Interview with David Leadbeater

Interview with

David Leadbeater

                                                      
Author of

The Bones Of Odin, Book 1

Matt Drake Series

Questions by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I’m a UK author who enjoys writing in many different genres. My Matt Drake action/adventure series has been very successful in the UK and US. Chosen, the first in my supernatural thriller series, has also proved to be quite popular. I am married with two beautiful young daughters, aged 1 and 4. I also work a full-time job and find a little time to write on an evening.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

Oh yes, I have a lasting memory of the first book I wrote – a horror story called Claws which I submitted to a publisher whilst still at school. They lost it. This was my first experience of publishers.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

I was inspired by the hundreds books and stories I devoured whilst in my teens. Fantastic tales read by Stephen King, Graham Masterton, Tolkien and Donaldson, H.P.Lovecraft and David Eddings.

What do you like about writing a story?

I love developing the story from scratch and seeing where it takes me, the further afield the better. For example I’ve always wanted to write a passage where one of my characters gets cast adrift at sea and finds a desert island. The next Matt Drake book gives me the perfect chance to do that – it actually fits right into the plot, which excites me no end. Can’t wait to start!

Can you tell us about your book?

The Bones of Odin is the first in an initial four part series. Here is a sample from the blurb –

   Did ancient Gods like Odin and Zeus and Thor once really exist?
The time has come for a grand adventure filled with high excitement and explosive action.
   Matt Drake, a retired SAS officer, must unravel a mystery older than time in his search for the Nine Pieces of Odin. Though scattered eons ago, it is believed that once the Pieces are reunited they will show the way to the Tomb of the Gods- the greatest archaeological find of all time.
   From a rocket attack on the Louvre to a battle in a Swedish cavern, from a daring helicopter raid on New York's National History Museum to an assault on a gangsters mansion in Hawaii, Matt Drake must find the world's oldest treasure in one of the wildest places on earth, searching for the very bones of the Gods with the spoils of victory being the entire world.

What genre best fits for the book?

It was written for the Action and Adventure genre.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I have just finished the fourth book in the Matt Drake series, entitled The Tomb of the Gods, and  I am currently plotting the fifth whilst also developing a brand new series in the Action/Adventure genre. I am also fine-tuning books 2 and 3 of the Chosen Few trilogy, which I've been fully planned for some time now.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

I would say – if you love writing just keep at it. Don’t let anything dissuade you. At the end of the day, if you love what you are doing then the success doesn't really matter. If there are any aspiring Indie authors reading this there are some beginner’s tips on my blog under the title ‘EBook Publishing (A brief guide for beginners).

Where can people go to read your work?

My Amazon Author Central page UK – http://amzn.to/UQLLes

My Amazon Author Central page USA - http://amzn.to/UzDmyU

Do you have anything to add?

Just, thanks for having me, Roy. Our indie community is thriving at the moment so here’s to a great 2013!

The Transient, Book One of The Castle Trilogy

The Transient

Book One of The Castle      

Trilogy by

Maree Ward-Russell

Reviewed by R. Murry

Our five senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell are very important to our livelihood as human beings.  We can’t live happily unless they’re functioning correctly.  Add in love and I think you have hit all the mental points to a healthy life. 

Ms. Maree hits all those points with words.  She writes in a way that you use all your senses with emotion, while reading this paranormal suspense for Young Adults.  However, us adults – I’m 64, will enjoy the turmoil that the main character Melody goes through in this adventure.

Melody falls in love as a seventeen year old.  There’s nothing new in that.  We all have had our first loves.  From her home in the Pacific, she and her father move to a castle in New England, U.S.A., where she gets her first taste of another world.

Her new adventure includes three delightfully diverse teenagers, who become her close friends.  The other main character is a Transient.  You’ll have to read the novel to get a correct explanation as to what one is.  I’ll just say, not to give away the ghostly tale, is an image of a man that Melody falls in love with, as he does her.  Teenagers - go figure?    

