Interview: Mary Hart Perry

Interview with

Author Mary Hart Perry 

Questions by R. Murry

      

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Hi, Mary Hart Perry here. Well, I live in the Washington, DC area and teach at The Writer's Center when I'm not working on my own novels. My husband and I love to sail, travel, garden...and we have two cats who are my writing partners.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

The first story I wrote was for young readers, about a little boy who lost his lunchbox on his way to school. It was a simple mystery with a happy ending--he uses his head to figure out what happened to it. Highlights for Children bought it for $35.00 and I was thrilled. LOL!

Were you inspired by someone or something?

Absolutely, I loved Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, and picked up the mystery writing bug from him. I also read a lot of historical adventures; Kenneth Roberts was my favorite.

What do you like about writing a story?

I love the idea of being able to escape to another time and place. That's what happens when you read. But it's even truer when you write your own stories.

Can you tell us about your book?

SEDUCING THE PRINCESS is set mostly in England during the 19th century. The heroine is Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria's youngest daughter, who is being wooed by two very different men - one with the best intentions, the other with the very worst. There is lots of atmosphere and historical details, but fast-paced too.

What genre best fits for the book?

The novel is a romantic historical thriller.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

Yes. Seducing is the second book of a series. So I'm working on the third, which will feature the Crown Princess who confronts one of the most famous serial killers in history.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Write every day. Seriously, that's the one thing that will help your stable of skills strengthen. If you only write when you feel like it or occasionally, it's hard to make progress.

Where can people go to read your work?

My books are available from all of the major online booksellers include Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and for all reading devices. The Wild Princess is also in paperback, and soon Seducing will also be in print.

Do you have anything to add?

Thanks for the chat! I enjoy getting a chance to talk with readers as well as other writers. Feel free to follow me on any social network. Best wishes, Mary Hart Perry

FB:  on.fb.me/Kj7hzU  
https://twitter.com/Mary_Hart_Perry

https://ganxy.com/i/76010

Review of Problem Solving

Review of Problem Solving    

Written by Larry B. Gray

Reviewed by R. Murry

5000 words of a systemic approach to dealing with issues and opportunities on a daily basis in a business leadership position, and a story about a rabbit cornered by a rattlesnake, brings Larry B. Gray’s management point across – don’t let personnel conflicts fester.

Mr. Gray in a clear, simple, and direct writing style gives his step by step procedure on how to deal with employee issues that interrupt an operation.  His processes are understandable and of use to those who want to be supervisors, managers, and to those in leadership roles.

Having been in numerous management positions, I found Problem Solving informative and right to the point with alternatives that help supervisors to reach their goals in a logical and productive way using non evasive steps.

There are only positive proper choices used to motivate a subordinate to do the right thing, until it is clear that there is no other alternative.

Team work is the backbone of any goal setting, and it’s up to the supervisor, manager, or leader to make it happen with the personnel he is in charge of.

Larry gives us a concrete guideline you should read if you care to be a good leader in your business environment.

I recommend this and any of Larry’s other business booklets that can be found on Amazon and Smashwords.  You can also get them at www.larrygraysells.com along with links to my other websites.

Interview of Larry B. Gray

Interview with Larry B. Gray

Reviewer, Blogger, Business Writer  

Questions by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I grew up in Eastern North Carolina in the small rural town of Aurora. My early years were spent working on my grandparents’ tobacco farm and exploring my world of family, friends and school.

After marrying my high school sweetheart in 1972, I moved to Lakeland, Florida where I spent my adult years raising a beautiful family and working in the citrus industry, selling real estate with my real estate partner and wife, Sara Gray, and being a writer wannabe. I attended and graduated from Florida Southern College while working full time and starting a family.

I am still married to my high school sweetheart and have 3 beautiful children and two wonderful grandchildren. Life is not always easy but in the scheme of things it is fun and gets better every day.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I wrote a lot of poetry throughout my school years. After marriage time seem to be hard to come by so my writing stop. A few years ago I started blogging and out of that “A Boy from Down East” started and I have been writing since.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

My grandmother was instrumental in instilling the love of reading in me at a young age. I remember her getting books for me to read off the bookmobile in the summer.

I had a high school English teach, Mrs. Downing, who always told me some day I would be a writer. The verdict is still out.

What do you like about writing a story?

I love the thought of sharing things, whether it is information, experiences, knowledge or adventure.

Can you tell us about your book?

Problem Solving – Dealing with Employee Issues is a “how to” book on basic leadership and supervisor skills. It is a part of a series of short books which deal with different aspects of leadership and career development.

Everyone in a leadership position will have to deal with employee issues. Whenever people work together friction occurs. How you deal with these issues will have a major impact on your success as a leader. “Problem Solving – Dealing With Employee Issues” lays out a systematic approach to dealing with employee issues and the associated problems.

What genre best fits for the book?

Business and / or leadership.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I have been working on my memoirs about growing up in a rural eastern North Carolina town in the nineteen fifties and sixties entitled “A Boy from Down East.” You can read several stipites from it at http://www.aboyfromdowneast.com.

I am presently going through the process of having it edited and doing rewrites. I hope to have it ready for release later this year.

