Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Guest Post with author Viji K. Chary

More Than Action

by Viji K. Chary

When I was in middle school, I used to read the same books over and over again. Most were below my reading level. At that time, I was not interesting in reading middle-school books. I found them lacking in excitement - too many books with long descriptive passages, undecipherable characters and not enough action.

So, when my sixth grade teacher, Ms. Kahn assigned the class to write a story, the first thing I put in was action. Looking back, that was the only good writing trait in that story!

I wrote about a main character who swam a race across a lake with her friend. Soon after the race began, ‘something’ pulled on her foot. Scared, she climbed out of the lake and ran to the other side.

Review - Usagi Yojimbo: Volume 26 - Traitors of the Earth

Billy Burgess book review , comic book review

The Usagi Yojimbo comic book series was created by Stan Sakai back in 1987. I recall the rabbit samurai appearing a few times in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, so when I saw Volume 26 was available to review on NetGalley, I was eager to review it.

Set during the early 17th century in Japan, the human characters are replaced by animals. Usagi is heavily influenced by the Japanese cinema and is partially based on the famous swordsman Miyamoto Musashi.

Guest Post with author Robert B. Lowe

Billy Burgess guest post ,

WHAT INSPIRED THE PLOT OF PROJECT MOSES?

by Robert B. Lowe

There are a few elements to the plot. There is the grand conspiracy that the main characters discover and must reveal before the rogue agents and corporate masterminds can find and kill the heroes. And, there also is the dynamic of how everything occurs. How the pieces of the grand conspiracy come to light. And, how the main characters uncover the plot and launch their counterattack of sorts against the bad guys.

Journalism.

I’ve made a couple of career changes but my first was as a journalist out of college. I spent 12 years working on newspapers in Arizona and Florida. During most of those years, my job was to work on investigative stories. Sometimes this was based on tips that came in, information that beat reporters had turned up, or simply something in the news that just didn’t look right and deserved more scrutiny.

When it came to deciding on the main character for Project Moses, it was natural to make him – Enzo Lee – a reporter. Like a cop or a lawyer, a journalist is a handy protagonist since he or she always is looking into something new and interesting. Whether it’s a crime or just a light feature, reporters are out there gathering information and in a position to stumble upon something that can drive a mystery-thriller – horrendous crime, massive conspiracy, some truly bad guys, etc.

Review - Skip Rock Shallows

Billy Burgess books , fiction

Skip Rock Shallows
AUTHOR: Jan Watson
PUBLISHED BY: Tyndale Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-4143-3914-6
RELEASED DATE: May 18 2012
PAGES: 400

Fresh out of medical school Lilly Gray Corbett takes an internship in the coal camp of Skip Rock, Kentucky, but not long after she arrives, the town’s doctor dies leaving her as the town’s only physician. The men in the town aren’t ready for a woman doctor and are never respectable to her, treating her as second-class. Skip Rock is a coal town so accidents and injures occur constantly, challenging Lilly everyday.

Her finance Paul is also a doctor, but is in Boston, where she had planned to meet him after her internship is over and begin her life as a doctor’s wife. As she becomes closer to the people of Skip Rock, she debates whether or not she should leave or stay. To make matters worse is that she starts to have feelings for a coal miner named Tern Still.

The Friday 56 - Survivors

Billy Burgess The Friday 56 ,

Rules:

Grab a book, any book.

Turn to page 56.

Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs you.

Post it.

Add your (url) post below in the Linky at http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/.

True Blood, Dallas, The Perry Files, Books, and Hops

Billy Burgess book blogger hop , thursday ramblings

With the internet on and off (mostly off) this week, I have fallen behind on a few reviews, in which I hope to catch up with in the next few days. I did break my dreaded insomnia a few days ago, but now I am catching a cold. Last weekend I saw Dark Shadows at my local theater, which I thought was better than what I was expecting. You can read my review here on it.

Anybody watch True Blood? I liked it, but I could have done without the vampire incest and the Tara turning into a vampire. Tara is the worst character on the series, completely different from the books, and I wish they would just kill her off.

I actually watched TNT's Dallas last night. I recall my grandparents watching the series, so I was not completely clueless about the show. I thought it was alright, and fits in with being a sequel than a reboot.

Guest Post & Giveaway with author Priya Arids

Billy Burgess guest post ,

Locations, Locations, Locations
(of My Merlin)

The setting makes the story. One of the cool things about writing an epic story that is set in today’s world is the opportunity to include all the wonderful places that surround us. You’ve probably seen them on TV and may have been lucky to visit some. As the world becomes increasingly virtual, I found I was starting to forget what actually walking in these various places felt like.

So in My Merlin you have a chance to step into Ryan’s shoes and explore them with her. Here are a few that I have a connection to which make up a big piece of the My Merlin story.

Concord, Massachusetts – The birthplace of the American Revolution. “The shot heard around the world.” Why does My Merlin start off here? I thought it fitting that if the world should be turned-upside, the origins should be here. Concord (a town just outside Boston) has a wonderful flavor of American history and its rebellious spirit. One of the places I toured years ago was the House of Seven Gables. I always wanted an excuse to put this truly haunted house into a story. In Book 2, My Merlin Awakening, I got the chance.