This story has all the ingredients that keep the reader on their toes.  You’re always looking around the corners to see what lurks.  Ms. Maree Ward-Russell leaves you wanting to read Book 2, which I will gladly purchase, as I did this one.

The novel is a great read for young and old.  I learn something new every time I review a Young Adult book - still young at heart, I guess.  If you’re too, check out  Ms. Ward- Russell’s The Transient out.

Links to Maree Ward-Russell’s #Interview @ Bubblews: http://bit.ly/1fXUdRn

 

The Audubon Caper - Reviewed by Larry B. Gray

Review of The Audubon Caper   
by R. Murry

Guest Reviewer: Larry B. Gray

Review:

Do you want to read a book you won't put down? Do you want a book that will grab you by the seat of your pants and won't let you go? 

The Audubon Caper by R. Murry is the book for you. In this true crime tale, Roy Murry has pulled it all together into a fast past adventure tale.

The author did a great job in developing the story line. It is both easy to follow and believable. Each plot and subplot kept me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down.

The characters were easy to identify and follow. I found myself caught up in the story, cheering for the hero all the way through. The author made the characters believable and like able, even the so called bad guys.

I enjoyed reading The Audubon Caper by R. Murry and highly recommend it.  I give read FIVE STARS.


Purchase at:

http://www.amazon.com/Audubon-Caper-Untold-American-Treasure/dp/1612960944/ref=sr_1_1

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-audubon-caper-r-murry/1109197228?ean=9781612960944

Larry B. Gray's Blog:

http://bookreviewsbylarrybgray.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-audubon-caper-by-r-murry.html 

Ghosts & Lovers

Review of Ghosts & Lovers:

First Confession     

By Aneesa Price

Reviewer:  R. Murry

Having an active sexual lover makes for a happy camper in most cases.  Preferred lover is the one that you’re married to.  Ms. Price developed an interesting twist on that theme.

The physical acts of making love in Ghosts & Lovers are written so well I reread them twice and may look at them again in the future.  Her main character Simone is in need of that physical enjoyment.   It is found in her new home’s shower while her husband is working and pursuing other endeavors.  Sex is forced on her to the point of enjoyment until guilt and love for her husband overcomes the encounter.

That is all I can say without telling you who her new lover is and what the story entails.  The psychological involvement between the two voyagers into bliss comes across well with a climactic conclusion that the reader will enjoy.

Ms. Price construction of this novella is straight forward with no lapses that the reader would lose their attention. The story is quick moving and right to the point – which is more important: love of a good man or great sex through imaginary endeavors?  Simone answers that question.     

A quick read before bedding down with your lover is recommended.

Books: http://www.amazon.com/Aneesa-Price/e/B008NA62CO

Aneesa Price

Interview with Aneesa Price          

author of Ghosts & Lovers: 

First Confession

Questions: R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

I live, read and write romance. I have my own ‘happily ever after’ (although we worked for it) with my husband and two princesses. We currently reside in Johannesburg, South Africa, the largest metropolitan area on the African continent.

I first worked as an intern psychologist and after a stint as a therapist I left psychology for the corporate world. There I climbed up the ladder to become a Senior Change Consultant, which is what I now do as my ‘day job’.

My journey as an indie writer was born of extreme dissonance and needing to be more creative in my work. I played around with the idea of opening up a patisserie but thank goodness, one day I sat down and just wrote. It was love at first sight. 

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I only wrote once before and this was in Junior High. It was a fantasy, which is about all I can remember. Then in the next year, I moved schools as racial segregation was coming to an end in South Africa and I was so busy adjusting that I didn’t quite pick up the pen again – instead I baked and read – A LOT.

I believe the time wasn’t right for me to begin writing in earnest then. I needed to experience and overcome the many challenges that life threw at me. This past, as well as the privilege I had as a therapist of encountering the pasts of others, deeply colors my writing.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

My life inspires me as does my loves… they inspire me in all that I do. I often don’t know exactly what plants an idea seed but I do know that I put who I am into my writing. Not in the autobiographical sense but things I value, things I’ve felt, seen, heard or observed in others.

