://quakebook.blogspot.com/p/buy-quakebook.html

The tale of the evolution of QuakeBook can be found under the hashtag
#quakebook on Twitter.