Who is your favorite children's books author and why? 

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

R.L. Stine! I don't know why I like his writings, but I was a big fan of the Goosebumps and Fear Streets books back in the 1990s. Well, I'm still a big of fan of fan books today.

Revell; 384 pages; $14.99; Amazon

Today, I'm determined to finish all my needs-to-be-reviewed reviews. Well, at least I'm going to review all the ones that are published by Revell.

In this 2006 sequel to Liz Johnson's The Red Door Inn, Where Two Hearts Meets centers on Caden Holt, the executive chef of the Red Door Inn, who has to step outside of her kitchen for a bit, so she can escort Adam Jacobs, a traveling journalist, around Prince Edward Island. She would rather be cooking, but her boss insists that she should show Adam all the beautiful things the island has to offer.

Technically, Adam is supposed to be on a forced vacation, but he's actually there to work on a story. Of course this is a romance novel, so you can probably guess that sparks fly between Adam and Caden, which is exactly what happens.

Bethany House; 238 pages; Amazon

Forgiven is the oldest book that has been sitting in my needs-to-be-reviewed pile. Published by Bethany House in 2015, the book is written by Terri Roberts, the mother of the man who walked into an Amish schoolhouse and shot 10 girls, killing 6 and injuring other, and then took his own life.

When I had originally signed up to review book, I didn't realize it was about the Amish school shooting. I have a habit of  agreeing to review a book by the cover art alone, and for this title, I saw the Amish hats on the cover and automatically signed up to review it without realizing what the book was about. The 2006 Amish school shooting was a tragedy and it was a topic that I didn't want to read about, so I have avoided reading the book until this year.

Bethany House; 175 pages; Amazon

I don't read very many non-fiction titles, but for some reason I did sign up to review a few "personal growth" titles last year; including "How To Listen So People Will Talk" by Becky Harling.

Published by Bethany House, the author explains to you why listening to others can help strengthen any relationship and to help strengthen your own compassion.

The book is under 200 pages and is a fast read (well, at least for me it was a fast read). There are 10 chapters, where the author uses her own personal stories and scriptures from the Bible to explain why it's important to listen to spouses, family members, girlfriend or boyfriend, friends, or complete strangers. There are exercises and questions to answer at the end of each chapter.

Now available to purchase on Amazon is the fantasy/murder/romance Shadow of the Moon, book one in the Shadow Series, by Kwen D. Griffeth







When did you become interested in storytelling?

I was 14 and I read For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway for the first time. He took a farm boy from Idaho to the Spanish Civil War and allowed me to fall in love for the first time. I wanted the ability he had.

What was your first book/story published?

My first book published was Dear Emma. It is a novella about a small girl whose mother puts notes in her lunch box before sending her to school. The mother is killed in a car wreck, but the notes, from time to time, still arrive.

What inspired you to write Shadow of the Moon?

I read a story about a female werewolf written by a well-known author and I didn’t like the way the werewolf was portrayed. In human form, the character was intelligent, tough, determined and educated. When forced to shift shapes, she became little more than a wild dog chasing rabbits through the forest. I did hours of research on werewolves and the society of wolves. I wanted to develop a more complete character.

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

I would most be like Detective Gerald Meeker, NYPD. He is a 30-year veteran of the NYPD and he has investigated crimes for most of those years. I’m as old as Meeker, a grandfather like Meeker and I was a police officer. I hope I have a sense of humor like his as well.

What is your favorite part in Shadow of the Moon?

Not so much a part, but a character. I enjoyed writing about Miranda. Miranda is the protagonist’s niece as well as his assistant. She is smart, sexy, red-headed with long legs and she has a touch of rebellion in her against all things structured. She loves to drive her Miata convertible as fast as she can and when another character asks if she’s worried about getting a ticket, Miranda says, “What traffic cop is going to ticket me?”

She’s also a full werewolf and everything does not turn out right for her. She displays a deep character and courage later in the book.

What was the hardest part to write?