I also have a couple of additional books to the leadership guide series in the outline stage.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Yes, write. Write as often and as much as you can. Don’t accept excuses not to write. A writer writes.

Where can people go to read your work?

My books are available on Amazon.com, Smashwords.com, Kobo.com, Sony, and Barnes and Noble website.

You can also get them at www.larrygraysells.com along with links to my other websites.

Do you have anything to add?

Just a quote from Dr. Seuss: “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Your than You.”

Thanks and God Bless, Larry

Review of Playing The Coach

Review of Playing The Coach      

Written by Vonda Norwood

Reviewed by R. Murry

What is the orgasm of a positive emotion?  Awe is.  It’s in the eyes of the beholder.  With wonder, comes fantasy.  Ms. Norwood’s character, Vicky, is in awe of a man, Jake Wilson, who does what she fantasizes in doing – coaching a high school football team.

Vicky will do anything to get to work at coaching but is impeded by Jake.  Not because she is a woman, but because he is put in an awkward position which he didn’t ask for.  I won’t give you that reason because it would give away some of the plots.

What I will say is that he devised a way of eliminating the problem.  In this experiment, he leads Vicky on with a ruse of asking her, what you think is my favorite thing.  Vicky believes it’s her body.  She teases Coach Wilson to try and get what her favorite thing is – coaching football, with little by little sexual meetings.

Ms. Norwood does an excellent job at teasing the reader with their sexual encounters.  Each contact is developed to keep the reader’s attention and does its job.   The reader will relish in wanting to see what happens next sexually and will want to read on to their climax.

The story was well structured with sexual content that any reader of erotica will enjoy.  The characters come alive as sexual beings.  I read it twice to find some pitfalls, but I couldn’t find any in this short story of some new highs.    

A quick read before bed is recommended.

Where can people go to buy her work?

US: 

Interview with Vonda Norwood

Interview of Vonda Norwood

Author of Playing The Coach        

Questions by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

My name is Vonda Norwood. I was born in Alabama, raised in California by a mother from Texas and I now live in Arizona.  I love mysteries and hate long walks on the beach.  :-D

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Yes!  At 8 years, I re-wrote of the Flintstones’ cartoon.  I didn't like their anniversary special, so I wrote my own.  

Were you inspired by someone or something?

When I was a kid, I heard someone on T.V. once say that if you don't like what you read, watch, or experience - write what you do want to experience. 

What do you like about writing a story?

My favorite thing is creating the characters personalities - how they think, how they relate to each other.  As I write, I get to enjoy their world.

Can you tell us about your book?

"Playing the Coach" - This is an erotica story, which means that my characters have sex with each other and I described it!  LOLOLOL.  One of the most fascinating aspects of this sexual/romance/comedy is the comedy.  Vicky being high-strung about her goal to be the first female football, head coach of her hometown's high school.  That position is held by the one man she's most attracted to.  What does Vicky really want?  Does she want to be a coach or have sex with Coach Wilson.  I'll just say this, Coach Wilson makes certain that Vicky gets exactly what she wants.  :-D 

How did you come up with the story?

That's the best part of this story!  But it would take a story to explain it and then my mind would create another erotica story and I already have too many going on in there to deal with, so I'll just say this:  I tried to make an innocent funny-sexy joke, but I couldn't!  The harder I tried to think of something that was football-coach and sexually-funny, the more inappropriate my thoughts became and the next thing I knew, I had me a whole sexy-funny story that wouldn't leave my mind!  I couldn't stop thinking about a sexy man, lying around in a towel just waiting for me to um...  :-X  .

What genre best fits for the book?

Erotica/Romance/Comedy

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I am working on my sequel.  The title is "Facebook can also make you go to jail too"

And I am writing book 2 of "Indie Authors Make Better Lovers".   I'm hoping to finish Indies 2 before March 10th.  HOPING!!!  My sequel to my "Facebook" - book, is very involved and will take me a lot longer to complete.  I keep finding new short stories to do and the stories clog my mind too much to write my sequel.  So after Indies, I hope to have no more erotica clogging and just complete my sequel!!!   :-/  LOLOLOLOLOL  

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Every writer is an individual.  Just be yourself and be true to your work.  Enjoy writing it so that people can enjoy reading it.  If you don't enjoy your stories, how can anyone else?

Which authors inspire you?

I've only been inspired by one author.  Ernest Hemingway.  Why?  I HATED his character's personality in the book "The Old Man and The Sea."  I didn't want to have to read that book!  It was a class assignment, so I read it.  Nearly completed with the reading of that story and realized that Mr. Hemingway created one heck of a strong character, which seemed so very real.  What an amazing ability!!!  I still didn't like him, but, I have 100%  respect for the man who created him.  :-D

Where can people go to read your work?

US: http://ow.ly/gUUVE UK: http://ow.ly/gWjCR

Where can people find you on the internet?

My goodreads blog:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5826686.Vonda_Norwood/blog

I am Vonda Norwood on Facebook

and @VondaNorwood on Twitter

Review of Blast from the Past

Blast from the Past

Written by Lauren Carr   

Reviewed by R. Murry

Within a few chapters of this snappy moving mystery, there are more dead bodies than the town of Spencer, Maryland, has body bags to fill.

