Authorsday - J. Hali Steele

J. Hali Steele has graciously stopped by to put under a microscope today and to talk about her latest release Flight of the Panther. Welcome!

1. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

First, Chris, let me say how wonderful it is to be here. And to answer your question, probably the minute I finished reading Atlas Shrugged. I fell in love with John Galt and wanted to write a book with a hero just like him. Strong, silent, and enigmatic. I didn’t know at the time I wasn’t even reading a romance! Or that it was considered Science Fiction by some. The book is still my all-time favorite, and Ayn Rand I guess would be my favorite author. Because I went out and found Fountainhead – Howard Roark was pretty darn exciting to me as a teenager. I wonder how she’d feel if she knew her philosophical work birthed a romance author? Have I captured that essence in any of my heroes? I hope. If one fan says they love a hero I created – I did my job.


2. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Oh I’m a seat-of-the pants writer. I’ll usually get an idea in the middle of the night, out shopping, somewhere strange. I used to write notes down but technology has come a long way to help me. I push the icon on my phone now and do a brief recording of what’s going through my mind. The minute I’m near a computer, I start typing out ideas and do a synopsis which will have the beginning, middle and end of what I want to write. I do follow that pretty much, but in between – the characters write their own story. We argue over it sometimes in my head, and occasionally the character let’s me win.


3. What drew you to the subject of A Panther’s Flight?

My love of felines and a quirky TV series, Beauty and the Beast. Then a friend of mine sent me a video link to a saber tooth tiger after one of my cats bit me. It was meant as a joke, but little did she realize she’d given me an idea for my book. I’d already been working on something about cat shifters when the teeth of the prehistoric beast gave me another idea: vampyre cats.


4. How many rejections have you received? I passed needing more than two hands to count them a while back and that’s when I stopped counting them. Some of them gave me advice that was good, most were form letters and those I delete immediately now. The ones I keep, I look at after I’m over the disappointment and see what information they had to help me improve my work. I don’t think of them as bad if they give me something, a reason, a suggestion for improvement. But I don’t have to take it for gospel either.


5. What was the best writing advice someone gave you?

To join a critique group. I needed some guidance and someone to look at my work with an objective eye. They helped me find places for writing tips, and they even read my stories and work with me to polish them.


6. What’s your favorite quote?

It’s mine: Growl and roar-it’s okay to let the beast out. When I thought of it, I was thinking just that – sometimes you have to let go, enjoy life – it’s the only one we have. It’s become my ‘branding’ and I try my hardest to live up to it each day.


7. What three things would you want with you on a desert island?

My cats, they’re great little hunters and they count as one because they’re inseparable. LOL My laptop and a windmill with instructions included in the box, that’s only one, right? Somehow I’d figure how to get it hooked up for power. I could craft weapons for hunting, and once my laptop was up and running, I’d be able to find information on the web for what vegetation was edible and what I could use in place of coffee for my caffeine fix. Imagine the work I could get done without the world interrupting me?


8. What place that you haven’t visited would you like to go?

I plan to go on a safari. I want to see the wild animals in their habitats before there are none left. Do I sound like an animal activist or something? Guess I am. But the wide open savannas with lions, elephants – all of it – I want to spend at least a month in Africa. Oh, and Venezuela…ooh, and Australia. Heck, one place is hard to commit to because there are so many. I guess I got carried away with places. LOL


9. What’s your favorite thing about your book?

In all my books it’s the men, the way they bond and talk to each other. They can be friendly one minute and the next they’re at one another’s throats over something that usually ends up being trivial. But when it comes down to it, they’re there for each other.

In A Panther’s Flight we don’t get too much of that. The hero finds himself without his best friend. I can’t tell you too much without giving away the story. But he does well relating to, and winning over the heroine. *grins*


10. What would you like to learn to do that you haven’t?

Tango. I’d like to learn to dance the tango. Then I want to learn to fly a plane. I love flying and the freedom it brings. Being up in the clouds and whizzing along is so peaceful to me. To be able to own and pilot the plane, go where I wanted, would be fantastic.

Chris, thanks so much for having me in for an interview. It’s been great talking to you and letting the readers learn a little more about who J. Hali Steele is.

You are welcome to make up your own questions if you like also. Anything you think will illuminate what you want your readers to know.

Author Bio:

J. Hali Steele lives in Southeastern Pennsylvania, she shares space with four furfriends (cats) and enjoys spending time with family and friends. Her passion is reading romance novels, especially those with vampyres and happy endings.

A multi-published author, she’s a member of the RWA, its Passionate Ink and ESPAN chapters, as well as the Liberty States Fiction Writers. When not writing, she’s snuggled in front of the TV with a good book, a cat in her lap and a cup of coffee.

Growl and roar – it’s okay to let the beast out. – J. Hali Steele – www.jhalisteele.com

Book Blurb:

Fane Baron is a Reign warrior—a sanctioned killer charged with hunting the rogue vampyre cats of the Sovereign Kind. Haunted by memories of stalking his best friend, afraid the same addiction will consume him, Fane stops taking blood. Then he meets her.

Edy Adair’s in a predicament of her uncle's making. Only days from her first change to a panther and dealing with the emotional turmoil of being in heat, she’s headed on a flight to Arizona with the vampyre cat of her dreams. He isn’t the mate chosen by her parents and he killed her cousin!

ExcerpTuesday - Sunny Frazier

Welcome Sunny Frazier who has been gracious enough to share a piece of her latest novel Where Angels Fear with us.

WHERE ANGELS FEAR

The sharp click, click, click of her red spiked heels annoyed her, but not enough to slip them off. She paced the ten-foot-square room, careful to step over the loose floor board each time. Think, think, think her mind sang in accompaniment with her shoes. She wandered down a maze of possibilities, each time running into a dead end. There was no other solution. She picked up the cell phone hit speed dial.
"Wass up?" he answered, his usual greeting slurred by sleep.
"I need you."
"Baby, it's 2 a.m. Nobody needs nothing bad enough at this time of night."
"Cut the crap. I have another situation on my hands."
All sleepiness evaporated from his voice. "No, girl, you promised. You said it was an accident before and you'd be more careful."
"Stan, I don't need a lecture. I need a body bag. Get over here." She hit the off button and snapped the phone shut.

BIO
Sunny Frazier has been publishing both fiction and nonfiction since 1972. She is a Navy veteran, earned a BA in Journalism, and wrote for a newspaper before joining the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. During her 17 year career in law enforcement, 11 of them were spent working with an undercover narcotics team.
Frazier is also an amateur astrologer. She has been involved in astrology for 35 years.
Her short mystery fiction has won over 30 awards and trophies, as well as publication in mystery magazines and law enforcement magazines. Her first novel in the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries, FOOLS RUSH IN, received the Best Novel Award from Public Safety Writers Association. WHERE ANGELS FEAR came out in April, 2009.
Frazier is a member of the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime, as well as the Public Safety Writers Association. She currently resides in Lemoore, CA.


