Interview of Faith Mortimer

Interview of Faith Mortimer

Author of Childhunt!

Questions by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Good morning Roy. May I take this opportunity to thank you for having me as your guest author this week.

Briefly, I live about 70% of the time in an old stone-house in the foothills of the Troodos Mountains on Cyprus and the remainder of the year in the south of England where I’m from. I began writing seriously around 2000, when my husband and I took early retirement and decided to go off sailing! We are both qualified Yacht masters and before we settled in Cyprus, we explored the seas from as far north as New York down the east coast of the USA to the Caribbean and Venezuela and then back across the Atlantic into the Mediterranean where we finished our travels in Turkey – a fantastic eight years living on our sailing yacht – and the perfect place to write books!

Do you remember the first story you wrote?
I’ve always written stories ever since I can remember. The most serious was when I was about fourteen. It was a romance set in Borneo!

Were you inspired by someone or something?
I’ve always enjoyed playing around with words (and of course reading), at a young age I knew I wanted to write my own stories

What do you like about writing a story?
Oh that’s easy. It’s MY world. My people, my places, my feelings. I love drawing the characters from people/friends and then taking a bit from one person and adding another – a real mix and great fun.

Can you tell us about your book?
I’ve now written eight books. Five are mystery suspense thrillers known as the Diana Rivers series.. The titles include: The Assassins’ Village, Children of the Plantation, The Surgeon’s Blade, Camera, Action…Murder! and Childhunt.


My other book genre are romantic suspense/historical fiction/family drama/action & adventure; these are The Seeds of Time and Harvest (parts 1 & 2 of The Crossing) and my first romance set in France, ‘A Very French Affair.’ I have a short story collection entitled, The Bamboo Mirror, which is FREE on Amazon, Barnes & noble, KOBO, iTunes and Smashwords.

I’ve almost finished my next books which is a psychological thriller set in Scotland. This is a stand-alone book of many which I plan to write as a separate series. My working title is The Devil’s Brae and it is due out for release in July/August.

How did you come up with your storylines?
Almost all my stories feature either something I’ve experienced, or they are set somewhere where I’ve lived. If I like an idea I’ll go with it and set it down as soon as I can find time.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Yes – never give up. It is often a lonely occupation and only you can write your story. Don’t let others put you off, or tell you what you’re doing and how you’re doing it is wrong…it is how you feel and think and more often than not you will be right. Stick to your plans!

Which authors inspire you?

MM Kaye. Tolkien. Dickens.  I can read a great novel and I then go around thinking about it for days – the author may have a style that I admire and it gives me the impetus to get down and begin to write a new book. No one writer or person inspires me though.

Where can people go to read your work?
Amazon US  http://amzn.to/oLQt8c
Amazon UK http://amzn.to/qe90Lf
The book depository (paperbacks) http://bit.ly/oCON7U
Snippets and chapters are often found on my website www.faithmortimerauthor.com
Barnes & Noble http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/faith-mortimer

Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=%22Faith+Mortimer%22

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/faith-mortimer/id444132474?mt=11

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/FaithMortimer

Where can people find you on the internet?
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/FaithMortimer.Author
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FaithMortimer
My website www.faithmortimerauthor.com

Is there anything else you would like to share with your readers?
Be yourself. Don’t judge others too harshly and always be there to give a helping hand – it could be you wanting that help some day. As I’ve already said it can be a hard slog. When you’re ready to publish make sure that the product you’re going to offer is as good as a paperback. Take time to edit and reedit, over and over. Be patient – it will take time to make any real progress. Be friendly and polite to everyone within the same market – you never know when you might need them and good manners never hurt. You can also learn lots from others as well.

Thank you so much for having me on here today!
                                               

Review of The Patriot Game

The Patriot Game                                    

By Ron Culley

Reviewed by R. Murry

An intriguing thriller, The Patriot Game, firstly, is an impelling suspenseful journey into the background of Ireland during World War II.  The twists and turns of the main plot and sub-plots are brought to endings that one would not anticipate.  The reader will have no problem following them to their conclusion, as I did.

Secondly, the novel purposes an underlining theme – Who is a patriot?  The soldier who pulls the trigger to kill the enemy, the one receiving the lethal bullet, or both?  Having been an intelligence specialist in Vietnam, I once pondered this question to my own conclusion as Mr. Culley questions in a number of demonstrative ways.

