Tag Archives: loveahappyending.com

Double Party in the Hall of Fame today: Give it up for Linn B. Halton and Amy Gregory

Posted on June 7, 2012 | 21 comments

Roll out the red carpet!
Open the champagne!
It’s time to enter the Hall of Fame!

Yes, today it’s a double celebration as not one but two of my amazing fellow authors over at Sapphire Star Publishing celebrate the launch day for their books.  Meet Linn B. Halton and Amy Gregory!  Grab a cup of tea (or something sparkly, if it’s late enough in the day!), sit back and enjoy as you get to meet two fabulous new authors….

Welcome to the Hall of Fame: the lovely Linn B. Halton!  Linn launches her novel, The Quintessential Gemini today…

I’m so honoured to be here with one of my favourite authors, the effervescent Nicky Wells! This is one rocking lady for sure and she always keeps me smiling.

I thought I would ask Katherine Dale, who is The Quintessential Gemini, to introduce herself first…

“Where do I start? It’s all rather messy actually; my life is falling apart simply because I chose NOT to listen to the fabulous astrologer Mark Ainsley-Thomas. He’s been telling me for a while that there are big changes to come in my daily horoscopes. I know I’ve buried my head in the sand and put my own spin on what that might be – now I’m paying the price. No job, no man in my life except for No. 4, my faithful cat, and when I need Mark to tell me how to put it all back together, his forecasts have become obscure … after 25 years of being my one daily ‘constant’, I feel he isn’t there for me anymore – how will I cope?”

So over to the revered Mark Ainsley-Thomas himself, I have to know what’s happening…

“Well, since acquiring a new agent, the dreaded Harriet Wensworth “Agent to the Stars”, she thinks my future lies in the US. How on earth does the woman think I can produce daily, weekly and monthly forecasts if I’m jetting around the world all the time? I’m an astrologer for goodness sake, not an A-list celebrity! The woman is driving me insane with all these talk show appearances. We’re taking on a new astrologer to help out, but I really do hate letting go of the reins – even though he’s very talented and I knew his late father, an eminent astrologer. I never thought fame would turn me into a TV face, I’m not even sure I like this new role of mine.”

Ah, I’m beginning to understand what Katherine has instinctively picked up on; there is a new guy writing the daily and weekly forecasts. His name is James Kingman and I’ve met him briefly, what a hunk! But not only doesn’t he know it, he’s fragile – he lost his business, most of his money and his long-term girlfriend has moved out now she no longer considers him to be successful.

“A new job helps take my mind off my financial worries, but can I deliver? My style is so different to Mark’s and he’s a really hard act to follow. He’s not only a brilliant astrologer (and astronomer) but he’s so … charismatic. My readings are good, I know my stuff, but I don’t wrap it up in the same way, it’s rather plain by comparison. I also answer the Emails that come in to the website and there’s a woman who keeps asking questions. Her name is Katherine and even though she is one of our paying customers and receives all her personalised forecasts by Email on a daily basis, she’s a real pain. I don’t know what this lady wants, but I’m getting rather exasperated. She can’t really live her life according to her daily horoscope, surely?”

The Quintessential Gemini is available in paperback and e-book from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

Linn B Halton lives in the UK, in the small Gloucestershire village of Arlingham, on the banks of the River Severn in the UK with her adorable husband and cat with attitude – Mr Tiggs! She writes about:  Life, love and beyond … but it’s ALWAYS about the romance… Linn signed with the amazing Sapphire Star Publishing in 2012.

Many of the paranormal events that feature in some of her books are real life experiences. Linn is also a featured Author on http://loveahappyending.com/ and Editor of the feature ‘Author & Associate Catch-Ups‘on the website’s magazine-style blog.

You can visit Linn’s author page at loveahappyending.com as well as at Sapphire Star Publishing.  Linn also has her very own website and blog, and she Twitters and Facebooks as well!

Wow, thank you to Linn for introducing Katherine, Mark and James. I can’t wait to meet them!

And now it’s over to the amazing Amy Gregory: Welcome to the Hall of Fame!  Amy is launching Racing to Love ~ Carter’s Treasure today…

Amy, I think I heard you say that there’s a lot of ‘you’ in your books.  Tell us some more!

Something I’ve always wondered over the years when I read a book is, just how much of what is written on the page is from the author themselves.  Not one to read mysteries or suspenseful books, I stick more to the light-hearted, fun love stories.  When reading those, you can see personalities emerge: how much of that personality is directly from the author?

Well, (as I blush) I have to say in all my books, my personality is glaringly obvious.  I have a wicked smart-mouth, that I don’t apologize for very often, and a naughty sense of humor…yeah,I  don’t apologize for that much either.   I love to laugh and want nothing more than for those I’m around, either in person or clear across the Internet, to laugh with me.  I’ve learned to tailor myself to be polite around those who I might offend, and I have my close friends who I can totally just be myself around, all varying degrees of me.

That’s really fascinating! Is this a conscious choice, a strategy that you have, or does it just kind of… emerge?