Thanks for stopping by today Sunny.

This week on the blog

This week I have Sunny Frazier posting a piece of her latest novel for ExcerpTuesday. For Authorsday J. Hali Steele stops by for an interview.
Stay tuned!

Authorsday - Margaret Tanner

I'm privileged to welcome multi-published Australian author Margaret Tanner to my blog today.

Let's see what Margaret has to say when I put her under the microscope.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
A: From childhood.

How did you pick the genre you write in?
A: I have always loved history.

What drew you to the subject of Devil’s Ridge?
Devil’s Ridge is set during the 1st World War, and this is an era that fascinates me.

Did you encounter any obstacles in researching it?
No really, I was fortunate, as a child, to have been able listen to stories told to me by a couple of old great uncles who served in the 1st World War. I had access to diaries, and I also visited the World War 1 battlefields in France and Belgium.

What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?
A: The first novel I wrote was called The Broken Memory. It sat in my drawer for years then I got it out, worked on it some more. I submitted it to The Wild Rose Press and it is published now under the title Shattered Dreams. It is also set against the background of World War 1.

6. How many rejections have you received?
A: Stacks of them, I could just about paper the wall of my study with them.

7. What was the best writing advice someone gave you?
A: Never give up on your dream.

8. If you have a day job, what is it?
A: I am a medical audio typist (transcriptionist), in the field of Radiology.

What’s your favorite quote?
A: It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.

What authors do you admire?
A: Romance writers are Ginger Simpson, Tricia McGill, Cate Masters and Cheryl Wright. Cheryl is also a great non-fiction writer.



Author Bio:

Margaret is an award winning multi-published Australian author. She loves delving into the pages of history as she carries out research for her historical romance novels, and prides herself on being historically correct. Many of her novels have been inspired by true events, with one being written around the hardships and triumphs of her pioneering ancestors in frontier Australia.

Margaret belongs to Romance Writers of Australia, Melbourne Romance Writers Group (MRWG) and EPIC.
In 2008 she won Author of the Year at AussieAuthors.com.
Her contemporary novel, Holly And The Millionaire went to No 12 on the Fictionwise Romance Best Sellers list.
Devil’s Ridge has just been announced as a winner in the Grab A Reader Contests at Writers and Readers of Distinctive Fiction.

Book Blurb:

DEVIL’S RIDGE
By the time Ross Calvert discovers Harry Martin is in fact Harriet Martin she has fallen in love with him. Realizing she has failed in her final effort to protect her shell-shocked brother, she puts a desperate proposition to Ross. Marry her and she will give him an heir.

Ross accepts. However, he is tormented by the betrayal of his former fiancée Virginia. On his honeymoon he meets her again and is still infatuated. With the army recalling him to the Western Front, he faces a terrible dilemma, taste Virginia’s passion before he heads to the trenches of France, or keep his marriage vows to Harry.


Hi Chris, thanks for inviting me to your blog. I enjoyed my visit.

Thank you Margaret and I wish you success with your latest release.

Guest Blogger - Sandy Lender

Fantasy author Sandy Lender is visiting my blog today on her virtual book tour for her new release Choices Meant for Kings. Please give Sandy a warm blog welcome!

Change Starts with a Girl
By Fantasy Author Sandy Lender
http://www.authorsandylender.com/books.htm

I saw an ad on some e-mail server system. The headline was “Change Starts with a Girl.” I didn’t look at the rest of the ad because I was in a hurry to move along doing other stuff (story of my life, right?), but that headline kinda stuck with me. I like it.

I like it in light of Onweald, the world I created for my fantasy series, and Chariss, the heroine who has to change things there. Change starts with a girl. I like it in light of the fact I’m a girl (albeit an older girl) who makes a difference in the lives of some cute little birds. I try to make a change in sea turtle conservation. I try to make a change for other authors who need some help promoting their work.

I like it because it’s good to encourage girls to think of things they can do to make positive changes in their environments, in their neighborhoods, in the world. You know, I’m not a crazed feminist who has stopped shaving her legs, but I have some pretty strong opinions about allowing women the opportunity to shine. My fantasy series is Girl Power Fantasy without a crazed feminist agenda because I believe it’s important to provide a good role model for readers—be they male or female readers.

So if change starts with a girl, what good, positive changes have you seen girls making in your neighborhoods and families lately?

“Some days, you just want the dragon to win.”

Blurb:

Chariss is in danger. Her geasa is hampered by the effects of a friend’s marriage. The dashing Nigel Taiman hides something from her, yet demands she stay at his family’s estate where he and her wizard guardian intend to keep her safe. But the sorcerer Lord Drake and Julette The Betrayer know she’s there, and their monstrous army marches that way.

When prophecies stack up to threaten an arrogant deity, Chariss must choose between the dragon that courts her and the ostracized kings of the Southlands for help. Evil stalks her at every turn and madness creeps over the goddess who guides her. Can an orphan-turned-Protector resist the dark side of her heritage? Or will she sacrifice all to keep her god-charge safe?

A Tense Little Excerpt From Choices Meant for Kings
By Fantasy Author Sandy Lender
http://www.authorsandylender.com
You won’t find this excerpt anywhere except Sandy’s current online book tour…

As the soldier stepped toward him, Nigel reached out his arm and caught him by the neck. He slammed the captain against the far wall. He pinned him there with his body, leaning against the man as if he could crush the wind from him with his presence.

He brought his face close to the soldier’s ear and spoke lowly, fiercely, so that no one could have overheard him. The menace and intent behind the words was as surprising to the captain as the words themselves.

“I asked you to accompany [Chariss] on this journey tomorrow because I have faith in your sword, and until this moment I trusted you to keep your distance from her. Now, I find her down here at your side with a look upon your face that suggests more than you realize. So help me, Naegling, the only thing that stays my hand is how displeased she would be if she learned that I sliced you open.”

“The look you see is merely my concern for her honor. Nothing more.”

“I’m not a fool. And I’ll use every last piece of Arcana’s treasury to pay the prophets to justify my reasons for marrying that woman, so you can unconcern yourself with her honor.”

Hrazon stepped off the staircase then and saw Nigel pressed against his guard.

“I still believe you’re one of the best soldiers Arcana’s ever seen,” Nigel continued, “and I want you at her side for this journey, but, so help me, Naegling, she comes back alive and well and not confused in the least about her affections for me, or I will string you up from a tree in the orchard and attach your intestines to your horse’s saddle before I send it—”

Hrazon cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Is there an issue here I should address?”

Thank you Sandy for sharing your new book with us.

Go Girl Power!

ExcerpTuesday Holli Castillo

A great blog welcome to author Holli Castillo who is posting an excerpt from her book, Gumbo Justice. Sounds Yummy!