The odd thing is that since I’ve begun writing, my subconscious is quieter, more content. I used to have many vivid and sometimes nightmarish dreams but when I write, I sleep the restful sleep of darkness.

What do you like about writing a story?

It just feels right. I could go for endless hours without moving an inch when I press my laptop keys. It doesn’t feel like work, it isn’t hard to do and it seems as natural as loving my children. I accept it as a part of who I am and who I’ve belatedly discovered that I need to be.

Can you tell us about your books?

I wanted to create ways of making my work more accessible, so I combined the two novels and one novella that I wrote this year into The Romance Collection: 3 in 1 Christmas 2012 Special Edition. Not the most exciting title but I reckon that the holidays are exciting enough and I so wanted a Christmas themed book cover, which it has.

This book contains Coffin Girls, Finding Promise and Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession. I’ve also added 4 bonus recipes from my pantry so to speak referred to in the book as Love Romance, Love Food.

My books are written for adults who believe in happy endings and who want a realistic journey where the road to that ending has inter- and intrapersonal challenges for the main characters to overcome.

What genre best fits for the book?

Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession is an experiment that I approached with trepidation and ended up loving. Here, I didn’t do any research until halfway through writing it. And it is a huge departure for me at least in that it is written in the first person, set in South Africa and is short. It is ultimately about love, marriage and desire with a paranormal twist.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I’ve begun writing the second installment of the Coffin Girls series but I’m taking this one slowly by design – I need this one to surprise and delight too. I owe it to the Coffin Girls fans.

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

Do your research, write from the heart, write with your readers in mind and carry on writing until you finish the work.

Edit your work many, many times and if you can afford it (I seriously recommend this), hire an editor.

Read, have an open mind and heart and watch and listen. Our world is beautiful and strange and the reality of it often offers much to amuse, delight or make our eyes mist.

Where can people go to read your work?

I had my work available on all the major online retailers but I mostly sold books through amazon. I’m thus now experimenting and seeing if exclusive publication through amazon would be beneficial. I have to review this in February next year.

Here is my amazon author page link where my books are all listed:

http://www.amazon.com/Aneesa-Price/e/B008NA62CO

Do you have anything to add?

I’m a writer, we always have a lot to say *grin*.

I welcome new connections with humble appreciation. Lovers of romance, fans of my books or other writers and reviewers are welcome to connect with me via the social networking sites.

Here are details:

Aneesa Price – Sugary, Spicy Reads (author and reviewer page on Facebook):

 https://www.facebook.com/AneesaPriceSugarandSpice

Aneesa Price’s Fabulous Fan Club (on Facebook):

https://m.facebook.com/groups/390755617667441

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/aneesaprice

When I host giveaway or release events, I always announce it on the Fan Club wall and Sugary, Spicy Reads. I also do ad hoc giveaways for Fan Club members only.

I would like to, if I may, end off by extending my sincere gratitude to the many fantastic friends and readers who support me by reading my work and who encourage me to continue on this writing journey. Thank you too to Mary-Nancy Cody Smith for the amazing editing job on Ghosts & Lovers: First Confession and for her support and belief in me. Thank you to Carrie Fort and Mary-Nancy for surprising me with the Fan Club and for administering it. 

Heroes and Lovers Review

Review of                           

Heroes and Lovers

By Wayne Zurl

Reviewed by R. Murry

My uncle Lou used the word spiffy to infer that an individual had class, was cool, and had his act together.  Yes, the 60’s.  I’m dating myself again.  I don’t think spiffy is a real word, but it describes Mr. Zurl’s character Sam Jenkins and spell check didn’t put a red line under spiffy.  Sam is a hero with style.

Wayne’s characters come alive in a small Southern State in the United States of America where the day to day life of a relocated New York gray haired detective is accounted for.  Criminal events happen that must be rectified.  Mr. Zurl goes into some detail in his interview below.  I won’t.