Writing a werewolf book requires a certain amount of violence. Which means, there is going to be blood. I was extremely cautious when writing those parts. The werewolf is dangerous and ruthless. I wanted the killing scenes to display that side of the creature, but not derail the story which is much fuller than just that small part of their character.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

I was a police officer for a number of years and career military. Both were ideal at the time. I am reaching an age where if I couldn’t write I’d have to go fishing. Something I’m not very good at, so I work hard on my books.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

I track the review numbers as certain marketing opportunities avail themselves based on numbers. I actively seek reviews for that reason, but I don’t allow myself to get too excited about the good ones nor bummed about the bad. I focus on writing the best I can but I know not every reader will like my work.

What well-known writers do you admire most?

When did you become interested in storytelling?

My interest in storytelling has always been with me. My earliest memory was around the age of three. I spent the summer taking my dolls (in the basket of my tricycle) over to my neighbor’s house. I would ask him to babysit my dolls while I went to work and when I picked my kids (dolls) up, I would tell long stories about my hard day working at the factory. As my interest continued to grow, my stories became more elaborate. In third grade, was called to the principle’s office after spending several recesses telling kids scary stories about an abandoned house across the street. 

What was your first book/story published?

My new book Blooming Into Life is my first book published. I may have started storytelling early but it took me half of my life to find the courage and stamina to form my stories into the written word.

What inspired you to write Blooming Into Life?

As a wellness coach working with women for the past several years, I began to notice how many women were measuring their self-worth by the number on the scales, the price tag of their clothes and the status of the social groups they belonged to. After taking a look at my own behavior, I realized I was doing it also and it was all in the name of acceptance. So, I decided to write a story about a woman searching for acceptance.

What character in Blooming Into Life is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

I identify a lot with the main character Colleen. I grew up in a rural area like Colleen and moved to a city where I had to figure out how and where I belonged. I spent many years of my life measuring my self-worth by my exterior and had to do a lot of internal work to look at my self differently much in the same way that Colleen does in the book.

What is your favorite part in Blooming Into Life?

There are several parts that stand out so I’ll say “one” of my favorite parts is the scene where Colleen is listening to Johnny Cash sing “The Man in Black” – “The words struck her. She was the woman in black. She had worn black or charcoal grey since Lyla put her in the ‘until my weight is gone’ outfit. Her appearance did have a somber tone but, unlike Johnny Cash, she wasn’t wearing the dark colors for all the darkness in the world. She wasn’t bringing attention to other people’s misfortune. She was highlighting her own misfortune – as her dad would say, ‘wallowing’ in her own darkness. Suddenly Colleen felt suffocated by the clothes on her body. She wanted to peel them off and throw them out the window as she drove.

What was the hardest part to write?

I struggled writing the part about being on bedrest and the fears of losing her baby since that I pulled that from my own life experience. 

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

I’m a wellness coach in addition to being a new author. I love coaching and inspiring women in person and through my writing. So my ideal career would involve inspiring others to believe in themselves and to get out of their own way when it comes to reaching for their dreams. To give this a title, I’ll go with a coach, therapist/counselor, or teacher.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Bethany House; 350 pages; Buy Link; Blog Tour

I'm kicking off my first "Spring Reads" post with a few weeks earlier than what I originally intended to do. The book I'm reviewing is Ketunrah, book one in The Sugar Baraon's Daughters series, by Lisa T Bergren.

Set in 1772, the novel centers on Lady Keturah ("Ket") Banning Tomlinson and her sisters (Verity and Selah), whom each received a letter from the West Indies from their later father. It seems he had left his estate the "Tabletop Plantation" in Nevis to his daughters. Against their best judgements, the sisters packs their bags and travel to the Caribbean to cleanup whatever mess their father had left behind.

Upon arriving, they learn their father's legendary sugar barons have declined and they seek out to find a new overseer for the estate. Ket runs into an old childhood friend, Gray, who had moved to Nevis to begin a new life for himself.

This is a romance novel, so you can probably guess that Gray and Ket have some romantic feelings for each other. However, there's a slight problem, as Ket had been emotionally and physically abused in the past, so she's hesitant about trusting another man.

Do you enjoy reading retellings of, or 'sequels' to, classic novels? Why or why not?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.
  

My Answer:

Yes and no! It really depends if the sequel or retelling is worth reading.

Not Rated; 164 minutes; $14.98; Buy Link

I believe I have stated a few times on this blog about my love for the classic Hammer Film Production horror flicks from the 1950s to the 1970s. I have fond memories of watching these films during horror movie marathons on AMC (before they had commercials) when I was a teenager during the late 1990s. Old horror films don't get much air time on television any more, so I'm thankful that many of them have found their way onto DVD and Blu-ray.