GUMBO JUSTICE EXCERPT
Ryan finally walked over and aimed the flashlight on the body–a naked black man, with close-cropped hair and a scabbed-over scar on his chest. His hands were bound together in front of him with white rope, and his face was severely bruised, half of his lip split, hanging nearly to his chin. But the tiny hole in his forehead was the fatal wound. When he died, his bowels and bladder had relaxed. A small puddle of urine had spread out underneath him, and the proximate odor of feces was unmistakable.
Ryan knelt by the body for a closer look, careful not to touch anything. She almost hadn’t recognized him. She definitely hadn’t recognized the flat, vacant look in his eyes. Ryan had never seen the man without a cocky expression or an ominous warning look on his face. But then, she had never seen him dead before. He certainly wasn’t giving her the evil eye now.

BIO-

I am an appellate public defender and former New Orleans prosecutor. I have been married for thirteen years, have two kids and one dog. I worked my way through law school as a child support collector and as a Can Can girl on Boubon Street while I earned my BA in Drama from UNO. Gumbo Justice is my first published novel, and is the first in the Crescent City Mystery Series. I also write screenplays.

I've never been to New Orleans, but I've always had a fascination about it. Holli's excerpt make me want to go there.

Thanks for stopping by Holli!

Authorsday - Brian Moreland

A warm welcome to author Brian Moreland. He's my guest for Authorsday and I ask him the tough questions.

1. Describe your book.

Shadows in the Mist is a supernatural horror novel set during World War II. It is part suspense thriller, part war story. It starts off in present day, when war hero Jack Chambers asks his grandson to deliver a war diary to a general at a U.S. Army base in Germany. The diary reveals a secret burial ground of U.S. soldiers who went missing in action back in Germany sixty years ago. Also buried in the graveyard is a Nazi relic that Chambers doesn’t want to fall into the wrong hands. Most of the novel takes place in October, 1944, where we relive the nightmares Lt. Chambers and his platoon faced when they crossed into Germany on a top-secret mission with a rag-tag squad of O.S.S. soldiers. Lt. Chambers and his men soon discover that something evil in the foggy woods is slaughtering both German and Allied soldiers. As the platoon is being stalked, they take refuge in an abandoned church and discover a Nazi bunker where the horror was unleashed. The thriller is based on the Nazis’ true fascination with the Occult. In 2007, Shadows in the Mist won a gold medal for Best Horror Novel in an international contest.

2. When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I started dreaming about being a writer when I was in high school. I loved books. I remember going to the paperback racks at the grocery store and just staring at all the book covers. The artwork inspired me to imagine the stories inside each book. I saw books as parallel worlds you can travel into, escape from every day reality. In high school I wanted to be the next Stephen King. I attempted my first novel, writing by hand on a yellow tablet. My wrist got tired, so I quit after about five pages. My freshman year in college I learned to type on Microsoft Word and that made writing much easier for me. At age 19, I wrote my first full-length horror novel and the feeling of accomplishment was such a rush. It was like this story just poured out of my soul. I had so fun just letting my imagination run wild and making up this imaginary world. I created a group of characters who were like real people to me, living in an alternate universe. After writing all semester and completing my first novel, I was hooked. A novelist was born. I changed majors from business finance to creative writing and screenwriting. From that day on I was determined to make a living writing and publishing novels.


3. How long have you been writing?

Going on twenty years now. Hard to believe. Before Shadows in the Mist, I wrote three other novels that never published and a number of short stories. I also ghost wrote a health book for a doctor and edited a few non-fiction books for other authors that did publish. Editing helped me learn how to structure a book and think like an editor.



4. How did you pick the genre you write in?

Even though I write mostly supernatural horror and suspense, I love writing cross-genre novels that include mystery, romance, and history, as well. My first novel, Shadows in the Mist, which is set during World War II, is very much a war novel interwoven with a supernatural mystery based on the Nazis and the Occult. There are scary moments, as well as an adventure story about an infantry platoon leader and his platoon who have to cross enemy lines to fulfill a top-secret mission. I also included espionage and conspiracy theory to drive the plot, so it’s very complex. I’m a big fan of Dean Koontz who is a master at mixing genres and giving his readers a multidimensional book. That’s my aim, as well. While my publisher categorizes my novel as horror, the story encompasses much more than just your typical horror novel. I’ve been surprised by how many readers who don’t read horror have told me how much they enjoyed the book. I think of Shadows in the Mist as more of an adventure novel with a supernatural mystery and lots of suspense, and hopefully a wider audience that includes men and women can enjoy the book.

5. Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

I do a little of both. I originally started out writing the entire first draft organically. I just started with a sense about where I want the story to go and ran with it. I never knew what was going to happen until I threw my characters into a scene. That way the story unfolded for me and the reader at the same time. I’d write purely from the heart. My characters took on a life of their own and led the story into all kinds of wild directions. But I kept having plot problems with this “organic” method and it was taking me literally a year to two years to sort out all the places my story got off track. On my latest novel, I developed a new technique. I still write the first 100 pages organically. This helps me discover my characters and the story. The difference is now when I get stuck, I switch to writing the synopsis, outlining the book scene by scene. Each paragraph of the synopsis represents a scene. This helps me see the bigger picture. I can plot the book more efficiently and save myself from writing a lot of unnecessary chapters. Then I just alternate back and forth between my manuscript and synopsis. I flesh out the scenes that I’ve plotted, then read the synopsis to see if the story is heading in the direction I want it to. I can also gage the pace this way. Since I write thrillers, I want my stories to move at break-neck speed. I move a lot of scenes around, trying out different scenarios to see which sequence of scenes works best. This method of alternating between writing the manuscript and writing the synopsis has saved me months of writing time.

6. What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

In college I wrote a 120-page horror novel called The Degba Dynasty. After a couple drafts I submitted it to a literary agent. He rejected it, saying it was too short and I needed to improve my craft. But he told me he liked the story and my writer’s voice and to keep writing. I wrote and revised this novel several times until it was over 400 pages long. I resubmitted it to a list of agents over a span of two years, and received rejections from every one of them. I finally shelved the book, deciding it had served me to learn the process of writing a novel. Then I started to write the next novel. I believed eventually I’d write the one that got published.

7. What was the best writing advice someone gave you?


I had the privilege of meeting three bestselling authors who gave me some great advice. Robert Crais told me, “Never give up.” James Rollins told me, “Aim to write three pages a day.” And when I was struggling with Shadows in the Mist, John Saul told me in a very blunt tone, “Just finish the damn book!” Those became my dominant voices that continue to push me forward.

8. Who is your greatest cheerleader?

That would be my mom. All my life she has been an avid reader and turned me on to books. She loves horror and anything supernatural. When I wrote my first novel in college, she got all excited and read it right away. She loved my book and encouraged me to keep writing. That was important to me back then, because I was insecure about my writing and not sure if it was worth all the time I spent alone at my computer. When I first published, Mom spread the word to everyone she know and probably sold a couple hundred copies all on her own. She knows books and I value her opinion. As I’ve been writing my next novel, I send her chapters and ask her opinion. She’s not only my cheerleader, she’s become my sounding board, as well.