The plots are many, but the solutions are simple if you are one Mac Faraday. His epiphanies, woven into this multilevel crime wave of a small resort town, will keep you awake for this good read. Even his dog Gnarly gets into the act by being his dominating lovable self.

Ms. Carr’s main character is in the middle of a Blast from the Past of others: the woman he is love with, the owner of a local restaurant, and two couples he never met before.

What crimes have they committed in the past? None, but all the action comes from their history because they came in contact with the wrong people at one time – the ones with the broken noses - the mob.

Mac’s and his half-brother’s investigative abilities outshine that of the U.S. Marshals and the FBI.  Mac’s half-brother is the local chief of police and Mac is helping him solve what seems to be a mess of a situation – dead bodies with few clues to follow.

Lauren’s presentation of these situations keeps the reader’s attention. The clues are there. I had to read some areas twice, but they are there.  And it was fun trying to keep ahead of Mac, Gnarly, and all the other crime fighters trying to solve these mysteries.

I can see why @TheMysteryLadie has a good following.  I’m putting her next book on my BTR list.  You should too after reading this one.

The links to Lauren Carr’s books and her other endeavors are listed in her below:
Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1IuSsyH

All of my books are available in both print and e-book. The e-book versions are only 99 cents each.

You can start by visiting my author page on Amazon: 

Do you have anything to add?

Readers can also get the updated schedule for my tour by visiting my sites:

Visit Lauren’s website and blog at:

Website: http://acornbookservices.com/

                 http://mysterylady.net/

Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991

Interview with Lauren Carr

Interview with Lauren Carr                   

Author of Blast from the Past

(A Mac Faraday Mystery)

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I first fell in love with mysteries when my mother read Perry Mason to me at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries, A Small Case of Murder was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.

With my third book, I launched the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.  It’s Murder, My Son, Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder, have all received rave reviews from both readers and reviewers. Both novels   It’s Murder, My Son and Old Loves Die Hard have made it to number one slots on Amazon under the Cozy Mystery category.

Blast from the Past is the fourth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series. Within days of its release, it was in the Top-100 slot on Amazon under mystery-thrillers/police procedural.  The next installment in the Mac Faraday series will be released in October of this year.

Released September 2012, Dead on Ice introduced a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second installment in the Lovers in Crime series will be out in 2013.

I am also the owner of Acorn Book Services, which offers publishing management, consulting, editing, cover and layout design, and limited marketing for independent authors. This year, several books, over a variety of genres, all written by independent authors, will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services, which is currently accepting submissions. Visit Acorn Book Services website for more information.

I do all that from my home in Harpers Ferry, WV, where I live with my husband, son, and three dogs (which includes a German shepherd puppy named Gnarly).

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Actually, I remember two stories. I had been making up stories from the time I could use my imagination, but never actually sat down to write one out. At fourteen, I decided to write a short story for a writing contest in a teen girl magazine. It was a kidnapping story. A romance won.

Later, when I was a senior in high school, a friend of mine was in a fix. She was taking creative writing and had the whole semester to write a short story, but she couldn’t. She was completely blocked. So, on the day the story was due, during lunch, I wrote out a short story in long hand. It was a comedy about a dog that was suffering from the humiliation of fleas. He is in love with the dog across the street, but his flea problem repelled her. The story was written in first person. She paid me with a cheeseburger, fries, and soda. It was my first professional writing job. She got an A for the story.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

I’d have to say my mother. Books and mysteries are the love we share. She has always encouraged me to write and supported it. I can’t tell you how many times she would read a book and say, “Your stories are so much better than that.” She said it enough for me to believe it.

What do you like about writing a story?

It’s the escape into a world of adventure and mystery.

Can you tell us about your book?

In Blast from the Past, Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs in mobsters and federal agents.

After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars—Archie Monday!

Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lake shore resort town of Spencer, Maryland, things may be hotter than even he can handle.

What genre best fits for the book?

It’s a mystery.  Amazon has placed it under police procedural. I think it also fits under cozy mysteries. My mysteries have been described as “gritty cozies.”

Are you working on something new at the moment?

Right now, I’m working on the next Mac Faraday, which I am aiming for a Halloween release. The working title is The Haunting of Astaire Castle. No, I am not switching genres. In this mystery, Mac discovers that he owns a haunted castle, in which a famous paranormal author had mysteriously disappeared.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Write whatever turns you on. Don’t worry about the market or what is hot right now. That always changes and you will go nuts trying to keep up with it. Write what you love. If you love it, there will surely be an audience out there that will love it, too.

Where can people go to read your work?

Amazon.com. All of my books is available in both print and e-book. The e-book versions are only 99 cents each.

You can start by visiting my author page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lauren-Carr/e/B001JP4F0Q/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1360868874&sr=8-2-ent

Do you have anything to add?

Readers can also get the updated schedule for my tour by visiting my sites:

Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:

Website: http://acornbookservices.com/

                 http://mysterylady.net/

Blog: Literary Wealth: http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991