My characters are all very different and I don’t think long and hard about their personalities before I start writing, I have a premise and I just go.  I see them come alive as I type, but going back and reading each scene, then each chapter and finally the book as a whole, I’ll start laughing.  Looking at things they’ve said or done and I’ll think to myself…oh I have soooo done or said that!  Or they’ll do things I can totally see myself doing, then I’ll start cracking up.  Just me and my laptop, a cup of coffee and silence, but I’ll have tears running down my face as I picture the scenes in my head.

What can I say…life’s short, enjoy it!

LOL, I like your style.  Let’s hear some more about the book you are launching today:  Racing to Love ~ Carter’s Treasure

From the outside, Molly West had everything, beauty, brains, and a career she’d retired from not once, but twice.  Being in the limelight and in a sport that was male driven, she was often surrounded men.  She ignored first the boys, and as she got older, the men.  Unfortunately, they were all the same, all after one thing, and she had absolutely no use for them.  Her cold shoulder and patented not a chance in hell look were usually enough to get her point across.  Occasionally, she had to resort to her sass—and her brother.

Molly had no plans in changing what was a perfectly good system. That is until she walked into the pits.  When she stood toe-to-toe with the sex in jeans, she knew right then and there that the man her adoptive mother always told her was out there, was now standing right in front of her.

Carter Sterling had traveled the racing circuit since he was a boy.  He’d heard all the old standbys, She’s out there somewhere, love comes along when you least expect it.  Good things come to those that… Yeah, he’d heard them all.  The last place he expected to meet the love of his life was on a pro track.  All she did was smile, and he knew, looking into her sapphire blue eyes, Molly West was his.  Forever.

If it was only that easy.  From the moment he laid eyes on her, he had a gripping feeling in him.  An overwhelming need to protect her.  A girl he’d just met.  Carter had learned a long time ago that gut feelings are almost never wrong.

Molly now held his heart in her hands, but it was going to take a lot more than just love to protect her from the past she thought she’d buried a long time ago.

And here’s the really exciting bit!  Racing to Love ~ Carter’s Treasure is now available in from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk!

Amy Gregory leads an incredibly active lifestyle in Kansas City with her husband and their three fantastic kids who keep them running in three very different directions.  When she’s not rushing her oldest daughter to tumbling, her youngest daughter to music lessons, or sitting track-side watching her son practice motocross, she’s taking the few minutes in between to scribble the next pages in her Racing to Love series.  When asked, “When do you have time to write?” Amy Gregory giggles.  “In bits and pieces,” she says.

Amy is known for her snarky, off the cuff sense of humor, which you’ll find shining through in the characters she’s created.  I’ve spent my whole life trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, and now I’ve finally found it. – Amy Gregory

Find out more about Amy on her blog, or on her Sapphire Star Publishing author page.  Amy is also on Goodreads and you can find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Now then, open that champagne, my friends, and let’s toast these two amazing authors!  **Cheers** 

Wishing you both best of luck on launch day, ladies ~ Rock On!

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CentreStage with Richard Holmes: Inspired!

Posted on June 6, 2012 | 25 comments

Welcome again to CentreStage!  CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, often introducing fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as my fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  On CentreStage, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my great pleasure to welcome a loveahappyending.com featured author…  Introducing: the amazing Richard Holmes!

Richard says:  “You Can’t Beat A Bit Of Inspiration”

First of all I would like to thank the wonderful Nicky Wells for having me as a guest on her blog.  I know that she has had a number of amazing authors as guests and it’s an honour for me to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before.

**Nicky blushes** Thank you for your kind words, Richard, it’s lovely to have you visit today. 🙂  Sorry to interrupt, please continue….

I have chosen as a theme for this short post, “inspirational quotes”.  I don’t know about you, but I love a bit of inspiration and I do get fired up by the thoughts and musings of the world’s great “quoters” both past and present.  Some pieces of inspiration are self-explanatory, such as this masterpiece from Marie Curie:

“Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood”

But there are other gems of wisdom that are open to interpretation and may need a bit of pondering before the meaning becomes apparent, such as this piece from Charles Dickens:

“Have a heart that never hardens; a temper that never tires; a touch that never hurts”

On the surface he appears to be contradicting himself with his talk of a temper that never tires, but if you think about it, it seems that he is actually talking about desire and enthusiasm; the fire one gets in the belly when one gets their teeth into a project.  The drive to keep going right to the end.

I would like to share with you a couple of my personal favourites, and also my own slant on them.  Firstly, this wonderful quote from Sri Sathya Sai Baba; I will never forget the feeling I had when I first came across this because it is so true and apt:“In your heart you will find peace, everywhere else you will find only pieces”

These words are just so true.  If you think about it, when we take the time to find a quiet space and sit with our own reflections, we can and do find that inner peace that passes all understanding.  But in the helter-skelter of the outer world everything seems so disjointed.  We are always running here, there and everywhere; sometimes achieving nothing in the process, and the noise can sometimes be deafening.  Life really can seem like a 1000 piece jig-saw at times with the pieces scattered all over the place.  But when we find that inner peace nothing else seems to matter and we can experience that blissful feeling of being an impartial and silent observer, unruffled by all the chaos in the world.