The soldier in waiting to kill his prey; the assassin who is creative in his assaults; the woman beaten to unconsciousness for information; and the spy who intrudes into the lives of non-combatants are a few of Mr. Culley’s ways of portraying some of his characters as their countries’ patriots.  He does it so well; the reader will understand the portrayal of either side of their lethal actions.

For you romantics, Ron has also interwoven interludes of compassion between some of the main characters that leads to unlikely conclusions.  These emotions offset the seriousness of the conflicts of a world in turmoil.  In his writings, he portrays his characters as humans, not stereo typed combatants.

Mr. Culley has put together an interesting tale worth reading for one who enjoys reading plausible historical adventures.  I enjoyed it immensely.  I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

Mr. Culley’s web site, www.ronculley.com where The Patriot Game and all of his other books are exhibited. 

Review of The Blues Detective

The Blues Detective

Written by Andrew Peters

Reviewed by R. Murry

“…Any Blues related problem in the City of Obesity ends up at my door.” Notes the Blues Detective in one of his crime breaking solutions to a case

that comes through his Memphis office door.  A musician by night and a sleuth by day is how it’s played in a southern tone – soft and mellow - cool.

His name is Otis King and he is a crime solver who is by far the most uncomplicated human to be a crime buster: he drinks; he eats; he fornicates; and he solves problems. Music is his passion and because of that he gets the coolest and strangest crimes to solve. Some of which are not crimes at all. They are just misunderstandings that this Welshman demurs over.

The Blues Detective cases are short but sweet.  Andrew’s writing keeps your attention and imagination in the game. He’ll use a short phrases like “I re-trouser.  I ask my questions.”  You laugh and understand what he meant by putting it at that precise moment.  His paragraphs are short and sometimes a word or two.  You'll get the meaning when Otis says “I open an eye.” and moves on to “A mistake.”

Mr. Peter’s Otis King is the person telling the collection of tales that will have you laughing and thinking – did he say that?  Unfortunately, there are only ten cases to be solved in this book.  I’ll keep it in my Kindle and I'll go back and read a case or two when I need a little fun time.

Andrew Peter’s off the wall interview is below.  Have some fun and read it too.

Where can people go to read Andrew's work?

I have about ten things available now, short story collections, novellas and novels and they can all be found on my Amazon author page.

http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Peters/e/B008PDVKBM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/AndrewPeters/e/B008PDVKBM/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1  

Review of The Hand of Yemanja

Review of The Hand of Yemanja

Written by Claudio Tapia

Reviewed by R. Murry

Today is Mother’s Day 2013 in America and the novel I just finished was about the migration of a strong woman, someone’s mother, to the Americas.  The fate that she traveled to by leaving her identity behind in Europe is the crux of this character driven novel by Claudio Tapia, a migrant himself.

Lydia, just Lydia, a single woman, travels into the unknown. She, like many adventures going west to find one’s fortune, encounters events that bring out her real character.  This innate being that was there but was not tested because of a shelter background – being a woman in a man’s European world in the 1900s.

Although this is fiction, well written I might add, Lydia's character is made real by the detailed way Claudio presents her side of the equation of the novel’s events of arriving in a strange country, that she is looking forward to.  The arrival sets the tone of this unpredictable story.  People are met in the first encounters on ship and upon docking that change Lydia’s life and others near her for every.

Lydia is redefining herself and the young native girl she takes under her wing when arriving in America.  Their relationship is intertwined - Lydia being the saint and Edmilce the follower.  Their relationship comes together because of a man and ends that way.  Not because they are both in love with him, Paxi, but because fate deemed it that way.  And no one runs from fate.

There is much going on with the three main characters. It would be unkind of me to not let the reader enjoy this adventure on his own by giving out details.

Mr. Claudio Tapia has presented his case for the historical novel with a colorful geographical background to boot.  He has written a book to enjoy because of its flawed characters that come alive on the written page and an adventure that is also plausible.

Claudio's interview and links are below: http://
bit.ly/1oDEfUE

Review of The Fall of the Empire

Review of

The Fall of the Empire                 

Written by

Zoe Saadia

Reviewed by R. Murry

Most of my readers know that I’m an ex-Green Beret and have been exposed to unconventional warfare and hand-hand combat.  Where Ms. Saadia acquired this information, only she knows.  She did her research, and her battle scenes come alive on the written page.  One of the Warlords is praised for his unusual way of setting up a fight that will commence in an unconventional way, leading to many victories.  