9. You offer services to writers. What kinds of coaching do you provide?

I offer one-on-one coaching by phone to all writers looking to be more successful. My coaching is very customized to fit the writer. Every writer is at a different stage. Some need motivation to finish a manuscript. Others need to advice on how they should go about getting their book published. Authors who already have a book published may need a sounding board on how to better market their books. My specialty is helping writers get clarity on their goals, identify and remove obstacles, and feel motivated to take action. As writers, we can get caught up in life’s distractions and our writing gets put on hold. I find that having a coach helps writers stay on track and accomplish their goals faster. I also offer consulting about the business of publishing. Before I landed a literary agent and mass paperback deal with Berkley/Penguin, I originally self-published Shadows in the Mist. To writers looking to publish, I offer the experience of self-publishing and working with a traditional publisher based out of New York. Anyone interested in coaching can reach me at Brian@BrianMoreland.com. I also write an advice blog, “Coaching for Writers.” http://www.coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/

10. What will your next book be about?

My next novel, Dead of Winter, is nearly complete. I’ve been writing and doing research on it for two and a half years. It is also a historical horror novel, this time set in Ontario, Canada in 1870. It’s the middle of winter and a remote fur-trading fort is isolated by a series of blizzards. There is something evil in the storm that is stalking the fort villagers and spreading a vicious disease that turns people into cannibals. The novel is based on a Native Canadian legend and an event that really happened to a fort in Quebec. My main character is a British detective from Montreal who teams up with a French priest who is also an exorcist. Both men have past connections with the evil that’s behind all the killings. The epic mystery is very complex with numerous characters and subplots. There are plenty of twists and turns and white-knuckle moments. My goal is to have it in print by late 2010 or 2011.


Author Bio:

Brian Moreland is a writer and success coach to writers living in Dallas, Texas. In addition to novel writing, Brian writes two blogs: “Coaching for Writers” and “Adventures in Writing.” He also works as a video editor and producer. He wrote, produced, and edited a WWII documentary about his grandfather, Return to Normandy. Brian originally self-published Shadows in the Mist and then sold it to Berkley-Penguin/Putnam for a mass paperback deal. Brian is a world traveler and frequently visits Hawaii and Costa Rica.
Official Website: http://www.brianmoreland.com/
Email: Brian@BrianMoreland.com
Coaching for Writers blog: http://www.coachingforwriters.blogspot.com/
Adventures in Writing blog: http://www.brianmoreland.blogspot.com/


Book Blurb:

Some bones won’t stay buried …

World War II hero Jack Chambers has kept a dark secret buried for more than sixty years. A secret he never told the Army. Never told his wife. A secret so bizarre, so potentially dangerous if fallen into the wrong hands, that Chambers made a pact to take the secret to his grave. But a brush with death convinces Chambers he must dig up the truth. Contacting his one ally inside the Army, Jack Chambers reveals a dark confession: “This is the untold story. The real reason my entire platoon vanished in October, 1944.”

Thank you for stopping by Brian. I wish you all the success.

cmr

ExcerpTuesday Martha Cheves

Today Martha Cheves shares an excerpt from her latest cook book.

Most women have a thing about cookbooks. We own tons of them but how many do we actually use? Hardly any. Reason being that most of the recipes are either too complex with too expensive ingredients resulting in dishes way too fancy for average families. Thus began my search for an entertaining easy-to-use book of recipes to feed any family on any budget.. a book that would really be used instead of relegated to the back of the bookshelf. I quickly discovered that if such a book were to be found, I'd have to write it. And I did!Along the way, I sprinkled cooking stories from my childhood and life experience, plus tips and advice that we baby boomers got from our mothers and grandmothers before finding outselves way too busy to pass on to our own offspring. In Stir, Laugh, Repeat I'm willing to bet that there's a daughter, grandchild, "in need" in-law, co-worker, neighbor or friend who'd enjoy my roundup of recipes, how-tos and hilarity.Excerpt from Stir, Laugh, RepeatStory that goes with my recipe for Biscuits (page 101)

The first time I tried to make biscuits I was only around six or seven years old. See, I've always loved to cook. My mother used to make biscuits the old way. She kept a wooden bowl in the cabinet with her flour in it. When she started to make her biscuits she would add more flour, salt, baking powder, and her lard. She would run her hand around and make a hole in the center and start mixing her lard into the flour and pour her milk in. I really wanted to make biscuits too. So she let me. There were only three of us kids at that time. Me and my two brothers, one eight years older than me and the other one and a half years younger. My two brothers got into a fuss that night at the dinner table. My oldest brother picked up one of my biscuits and threw it at my little brother and hit him in the eye. He ended up with a black eye. I didn't make biscuits again until I was grown and decided to try again. I've tried several ways to make them light, fluffy and still have the taste of the buttermilk and this is the one I ended up sticking with to get what I wanted.

Thank you Martha Cheves for stopping by today.

cmr

Guest Blogger CL Talmadge

Today CL Talmadge is a guest on my blog to tell us why you will like her book even if you don't normally read fantasy. I think she has some valid arguments or ideas.

Let's see what CL has to say.

Why might this speculative epic be interesting to readers who are not usually attracted to genre fiction?
First, it's a unique, compelling tale of timeless themes: conflict and reconciliation between parent and child, between women and men, between different races, and between human beings and God.
Second, and very relevant to current headlines, it explores the demise of a theocracy. Over four generations of strong female protagonists, the series recounts how and why a country destroys itself and brings about global devastation by practicing racial, sexual, and religious bigotry and by emphasizing militaristic, might-makes-right policies over respectful cooperation with its neighbors and its opponents.
The heroines and their mysterious green gem attempt to offer a healing, inclusive alternative to a government that persecutes those who do not look like or share the religious beliefs of its top leaders.
While I am not writing allegory, the situation of this fictional theocracy, called, Azgard, is certainly applicable to the world today. The politically influential religious right is campaigning to remake the United States into a "Christian nation" while religious zealots have worked their way deep into the ranks of the U.S. military. Abroad, many who oppose the United States shroud their political aspirations in religious terms.
Yet even as the religious extremes on all sides harden their rhetoric and their positions, most Americans and many others hunger deeply for spirituality over religiosity, for inclusion over division, for community over isolation, for resolution over strife, for true healing over just addressing symptoms of disease, for unconditional love over judgment.
These powerful themes loom large throughout the Green Stone of Healing® series and they are front-and-center in our nation while what used to be called the war on terror still pervades and corrodes every aspect of life in the United States.
The preceding isn't my observation alone. Leonard Steinhorn, associate professor of communication at American University, has explored in depth the results of multiple U.S. public opinion polls about social issues and reached similar conclusions. Despite all the right-leaning hype, Steinhorn writes in his own book, The Greater Generation, polls consistently show that the new "silent majority" of this country holds what religious conservatives decry as "liberal" values of inclusion, tolerance, and civil rights for women and even traditionally despised minorities like homosexuals.
This new majority outlook has to be one of the factors in the "surprise" success of nonfiction like God Without Religion. This self-published bestseller speaks directly to those who hunger for spirituality and spiritual expression without all the trappings of religiosity.