What I’ll say is the character Sam is the center of resolving crimes against his town where he is the Chief of Police. The whole story revolves around how he intellectually finds clues that others don’t see.  Not because he is such a brain, but because of his investigative street smarts that they don’t have in the Smokies.

Sam’s wit is sometimes over bearing, but enjoyable to the reader. Not so for the other characters he is surrounded with.  To them, he comes across as not being sensitive enough at times.  He feels he is and can’t understand why they don’t get it.

Here’s where the love comes in.  Three women love him: his wife, a reporter, and his police desk sergeant.  They’re all in love with him on different levels.  Fair to say, this presents some uneasiness for Sam, who tries to understand the why.  

Even though he jokes about these subconscious affairs going on, they pop up to the surface.  Sam is oblivious to the underlining affect.  All the three women try to explain with some break through.

The adventures in this light crime chronicle are appealing to the reader who wants to enjoy a read that is not over bearing with a blood and guts story.  Heroes and Lovers is a fun read with some frills attached. 

Buy at amazon:  http://amzn.to/1IuSeYr
  

     

Interview with Wayne Zurl

Interview with 
Wayne Zurl, Author of 

Heroes and Lovers

Questions by R. Murry

Can you tell me a little about yourself?

Shortly after World War Two I was born in Brooklyn, New York. Although I never wanted to leave a community with such an efficient trolley system, I had little to say in my parents’ decision to pick up and move to Long Island where I grew up.

Like most American males of the baby-boomer generation, I spent my adolescence wanting to be a cowboy, soldier, or policeman. Of course, all that was based on movies and later television. The Vietnam War accounted for my time as a soldier.

After returning to the US and separating from active duty, the New York State Employment Service told me I possessed no marketable civilian skills. So, I became a cop. That was as close to military life as I could find. Now that I’m retired from the police service, I still like the cowboy idea, but have interrupted that aspiration with an attempt at being a mystery writer.

Years ago I left the land of the Big Apple, and live in the picturesque foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee with my wife, Barbara.

Do you remember the first story you wrote?

I remember taking an elective English workshop in high school and probably wrote several stories there, but I can’t remember any of them. The first fiction I had published was a novelette called A LABOR DAY MURDER.

I based it on a gambling raid I led at an after-hours club in New York. Like all the Sam Jenkins mysteries, I transplanted the case to Tennessee and gave it a little Smoky Mountain flavor by adding some non taxed moonshine to the illegal card game. The story-worthy problem came after finding a handgun linked to an unsolved homicide.

Were you inspired by someone or something?

Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone mystery series inspired me to develop the Sam Jenkins stories. Stone was a former LAPD detective who took a chief’s job in the small town of Paradise, Massachusetts. I figured I was a cop and Parker wasn't  I could draw from twenty years of war stories and turn them into fiction. How hard could it be to make a retired New York detective a Tennessee police chief? I soon learned getting fiction published wasn't a walk in the park.

What do you like about writing a story?

I’ll always say writing is fun. The post-publication marketing is too much like work. Taking an idea from one or more actual cases or incidents, fictionalizing and embellishing it to a standard of marketable fiction is like making something from raw materials. 

Getting a finished product good enough to be “sold” to a publisher is gratifying. Those finished products satisfy my creative need. And it’s easier to stack up manuscripts or books than model airplanes and oil paintings.

Can you tell us about your book?

HEROES & LOVERS is a composite of real incidents. The initial sting operation used to prosecute a flim-flam artist is the kind of thing cops do all the time. It allowed me to get Sam and TV reporter Rachel Williamson together again and put people in certain places at inopportune times. The more complex problem was based on an assault and attempted rape of someone I knew. 

I used a kidnapping to prolong the incident and add that extra tension readers like. This story shows a darker side of Sam Jenkins atypical from the other books and novelettes. Sometimes cops do things they wouldn't ordinarily do if they become too personally involved with a case.

Here’s the book jacket summary:

Sam Jenkins might say, “Falling in love is like catching a cold.  It’s infectious and involuntary. Just don’t sneeze on any innocent people.” 

