Now available is the historical romance Wellington Beaus, book five in the Wellington Cross series, by Cheryl R. Lane.




When did you become interested in storytelling?

Probably when I was a little girl. I used to listen to my favorite aunt tell endless stories about things that happened to her. She’s the one who should write books; she’d be a best-seller. I started writing for fun after high school one summer when I took my manual typewriter outside to our picnic table under the trees and wrote a Civil War love story.

What was your first book/story published?

The first book I published was Wellington Cross, the first book in my historical romance series. I self-published this book after many rejections from literary agents and after revamping the book probably four times till I finally got it the way I wanted it. One of those literary agents did give me some good advice about the beginning of the book, developing a character more, and I took that advice and she was right; it made the story better.

What inspired you to write Wellington Beaus?

Wellington Beaus is book five in my Wellington Cross series. Originally, I wrote three books in the series plus a little Christmas novella, and that was all I wanted to do at the time. I then wrote two paranormal romance books, and then decided I wanted to come back to the Wellington series and add a few more books. I had new stories that came to my mind. Wellington Beaus picks up right where book four ends. This book focuses on the two Wellington brothers, Bertie and Godfrey. Godfrey, the older one, is married and expecting his firstborn child, but when tragedy strikes, his whole life is turned upside-down. Meanwhile, Bertie proposes to Amanda Adams, but when an old flame comes to live and work at the boarding house, trouble follows her and being the deputy, Bertie gets involved.

What character in Wellington Beau is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

I am a lot like the character Amanda in that she is the jealous type. She doesn’t like to see her fiancé talk to his old girlfriend, and when she discovers a secret between the two of them, she gets mad enough to give Bertie the engagement ring back. I would be the same way. She gets pretty sassy too, and my good friend, also an author, gave me the new nickname of sassy, ha ha.

Now available from Orb Weaver Press is the romantic-fantasy Daughter of Aithne, book three in The Sliver Web series, by Karin Rita Gastreich.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

Ever since I can remember, I have loved story telling. I wrote my first story when I was in grade school, based on a dream I had. Although I didn’t get serious about publishing until recently, I have written stories all my life.

What was your first book/story published?

Eolyn, Book One of The Silver Web, was released in its first edition by Hadley Rille Books in the spring of 2011. At the time, it was a stand-alone novel. Later, after crafting the sequels, I re-released the trilogy under the title The Silver Web.

What inspired you to write Daughter of Aithne?

As with all the books of The Silver Web trilogy, Daughter of Aithne was inspired by the amazing women I’ve known and also the women I’ve read about in history; in particular medieval women, and how they managed to wield and manipulate power in a society so steeped in patriarchal values. In writing Daughter of Aithne, I asked myself, “What would happen if barriers to power were removed and women could rule kingdoms and even wage war just like men?”

What character in Daughter of Aithne is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Once you’ve been through this many novels with the same characters, they become independent entities, and it’s hard to see yourself in any of them. Though we are not really all that much alike, my favorite character to work with in this book was Taesara, the woman who leads the war against Eolyn.

Taesara makes her first appearance in Sword of Shadows, and many of my readers did not like her. This kind of surprised me, because I’ve always sympathized with Taesara. Yes, she can be unpleasant, but only when she has good reasont. As a result of my readers initial reaction to Taesara, I wanted to come back to her in Daughter of Aithne and let her be seen in a more sympathetic light. I think I succeeded in doing that.

Now available from SKGregory is the fantasy novella/short story collection Twisted Princess, featuring the stories The Beast Within by S. K. Gregory, Sleepless Beauty by Erin Hayes, Spectral Velocity by Margo Bond Collins, The Origin of Snow by M. L. Sparrow, and Wonderland Casino by Kat Gracey.

The idea for Twisted Princess came from my love of the classic fairytales and how much darker they are than the Disney versions. As a child I remember reading about Blue Beard and the Little Matchstick Girl. For Twisted Princess we wanted to come up with stories featuring Disney Princesses without the happy ending.

My story, The Beast Within, features Izzy, a young woman who works as a security expert for supernatural beings. I tried to turn the story of Beauty and the Beast on its head. In my story, Izzy wants the normal life and to marry Gavin, a male model. The beast is Adam, a werewolf who was cursed by a witch to fell terrible pain when he turns.

Adam comes across as mild mannered but he becomes obsessed with Izzy.

I think there was a good range of stories from some very talented authors. I would like to do a future boxset maybe on the origins of some of the Disney villains.