What is the difference between religiosity and spirituality?
I would define religiosity as public displays of man-made dogmas, creeds, rules, judgments, and other constraints on freedom of thought, belief, and action. Too often those who exhibit the most fervent religiosity try to impose their dogmas on others while ignoring or circumventing those dogmas' rules of behavior in their own conduct. I can think of numerous politicians and other public figures trumpeting so-called moral values and then have been revealed to be less than pristine.
Spirituality, on the other hand, is the God-made essence of who we are as created souls. We are spiritual beings even if we don't believe in God. We absolutely have that right not to believe. As created souls, we also have an absolute right to free will that is truly free, and yearn always for freedom that is not limited by dogmas or creeds.
The Green Stone of Healing® series explores in depth the profound differences between religiosity and spirituality. As I got further into writing the series, I realized the two races, Toltec and Turanian, symbolize the former and the latter respectively. I find it fascinating that just like today's world, in Azgard religiosity is dominant and prominent while spirituality is repressed and demeaned. That says something tragic about the state of our world.

Speaking of races, what does a white woman know about racism or being bi-racial? Why is that such a major issue?
Not a thing from personal experience in this lifetime. I have been merely a witness to the race issues of my time.
I grew up during the 1960s. I recall the civil rights struggles in the South (and elsewhere), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech in Washington, and the passionate controversies surrounding passage of landmark civil rights legislation. The question of relations between the races riveted me as a child and it still does today.
Why is that? I didn't get it from my upbringing. Although well informed, my parents were not political activists. One was Republican and the other Democrat. They made their opinions known through the ballot box, not the protest march. Yet the subject of race relations and the experience of African-Americans and other minorities in this country felt very personal to me for as long as I can remember.
Only after I grew up, and became involved with a method of past-life resolution called Sunan therapy, did I become consciously aware of my multiple lifetimes as a racially mixed person. Then my quietly intense interest in and feelings about the topic made perfect sense to me.

You say that this series is based on your own and others' past lives. Isn't that a little far-fetched? Who would believe such a claim?
According to The Harris Poll®, 21 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 and older believe in reincarnation. Since only 52 percent of U.S. adults voted in the 2004 election, that result means that there are nearly twice as many adults in this country who believe in reincarnation than there are so-called values voters identified in the 2004 presidential election exit polls. Yet there was never any hue and cry about how this "past-life constituency" has changed our political landscape and should affect the policies and behavior of the major political parties.
Reincarnation is a major tenet of several Eastern religions and has never been far from mainstream of Western thought. The disciples demanded that Jesus tell them if he was the reincarnation of an earlier Biblical prophet. The early Christian church espoused reincarnation until that belief was quashed for reasons that were as much political as theological. Many of the founders of this country believed in reincarnation.
Like the existence of God, it's impossible to prove past lives, although there has been eye-popping research done in Australia on the topic. I was always open to the possibility of reincarnation since I was a tiny child. I have come to be certain about it as a result of my own healing experiences.

Healing is perhaps the paramount theme of the series. What do you mean by healing?
To borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between healing and just addressing symptoms is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.
When true healing occurs, the pain goes away, and I'm not referring solely to physical pain. I'm including mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as well. The whole self is not just a body, or even a body-mind. The whole self is a physical body, a mental body, an emotional body, and a spiritual body.
In other words, the whole self has four parts, even if science talks about two (body-mind) and religion maybe three (body, mind, and spirit). All parts of self have to be addressed in ways each part can accept in order for all of self to heal.
Physical disease is the final stage of problems that originate in the mind, heart, and soul. Until we find ways to address all parts of self, medicine will become ever more high-tech and so costly it will not be affordable to any but the wealthiest. I’m not against medical technology; I certainly think stem cell research should have far more federal funding than it receives right now. But until we acknowledge that medical technology cannot solve every disease issue and start paying much more attention to low-tech alternative approaches, we will not get the healing we are longing for so desperately.
What the world needs now is even greater than love. It needs healing, a special kind of love applied to wounds and ills great and small.

Special kind of love? Explain that further.
Healing love is unconditional love. Unconditional love is unlimited love because it is not constricted by any kind of conditions, judgments, standards, or expectations. Once you impose any of those on love, it devolves away from being unconditional.
Unconditional love is the love of God that is God. I am not trying to sound Zen or obscure here. Grace is a Western word for it that might seem more familiar to some people. Energy is a scientific term that is equally accurate, provided you define energy correctly and not in the limited way that science defines it.
I have experienced the healing of unconditional love-energy at all levels of my being, and know how powerfully life-changing it can be. Yet for all its power, unconditional love-energy cannot force itself on anyone because as created souls, each of us possesses free will, which gives us the right to reject unconditional love-energy.
We usually don't know consciously that we are rejecting this love-energy and would deny it if asked. Who wouldn't want to be loved unconditionally? Conditional love, however, is the love that most people give and receive on earth, with enormously painful consequences.
The heroines and other characters in the Green Stone of Healing® series struggle with the effects of conditional self-love while searching for self-acceptance and inner peace. In that they are no different from the rest of us. For example, Helen Andros, the first-generation heroine, just wants to be loved and accepted for who she is. Her problem is allowing other people to define her as somehow "less than" and "unworthy."
Like Helen, most of us look for love in all the wrong places. Through the generations, the series explores where and how to find unconditional love and acceptance, both human and Divine.

Here's what the book is about.

The series features four generations of strong-willed female characters who inherit a mysterious green gem ultimately revealed to mend broken bones and broken hearts, protect against missiles, and render its wearers undetectable.
For more information about each book, please visit http://www.greenstoneofhealing.com/

Thank you to CL Talmadge for visiting today. I hope you have found a new author to read.

cmr

What's coming up.

A heartfelt thanks to Sue William Silverman for visiting my blog yesterday.
Next week I have CL Talmadge on Monday to talk about her Green Stone of Healing epic series.

The Green Stone of Healing® fictional epic explores what happens when politics and piety collide in an island nation called Azgard.
Theocrats plot to impose total control over Azgard but end up destroying their country and much of the rest of the world. The series portrays four generations of strong-willed heroines who use their mysterious gem to offer a healing, inclusive alternative to the hate-filled bigotry of religious tyrants. Books One through Three are released, with the release of Book Four to be announced.

Martha Cheves shares a piece of her story during ExcerpTuesday and Brian Moreland answers my questions for Authorsday.
Hope to see you next week.

Authorsday - Sue William Silverman

A warm blog welcome to author Sue William Silverman. She lets me shine the lamp on her and find out her innermost secrets. Okay, I'm no Bob Woodward. More like Larry King in my interview style here. Let's get to the interview.

You can buy her book here.

How did you pick the genre you write in?

Actually, I began as a fiction writer. Scared to reveal my true story, I kept trying to tell it in a fictional voice. All my unpublished novels are, on some level, about incest or sexual addiction.