However, the story is not about warfare – its backdrop.   It’s about people, trying to stay alive in the turmoil they had no control over. A young lady of sixteen wants to avenge the death of her family and is in the process of solving it when interrupted by force bigger than her.

A young trader, who has feelings for the slave girl, is put in a position where his allegiance is opposite to that of the girl unbeknown to him.  Each becomes spies for opposing the army of warriors.  This is what propels the story forward.

Battles are fought hand to hand.  The firm with moral purpose survives in the story.  They believe that the gods are helping them, but it’s their inner strength that moves them forward.  Zoe’s has written characters who show their feelings on their sleeve so to speak.

Zoe’s young lady is the strongest of all the characters with a moral goal.  Her strength is noticed by an invading Warlord who helps her to move towards her goal to the point that he is in awe of her uncommon beauty with physical and inner strength. He noticed that she is not a slave and he was right.  You’ll have to read the book to see what she really is.

Zoe Saadia prose is well written and will keep you wanting to know – What next?  It’s a delightful tale.  Something you shouldn’t miss.

Purchase at: http://
amzn.to/1mQr4N2

http://http://amzn.to/1mQr4N2

   

Review of The 24

                      

Review of The 24

(The Books of Kendra)             

Written by

Stephen Jennison-Smith

Reviewed by R. Murry

Jennison-Smith’s style of writing is cult bound.  He develops action scenes that bring the reader in, wanting to go on to see what next will happen to the main characters Kendra and his son Chelnuk. 

The reader must be attentive to absorb all the details of the other characters (Angels – good and bad, Giants – good and bad, and their followers.)  Stephen is careful with his presentation that helps as one continues to read this multi-level spirit/earth fantasy set in biblical times.

Kendra, the main character, has many abilities that humans are not endowed with because of his birth right.  This is another detail that should be understood when reading this adventure.  Most of his warriors are amazed of his abilities and faithfully follow him knowing he will be true to them – his charges.

This adventure keeps you entertained.  Heads roll a la Spartacus status.  Blood and prayer are the underpinning themes.  Bad blood against good blood of the giants involved in keeping each other’s existence perpetuated.  Hence, war is at hand to keep the trouble making giants at a controllable number.  Prayer is used to keep the faithful going into battle.

This second in Jennison-Smith’s series was enjoyable to read, but I would liked to have read a little more color in his prose.  This is a black and white series – good against evil that does have some shades of gray in it.  No pun intended.  The gray here is – who prays to the right god.

A good quick read that I recommend.  Where can people go to read Stephen's work?

Amazon at  http://tinyurl.com/StephenJennison-Smith
or samples and some shorter finished work on Wattpad  http://www.wattpad.com/user/StephenJennisonSmith
Smashwords  http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SJennisonSmith

Review of The Soul Keeper

                                      

The Soul Keeper                

Written by

Maree Ward-Russell

Reviewed by R. Murry

Maree has kept the story of a young lady named Melody with paranormal gifts alive and well.  The story goes on from book one into a plausible continuation that will endear you to Ms. Russell's style of writing that is colorful, as I noted in my review of The Transient  http://bit.ly/W8vGQa.

The universal spirits are in turmoil, the evil ones are trying to overcome the good spirits, and the events at Heartworth’s castle portal are bustling with the comings and goings of those spirits. 

Our young lady would be a Soul Keeper if you didn’t know.  To understand the full effect of a Soul Keeper, one must be of another power above her.  We get to meet her charge, a young or old ghost, which either way you interpret him – is young in spirit, but old in the number of years he has been a Transient.

His connection to Melody becomes knowledge soon after they meet, which becomes something of a delight to her – it’s connection to her lover, another Transient.   What a world they live in?  If it weren't for those non-transient lovers, life would be so grand.

But they are lurking.  They produce havoc in Melody’s world and her beloved friends.  Not to mention the castle itself.  There are too many disrupting episodes to divulge.  So I’ll let you read the two books.  That way, you’ll get to enjoy what I have – a pleasant read with romance in the air on many levels and a conclusion to remember Forever and a Day.

A great read for the young and the young at heart.   

Read Maree’s books: http://amzn.to/1IuMduE