The boxset is only 99c on Amazon and is available on KU.

Now available from Buchelli Books is the young adult fantasy is Phoenix, book one in The Peradon Fantasy Series, by Daccari Buchelli.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I have always been an avid reader and found it to be a useful escape from everyday problems. As I got older, my imagination began to play up during my school lessons, constantly leading me into new worlds and never giving me a moment of peace. When I was eight, I decided to try and write down the things that came to me. One idea sparked another and soon I had three short stories before me. Sadly, I do not own a copy of my first attempts at storytelling as the computer spontaneously combusted.

Quite ironic that I discovered 3 ½ floppy disks a week later. A week too late.

What was your first book/story published?

Although I self published novellas when I was younger, these were only for me and were always kept private.

The first story that I published since growing into adulthood was the first edition of my Fantasy novel, Phoenix, which was originally entitled Sweet Surrender and published with an Indie Publishing Press. Unfortunately, the company I had joined turned out to be bad news and so I chose to leave, with any royalties I had earned with-held from me.

What inspired you to write Phoenix?

When I first began drafting Phoenix, I had recently suffered a devastating break up. The person I had been seeing had appeared sweet at first, with a kind heart. Then, after time began to pass, they seemed to transform into someone else.

First, it was like another personality was bleeding through the mask they had created, then it began to take over. This is how I came up with the infamous yet charming Emperor Ryore. He is a tortured soul who wants to feel love, but is only able to feel obsession. Violetta's story is in part the journey I went through to learn that not everything is as it seems and that each of us is stronger than we might initially believe.

Which character in Phoenix is the least like you, and in what ways?

Prince Arlas of the Air Realm is probably the least like me out of this cast of characters. He is crude, cunning and has the appearance of a folklore vampire.

Along with being immortal, Arlas has incredible power at his disposal and uses it for his own sadistic purposes. He doesn't care who he hurts, as long as he gets what he desires.

There's more to purchasing wood than just browsing two-by-fours at your local Home Depot. If you're serious about only buying the best, here are five things to keep in mind as you go shopping for wood and wood products.


1. Buy From the Right Company
Some companies grow, cut, treat and sell their own wood. Others might purchase and inspect wood from third-party vendors before passing on the best stuff to their customers. There's no right or wrong answer when it comes to where you buy your wood, so look at all of your options before settling for one brand in particular.


2. Consider Sizes and Shapes
Lengths and widths are only the beginning. For example, you might also need a particular thickness or weight capacity in your wood, especially if you're building something that people will stand on. If you're unsure of the exact dimensions or specifications that your project requires, call a timber company and ask.


3. Look for Special Features

Pressure treated wood will last longer than its untreated cousins. So will wood that's been waterproofed or coated with a moisture-resistant finish. You can also find wood that's been sanded, shined and otherwise beautified for use in furniture-building. If any of these things are important to you, set aside a little extra in your budget to accommodate them.

Little Brown & Company; 448 pages; $28; Amazon

For anybody who follows this blog regularly, it should be no surprise to find me reviewing a James Patterson novel.

Yes, I like reading mysteries, and yes, Mr. Patterson happens to be one of my favorite authors. Of course that hasn't always been the case, as I started reading his books around 2003 or 2004 after my grandmother gave me a few Patterson titles to read. I would buy each new title, read it, and then pass it on to her. After my grandmother's death in 2009, I've continued to buy every new Patterson title, well, the ones that I don't receive a review copy for on here.

This week I finished reading The Black Book by James Patterson & David Ellis. Despite being disappointed with Never Never (read my review here), my expectations for this one were high, mostly due to the fact that I had heard good things about the novel before I even started reading page one.

The Black Book starts off with a bizarre crime scene involving one male and two female victims. The male is the only one to survive the crime, and he happens to be Detective Billy Harney, the son of Chicago's chief of detectives, and the twin brother to Hatti, who is also a cop.

The novel flips back and forth from the past to present. In the past, Billy and his adrenaline-junkie partner, Detective Kate Fenton, are investigating a murder that leads them to an exclusive Chicago brothel that caters to rich and powerful. Their only lead to the killer might be inside a black book containing all the brothel's clients, but of course the book is missing.

In the present, as Billy recovers from his wounds, he tries to piece together the final hours that lead to the death of two women (I'm not naming names here as I don't want to give away too many spoilers!), but proving his innocence isn't going to be easy as he can't remember what actually happened that fatal night.