But the novels didn’t work. For me, to fictionalize my story (trying to tell the truth—but not), made the voice sound emotionally inauthentic. After about ten or so years of this, I finally, at the urging of my therapist, switched to memoir, or creative nonfiction.


What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew?

That writing is more important than publishing.

Initially, I just assumed that publishing a book would solve all of my problems…in all areas of my life! What was I thinking?!

What I came to understand, however, is that it’s in the writing itself where the real spirituality of artistic endeavor resides. Only when writing do I feel centered and engaged. The publishing is nice, of course, but writing is ultimately more fulfilling.


How many rejections have you received?

Hundreds! I long ago lost count. I still get rejected. But that’s part of the process, especially given how subjective art is. For example, I’ve had an essay rejected in one journal that later won a contest in another!

Oh, I remember one short story that was rejected by a gazillion journals—some so low-budget they basically stapled the pages together. Ultimately, the story was published by a magazine that actually paid me $100—the first money I ever earned as a writer.



What was the best writing advice someone gave you?

That voice is everything. Let’s say you have kind of a shaky plot—or anything like that—still, if the voice of the piece engages me, then I’ll keep reading. I’ll go almost anywhere with an author if her voice is urgent, compelling, inviting.


Why did you pick the publisher that ultimately published your book?

My first book, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, won the Association of Writers and Writing Programs award in creative nonfiction, and part of the prize was publication with the University of Georgia Press! So, in a sense, they chose me, which was very nice!

But I initially chose to enter that particular literary contest because it’s one that has a good reputation. From the outset, I wanted my memoir to be considered literature.



Tell me one thing about yourself that very few people know?

I downloaded all of Adam Lambert’s songs from “American Idol.” See, I must be a creative nonfiction writer: I don’t know how to keep secrets.

Describe your book.

Fearless Confessions is really a memoir about writing memoir. Rather than write an academic textbook (which would have put me to sleep during the writing of it—and you to sleep during the reading of it!), I invite the reader along on my own writing journey.

I teach by example: this is what I struggled with as a writer; this is what I ultimately learned; let me share it with you.

So while I address important craft issues such as theme, plot, character development, metaphor, etc., the voice, itself, of Fearless Confessions is intimate and friendly, not dry or academic. I wanted the book to be informal and inviting. In this way, then, it could be called a memoir about what I learned through the writing and publishing of two memoirs.

I should add that there are also sections on publishing, as well as the more emotional concerns of writing memoir, such as the struggle to reveal family secrets, what truth in memoir means—issues such as those.
What authors do you admire?

My favorite contemporary poet is Lynda Hull. Unfortunately, she died very young. But you might want to check out her collected poems. They are stunning.

What is your favorite word?

“Paraselene.” It means a mock moon, or that bright luminous ring you sometimes see surrounding the moon. I wrote a poem called “Paraselene Blue.” If you’d like to read it, it’s here: http://tinyurl.com/lfbosx.

What would you like to learn to do that you haven’t?

I’d really like to learn how to write a non-autobiographical novel! Maybe one of these days!

Author Bio:

Sue William Silverman’s new book is Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir http://tinyurl.com/d2wmuo . She is a faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and associate editor of the journal Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. Her first book, Because I Remember Terror, Father, I Remember You, received the AWP Award in Creative Nonfiction. She is also the author of Love Sick: One Woman's Journey Through Sexual Addiction (made into a Lifetime TV movie) and Hieroglyphics in Neon, a poetry collection. She has appeared on such TV shows as The View and Anderson Cooper-360. Please visit http://www.suewilliamsilverman.com/ .

Book Blurb:

"Fearless Confessions is such a dynamic guide to memoir writing it has inspired me to completely refine and retool the memoir I’m working on. Sue William Silverman, a faculty advisor at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, is an amazing master of the language. Her prose is as enjoyable as it is instructive. This should be an essential textbook of any creative writing course. She gives examples of memoir pieces and analyzes each one, showing how they work, why they’re powerful, and even why some fail to impress.” From 15-Minutes Magazine

ExcerpTuesday - Morgan St. James

Welcome to Morgan St. James and Phyllice Bradner who are here with an excerpt from thier book Seven Deadly Samovars.

SEVEN DEADLY SAMOVARS BLURB:

Hold onto your hat. SEVEN DEADLY SAMOVARS, the second Silver Sisters comical crime caper, is now available on CD and MP3 download from Books in Motion, and the paperback, e-book and Kindle will be released in mid-September by L&L Dreamspell.
This series features silver-haired Mae West lookalike twins Goldie Silver, an over-the-hill flower child who owns an antique shop in Juneau, Alaska and Godiva Olivia DuBois, a wealthy manipulative, wisecracking widow who writes the advice column "Ask G.O.D.' (her initials). The zany pair is joined by their eighty-year-old mother and uncle, former vaudeville magicians who love to dress in disguises and "go undercover." When Goldie receives the wrong shipment of antique samovars at her Silver Spoon Antique Shoppe in Juneau from Vladivostok, Russia, the fancy teapots sell quickly, but murder and mayhem follow. What makes them worth killing for? The main villains are the bumbling, but brutal, Dumkovsky brothers. However, many surprises are in store. Get ready for a good belly laugh, and lots of twists, turns and backfires until the twins and the elder-sleuths figure out whodunit.

SEVEN DEADLY SAMOVARS – EXCERPT FROM CHAPTER TWO

Godiva sighed. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I guess it
will be a relief to get away from all the crime in L.A. and spend
a few days in sleepy little Juneau. Caesar would probably enjoy
it.”
“Um, Godiva, things aren’t quite as safe and sleepy as you
think. You won’t believe what happened yesterday. A young priest
was murdered, right there in the Russian Orthodox Church!”
“Murdered?”
“Yep. Belle was the first to bring us the news.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Well, now it’s all over the front page of the Juneau Fish Wrapper
and the TV crews from KJNO and AlaskaOne invaded the
church and sent old Father Innocent into a tizzy. Took three of the
worshipers and his helper, Rimsky, to get him calmed down.”
“Sounds like you’re all wound-up, too. How did you get so
busy that you forgot Mom’s banquet?”

I have a nephew who lives in Alaska so this sounds pretty neat to me. Best of luck with this Morgan and Phyllice!

cmr

Kreativ Blogger Award

Long time and dear online (and offline if we lived closer) friend Ginger Simpson nominated me for the Kreativ Blog Award. You can see it over on the sidebar.
But as with anything there are rules.
I just think of 7 things I like, 7 activities I enjoy and 7 things no one knows about me.
I also have to give this award to some other folks.
Here goes:

Pizza, scent of honeysuckle, the sound of horses snuffling at the farm down the road, the giggle of a toddler, my husband's voice when he's half asleep, guitar heavy rock music. a clean house when I haven't had to lift a finger.

Chatting with my kids in the car (I have boys and it's easier to talk to them when you aren't facing them), hiking, doing yard work with my husband, hanging with groups of people, writing when the story is fresh and new, playing board games, playing video games.