Yesterday, Mill Creek Entertainment released a new Hammer Films Double Feature Blu-ray, which features the British films "Scream of Fear!" and "Never Take Candy from a Stranger." There are no special features or extras on the single-disc.

Directed by Cyril Frankel, the 1960 thriller Never Take Candy from a Stranger (also known as Never Take Sweets from a Stranger) centers on a school principal Peter Carter and his wife Sally (played by Patrick Allen and Gwen Watford) who are determined to protect their young daughter Jean (played by Janina Faye) from a child molester, Clarence Olderberry Sr.. The old man had lured Jean and her best friend Lucille (played by Frances Green) into his home and gave them candy in exchange for seeing the girls dance naked.

The Olderberry family owns most of the town and are respected by everyone. Even though Peter and Sally pressed charges against Clarence, there's no real proof that he actually harmed the girls; resulting in the court finding him not guilty. However, Clarence is guilty of the crime and he hunts down Jean and Lucille, who must fight for their lives to survive his clutches.

Due to the taboo themes of sexual abuse of children and paedophilia, the film was a critical and commercial failure. However, over the years the film has received positive reviews from modern day critics. The late Hammer horror-icon Christopher Lee stated, ""Never Take Sweets from a Stranger, an excellent film, was decades ahead of its time."


Directed by Seth Holt, the 1961 psychological thriller Scream of Fear! (also known as Taste of Fear), centers on Penny Appleby (played by Susan Strasberg), a wheelchair-bound woman who returns to her father's estate after being estranged for nearly 10 years. Upon arriving Penny meets her stepmother Jane (played by Ann Todd) for the very first time, as well as two guests, Bob (played by Ronald Lewis) and Doctor Gerrard (played by Christopher Lee). She's disappointed to learn that her father is away on a business trip. Her mother had died recently and she's wanting to get reacquainted with her father.

What was planned as a simple visit home quickly turns in a nightmare for Penny. She keeps seeing her father's dead body in various places, but the body always disappears before she cancall for help. Is she going mad?

While the film didn't do very well in the UK and United States upon it's release, it did do well in Europe. The late great Christopher Lee has been quoted, "Taste of Fear was the best film that I was in that Hammer ever made. It had the best director, the best cast and the best story."

Now available from Escape Publishing (Imprint of Harlequin Australia) is the LGBTI speculative romance series "The Refuge Trilogy" by Annabelle McInnes.





The author has taken a few minutes out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about her book series.



When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve always been interested in writing stories. It is an innate drive for me. But, it wasn’t until the birth of my son did I release that I wanted to become a published author. I started the first draft of True Refuge, the first book in the Refuge Trilogy when my son was eight months old and having looked back.

What was your first book/story published?

Without Refuge, the prequel to the Refuge Trilogy was the first story I had published. The story was awarded a place in the Romance Writers of Australia’s Spicy Bites Competition. As a result, it was published in their yearly anthology. True Refuge, the first book in the Refuge Trilogy was the first full length novel I had published. It was released in September 2017 with Escape Publishing, the Digital First Imprint for Harlequin Australia.

What inspired you to write True Refuge?

The initial premise for the Refuge Trilogy was a simple notion; what does a good man do when all that’s left is decayed, destroyed or dead? That question drove the narrative and the characters through a post-apocalyptic landscape after a plague wiped out humanity. I have always loved science fiction and fantasy novels growing up, but I found the romance in those stories often lacking authenticity. It was later in life I discovered romance novels and I was drawn to writing speculative fiction concepts that aligned with romance tropes. I wanted to take my premise and ask how do those good men find love when compassion and empathy have been eradicated.

What character in The Refuge Trilogy is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Each of my characters represents a part of me. I would like to think that if the world were to be thrown into chaos tomorrow, that people like my characters would prevail. They represent humanity at its best. However, my characters are flawed like I am. They struggle, the second guess themselves, they bleed and they cry. But they love fiercely and passionately. They love with their whole hearts. They are brave, devoted and generous. I’d like to think that those notions came from small parts of me.

What is your favorite part in The Refuge Trilogy?