Getting kidnapped and becoming infatuated with a married policeman never made Knoxville TV reporter Rachel Williamson’s list of things to do before Christmas. 

Helping her friend, Sam Jenkins, the ex-New York detective and now police chief in Prospect, Tennessee, with a fraud investigation sounded exciting and would get her an exclusive story. 

But Sam’s investigation put Rachel in the wrong place at the wrong time and her abduction by a mentally disturbed fan, ruined several days of her life.

When Jenkins learns Rachel has gone missing he mobilizes all personnel at Prospect PD and enlists his friends from the FBI to help find her.

During the early stages of the investigation, Sam develops several promising leads, but as they begin to fizzle, his prime suspect drops off the planet and all the resources of the FBI isn't helping.

After a little old-fashioned pressure on an informant produces an important clue, the chief leads his team deep into the Smoky Mountains to rescue his friend.  But after Rachel is once again safe at home, he finds their problems are far from over.

And if anyone is in the mood for a short film with some really cool music, here’s the video trailer link: http://youtu.be/koFYAGc6I3U

What genre best fits for the book?

It’s a police mystery with a pinch of thriller tossed in.

Are you working on something new at the moment?

I've just finished revisions and my portion of editing on another full-length novel called PIGEON RIVER BLUES. As soon as my wife proofreads it, I’ll ship it off to the publisher for his editor to take a look. Here’s my idea of a dust jacket summary:

Winter in the Smokies can be a tranquil time of year—unless Sam Jenkins sticks his thumb into the sweet potato pie.

The retired New York detective turned Tennessee police chief is minding his own business one quiet day in February when Mayor Ronnie Shields asks him to act as a bodyguard for a famous country and western star.

C.J. Profitt’s return to her hometown of Prospect receives lots of

publicity . . . and threats from a right-wing group calling themselves The Coalition for American Family Values.

The beautiful, publicity seeking Ms. Proffit never fails to capitalize on her abrasive personality by flaunting her alternative lifestyle—a way of living the Coalition hates.

Reluctantly, Jenkins accepts the assignment of keeping C.J. safe while she performs at a charity benefit. But Sam’s job becomes more difficult when the object of his protection refuses to cooperate. 

During this misadventure, Sam hires a down-on-his-luck ex-New York detective and finds himself thrown back in time, meeting old Army acquaintances who factor into a complicated plot of attempted murder, the destruction of a Dollywood music hall, and other general insurrection on the “peaceful side of the Smokies.”

Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?

I've learned something very important from having my stories produced as audio books. Listening to what you write gives you a better perspective than just reading it to yourself over and over again. Ending up with a cadence or writing voice that sounds good to a reader is just as important as any other aspect of writing. So, I’d recommend to take what you believe is a finished product, lock yourself in a room or sit in the woods, and read your story aloud. You will pick up little things that need to be rephrased or tightened up every time.

When you’re peddling your work to an agent or publisher, who accepts submissions directly from an author, NEVER GIVE UP. Don’t think that just because one or two dozen people reject you, all is lost.

Where can people go to read your work?

A good place to start is at my website. Readers can find all my published works, a chronology of the stories, summaries and excerpts, reviews and endorsements, and even photos from the areas when the action takes place. Then, all the larger sellers have given me author pages. 

Here’s a list of links:

Author website:  http://www.waynezurlbooks.net 

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/#!/waynezurl 

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/waynezurl

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4158372.Wayne_Zurl

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/author/waynezurl 

B&N author page: http://barnesandnoble/s/wayne-zurl

Amazon direct link: http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Lovers-Wayne-Zurl/dp/0985138890/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346682245&sr=1-16&keywords=wayne+zurl

Barnes & Noble direct link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/heroes-and-lovers-wayne-zurl/1111849688?ean=9780985138899

Mind Wings Audio author page: http://mindwingsaudio.com/?s=wayne+zurl

Do you have anything to add?

Sure. I’d like to thank you for reading my book and inviting me to your blog to meet your fans and followers. Since I’m writing this on December 17^th, I’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday—no matter which one you celebrate, and a healthy New Year.