This one's tougher
In college I interviewed to drive the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile
When I was a toddler, people would stop my mother on the streets of Philly and ask her if I was a model.
I was born with red hair.
I'm afraid of heights, but I only developed that as an adult.
I have a lazy eye, but it only acts up when I don't have any vision correction.
In high school I wanted to be Pat Benatar.
When I was younger my eyes changed color based on what color shirt I was wearing. If it was white one eye would be green and one blue.

Whew
Now onto people I'm tagging.
Caridad Pineiro
Irene Peterson
Michael A. Ventrella
Jon Gibbs
Morgan Mandel
Jenn Nixon
Kiersten Hallie Krum

As Ginger said before me, it's been nice being friends with you guys.
cmr

Authorsday - Michael A. Ventrella

Say Hello to Michael A. Ventrella. I had the opportunity to sit near Michael at a writer's meeting in July. He answered my call when I asked for guest bloggers to be interviewed. To learn more about Michael visit his website.

How did you pick the genre you write in?

I love high fantasy – magic and monsters and adventure. I wanted to write a book that I would like to read.

Years ago, I created one of the earliest live action role-playing games in America, now known as The Alliance (www.AllianceLARP.com, with chapters all over the place). The world in which the game takes place has been developed for over 15 years, and I didn’t therefore have to start from scratch.

However, I pretty much threw most of the rules out the window when writing my novels; what works in a game is terrible for fiction and vice versa. People who have read the book have no idea it is based on a game, and that’s exactly what I want.


Do you plot or do you write by the seat of your pants?

Everything is definitely plotted out in detail. I can’t imagine making it up as I go along.

In ARCH ENEMIES the main character Terin is thrown into the adventure when people are convinced that he is the one named in an unclear prophecy. In the soon-to-be-published THE AXES OF EVIL, there are three separate prophecies that contradict each other. Of course, by the end of each book, he has discovered a way to make them all come true.

That would be impossible without outlining it in detail. As with any mystery, you have to know before you begin writing what the truth is, and then you have to make sure all the hints are artfully placed so that by the end, all the pieces of the puzzle are on the table just waiting to be matched.



What was the name of the first novel you wrote? Did you try to publish it?

ARCH ENEMIES was the first novel I ever wrote, although I’ve been writing for years – just not fiction.

In the 1980s I tried sending some short stories to magazines but they were rejected and in retrospect they weren’t very well written (even though the ideas were fine; I may try rewriting them some day). I’m sure if I had tried writing a novel in the 80s it would have been rejected as well.

Writing, like any other skill, requires practice. Those writers who have their first novels published when they are young usually have been writing since they were 12.


What do you know now that you are published that you didn’t know pre-published that you wish you knew?

Don’t be so anxious! I made the mistake of being so excited about my book that I sent it out to publishers after the first draft. As you may expect, I collected many rejection letters. Going back and re-reading it, I realized that I would have rejected it too. It needed a lot more work. It wasn’t until I felt it was really ready that I resubmitted it, and this time it was accepted and published.


If you could ask your readers one question, what would it be?

Are you now or have you ever been a member of the communist party?

Oh, sorry. Seriously, I like to ask my readers what they liked best and worst about the book. It’s interesting to see how their answers differ. Some like the characters and the way they interact with each other; some like the twists and turns and surprises in the plotlines; some like the humor. I always like to get feedback over what works and what doesn’t.


If you have a day job, what is it?

I’m a trial attorney in real life. I recall back in law school that one of my professors said “Words are your tools!” And she was right. I have been writing briefs and speeches to be made to juries for years, and my writing improved over time.

I also run one of the largest live action fantasy role-playing games in North America, called Alliance (www.AllianceLARP.com). My Rule Book and Players Guide are steady sellers.


Describe your book.

ARCH ENEMIES is a fast paced adventure in which, unlike many fantasy books, the hero does not become the world’s greatest fighter, defeating his enemy in an epic battle. Instead, his character evolves and matures and wins by figuring out the mysteries that surround him.

Now, don’t interpret that to mean there isn’t an epic and dangerous final climactic battle and confrontation which places him in terrible danger!

Although it is marketed as a Young Adult novel, it certainly is not childish in any way; in fact, based on the emails and reviews, I think more adults have read it and enjoyed it than teenagers.

Reviewers have commented on the surprising plot twist, the character development, and the humor. Excerpts from reviews can be found on my web page (www.michaelaventrella.com).

The sequel, THE AXES OF EVIL, is in the editing stages currently and is scheduled to be published in early 2010.


What do you consider your strengths in terms of your writing?

Well, two things: Interesting plots, with unexpected twists; and believable characters who act like real people would act when fantastic things happened to them.


What do you consider your weaknesses?

Laziness.

OK, not really. I run a law office and a nationwide live role-playing game, attend many science fiction conventions as a guest, participate in the Bar Association functions in the community, volunteer for political campaigns, play music, and otherwise always have a hundred projects going…

But writing is work. It really is. Coming up with the ideas and developing the outline is fun, but forcing yourself to sit at the computer and write isn’t that enjoyable.

Finishing it is tremendously enjoyable, but getting over that first hump of saying “All right, it’s time to sit down and write” is difficult for me.



What authors do you admire?

I like characters. Plot and action are exciting, but if the character hasn’t changed from the experience, what’s the point? My favorite writers tend to emphasize not just the story but the experience.

Then again, the skill of writing is also tremendously important. Ideas are meaningless if not well related. Some writers are so talented that they can keep you transfixed even though not much is happening plot-wise.

A quick list of some of my favorites would include Neil Gaiman, JK Rowling, Charles Dickens, and Orson Scott Card… I’ll stop there or else I’d be naming hundreds.



Book Blurb:

When a cowardly young bard is called before the Duke and told that he must perform a task because of an ancient prophecy involving a mysterious Arch, he is certain there has been a grave mistake. When the Duke’s own men later try to kill him and he is forced to go into hiding, he realizes that it may be his own grave that is in question.

“Arch Enemies” is an exciting adventure in the vein of the “Harry Potter” novels, as our young hero struggles to overcome his inexperience and limitations to figure out the meaning of the mysterious prophecy. His only friends along the way are two squires who are torn between obeying the orders of the knight they have sworn to follow and doing what they believe is right.

Guest Blogger - CL Talmadge

oday I welcome author CL Talmadge to my blog. She's running a contest so be sure to leave a comment to be entered. Here's her full tour schedule.

The Green Stone of Healing® fictional epic explores what happens when politics and piety collide in an island nation called Azgard.

Here's what CL. Talmadge had to say.

Why might this speculative epic be interesting to readers who are not usually attracted to genre fiction?
First, it's a unique, compelling tale of timeless themes: conflict and reconciliation between parent and child, between women and men, between different races, and between human beings and God.
Second, and very relevant to current headlines, it explores the demise of a theocracy. Over four generations of strong female protagonists, the series recounts how and why a country destroys itself and brings about global devastation by practicing racial, sexual, and religious bigotry and by emphasizing militaristic, might-makes-right policies over respectful cooperation with its neighbors and its opponents.
The heroines and their mysterious green gem attempt to offer a healing, inclusive alternative to a government that persecutes those who do not look like or share the religious beliefs of its top leaders.
While I am not writing allegory, the situation of this fictional theocracy, called, Azgard, is certainly applicable to the world today. The politically influential religious right is campaigning to remake the United States into a "Christian nation" while religious zealots have worked their way deep into the ranks of the U.S. military. Abroad, many who oppose the United States shroud their political aspirations in religious terms.
Yet even as the religious extremes on all sides harden their rhetoric and their positions, most Americans and many others hunger deeply for spirituality over religiosity, for inclusion over division, for community over isolation, for resolution over strife, for true healing over just addressing symptoms of disease, for unconditional love over judgment.
These powerful themes loom large throughout the Green Stone of Healing® series and they are front-and-center in our nation while what used to be called the war on terror still pervades and corrodes every aspect of life in the United States.
The preceding isn't my observation alone. Leonard Steinhorn, associate professor of communication at American University, has explored in depth the results of multiple U.S. public opinion polls about social issues and reached similar conclusions. Despite all the right-leaning hype, Steinhorn writes in his own book, The Greater Generation, polls consistently show that the new "silent majority" of this country holds what religious conservatives decry as "liberal" values of inclusion, tolerance, and civil rights for women and even traditionally despised minorities like homosexuals.
This new majority outlook has to be one of the factors in the "surprise" success of nonfiction like God Without Religion. This self-published bestseller speaks directly to those who hunger for spirituality and spiritual expression without all the trappings of religiosity.

What is the difference between religiosity and spirituality?
I would define religiosity as public displays of man-made dogmas, creeds, rules, judgments, and other constraints on freedom of thought, belief, and action. Too often those who exhibit the most fervent religiosity try to impose their dogmas on others while ignoring or circumventing those dogmas' rules of behavior in their own conduct. I can think of numerous politicians and other public figures trumpeting so-called moral values and then have been revealed to be less than pristine.
Spirituality, on the other hand, is the God-made essence of who we are as created souls. We are spiritual beings even if we don't believe in God. We absolutely have that right not to believe. As created souls, we also have an absolute right to free will that is truly free, and yearn always for freedom that is not limited by dogmas or creeds.
The Green Stone of Healing® series explores in depth the profound differences between religiosity and spirituality. As I got further into writing the series, I realized the two races, Toltec and Turanian, symbolize the former and the latter respectively. I find it fascinating that just like today's world, in Azgard religiosity is dominant and prominent while spirituality is repressed and demeaned. That says something tragic about the state of our world.

Speaking of races, what does a white woman know about racism or being bi-racial? Why is that such a major issue?
Not a thing from personal experience in this lifetime. I have been merely a witness to the race issues of my time.
I grew up during the 1960s. I recall the civil rights struggles in the South (and elsewhere), Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech in Washington, and the passionate controversies surrounding passage of landmark civil rights legislation. The question of relations between the races riveted me as a child and it still does today.
Why is that? I didn't get it from my upbringing. Although well informed, my parents were not political activists. One was Republican and the other Democrat. They made their opinions known through the ballot box, not the protest march. Yet the subject of race relations and the experience of African-Americans and other minorities in this country felt very personal to me for as long as I can remember.
Only after I grew up, and became involved with a method of past-life resolution called Sunan therapy, did I become consciously aware of my multiple lifetimes as a racially mixed person. Then my quietly intense interest in and feelings about the topic made perfect sense to me.

You say that this series is based on your own and others' past lives. Isn't that a little far-fetched? Who would believe such a claim?
According to The Harris Poll®, 21 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 and older believe in reincarnation. Since only 52 percent of U.S. adults voted in the 2004 election, that result means that there are nearly twice as many adults in this country who believe in reincarnation than there are so-called values voters identified in the 2004 presidential election exit polls. Yet there was never any hue and cry about how this "past-life constituency" has changed our political landscape and should affect the policies and behavior of the major political parties.
Reincarnation is a major tenet of several Eastern religions and has never been far from mainstream of Western thought. The disciples demanded that Jesus tell them if he was the reincarnation of an earlier Biblical prophet. The early Christian church espoused reincarnation until that belief was quashed for reasons that were as much political as theological. Many of the founders of this country believed in reincarnation.
Like the existence of God, it's impossible to prove past lives, although there has been eye-popping research done in Australia on the topic. I was always open to the possibility of reincarnation since I was a tiny child. I have come to be certain about it as a result of my own healing experiences.

Healing is perhaps the paramount theme of the series. What do you mean by healing?
To borrow from Mark Twain, the difference between healing and just addressing symptoms is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.
When true healing occurs, the pain goes away, and I'm not referring solely to physical pain. I'm including mental, emotional, and spiritual pain as well. The whole self is not just a body, or even a body-mind. The whole self is a physical body, a mental body, an emotional body, and a spiritual body.
In other words, the whole self has four parts, even if science talks about two (body-mind) and religion maybe three (body, mind, and spirit). All parts of self have to be addressed in ways each part can accept in order for all of self to heal.
Physical disease is the final stage of problems that originate in the mind, heart, and soul. Until we find ways to address all parts of self, medicine will become ever more high-tech and so costly it will not be affordable to any but the wealthiest. I’m not against medical technology; I certainly think stem cell research should have far more federal funding than it receives right now. But until we acknowledge that medical technology cannot solve every disease issue and start paying much more attention to low-tech alternative approaches, we will not get the healing we are longing for so desperately.
What the world needs now is even greater than love. It needs healing, a special kind of love applied to wounds and ills great and small.

Special kind of love? Explain that further.
Healing love is unconditional love. Unconditional love is unlimited love because it is not constricted by any kind of conditions, judgments, standards, or expectations. Once you impose any of those on love, it devolves away from being unconditional.
Unconditional love is the love of God that is God. I am not trying to sound Zen or obscure here. Grace is a Western word for it that might seem more familiar to some people. Energy is a scientific term that is equally accurate, provided you define energy correctly and not in the limited way that science defines it.
I have experienced the healing of unconditional love-energy at all levels of my being, and know how powerfully life-changing it can be. Yet for all its power, unconditional love-energy cannot force itself on anyone because as created souls, each of us possesses free will, which gives us the right to reject unconditional love-energy.
We usually don't know consciously that we are rejecting this love-energy and would deny it if asked. Who wouldn't want to be loved unconditionally? Conditional love, however, is the love that most people give and receive on earth, with enormously painful consequences.
The heroines and other characters in the Green Stone of Healing® series struggle with the effects of conditional self-love while searching for self-acceptance and inner peace. In that they are no different from the rest of us. For example, Helen Andros, the first-generation heroine, just wants to be loved and accepted for who she is. Her problem is allowing other people to define her as somehow "less than" and "unworthy."
Like Helen, most of us look for love in all the wrong places. Through the generations, the series explores where and how to find unconditional love and acceptance, both human and Divine.