Pesky me, interrupting again: so sorry! Just had to say how much I adore that quote. It’s beautiful, and I am happy that you’re sharing it here today.  End of interruption, I promise!

Another quote that really inspires me is this one from Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Someone gave me a picture as a gift back in 2003, when I was moving to Wales, and this quote was on it:

“Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

I only recently found out it was one of Ralph’s and it really makes me think whenever I’m having one of my “woe is me” phases.

Lastly, I very recently saw an American female singer being interviewed on TV.  Her name is Melody Gardot, and she had been involved in a terrible car crash. She used her time recovering in a hospital bed to learn to play the guitar.  Although she recovered she was left very sensitive to light and sound, but when the interviewer asked her about her ordeal she said the most wonderful thing.  She described the whole experience as the universe “opening its arms” and giving her the most amazing opportunity which she grasped with both hands.  It made me think of that quote and how she was a classic example of someone who dared to tread where most people would not and because of this she became a shining example for others to follow.

That’s just such an amazing story!  Anyone interested in finding out more about Melody’s story can visit her website here or take a peek at her potted history on Wikipedia.

Well, all that remains now is for me to say thanks again to Nicky Wells for having me as a guest on her blog……. Thanks Nicky!

The pleasure is all mine, Richard. I am humbled and delighted by the quotes and thoughts you are sharing today. Thank you!  Now, I believe there’s a book you’d like to tell us about at this point?

I do indeed!  I’d like to introduce the  first book in the Fragments Of Divinity series. This is an innovative publication of  blog style articles that deal with potentially complicated spiritual subjects in  an easy to read and understand way.  Based mainly on my own actual  experiences, these delightful articles will provide both inspiration and insight  to the reader, and will also answer many of those nagging questions that you  thought you would never receive answers to. A truly inspirational read.

And here’s Richard’s bio and amazing life story:

Richard was born in London in 1955 and has lived a very topsy turvey life that hit rock bottom as we entered the new millennium.  “I always felt like a bit of a misfit, not really belonging anywhere. This is illustrated by the fact that I left school at 15 with no qualifications and would have been asked to leave had I not done so voluntarily. By the time I was 17 I’d had 24 jobs and was just not able to settle anywhere.”

Out of frustration and boredom Richard joined the army in 1976, but this did not work out either and he left at the end of 1979.  After a three-month interim period Richard went off to Germany to work and remained abroad for six years. It was during his time in the army and in Germany that he succumbed excessively to the temptations of alcohol.

Richard returned to the UK in 1986 and by the mid 1990’s found himself in a pretty sorry state. Things came to a head during the latter part of 2000 when Richard’s life seemed to sink down to an all-time low.  “Finally, out of the darkness there came a light and in 2001 I found my spiritual pathway giving me a purpose in life“.

These days Richard lives in Tetbury, Gloucestershire and has been working as a medium for over ten years. He runs workshops in various spiritual topics, gives private consultations for guidance along life’s pathway and also tutors on a one-to-one basis in meditation and spiritual awareness. He is a Reiki healer, psychic surgeon, spiritually inspired artist and gives profound interpretations of dreams.

Visit Richard on his website or at loveahappyending.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter.

You can buy Richard’s books on amazon.co.uk,  amazon.com and smashwords.

Well, I have to say I am positively reeling from all these insights (in a good way, of course!). Wow!  Over to you, dear reader.  Which quote speaks to you loudest?  Do you have a favourite inspirational saying or quote? We’d love you to share!

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Then and Now: Metamorphosis of an Author

Posted on June 1, 2012 | 26 comments

Do you know that old saying, “what a difference a year makes”?  Well, it’s not even a year–it’s just under eleven months, actually–since I started my publishing journey.  Lately, I’ve introduced quite a lot of changes and have blogged about them as I went along.  I felt it was time to take stock and consider how this here ‘hapless duckling’ has morphed into… well, not quite a graceful, soaring swan, yet, but perhaps one that is poised and ready to fly.

That was then…

The day is 9 July 2011.  It’s Monday morning, 9:30 a.m., and my debut novel, Sophie’s Turn, has just this minute appeared ‘live’ on Amazon Kindle.  After four months of writing, several rounds of editing, seven years of maturing, and a frantic few weeks preparing my masterpiece for self-publication, it is finally ‘out there.’  I shed a tear or two; it is a very emotional moment.  Unsurprisingly, however, nothing much happens.  No, Sophie’s Turn does not hit the bestseller lists within days, or go viral.

This was my author platform then:

A cover, lovingly, expertly and painstakingly crafted by hand…

…and a photograph (well, a cut-out).

Nicky’s author image, mach 1

That’s it? you say.  Uhm, yes.  But fear not, I have learned a few things along the way.  Take a look at…

This is now!

I’m a fast learner, and things changed quickly.  I reached out to friends for advice, and then to bloggers. I started building a network, garnering reviews and visibility, making new ‘virtual’ friends.  In October, I was honoured to join the unique and interactive reader/author project, loveahappyending.com.  And in February 2012, I was thrilled to sign with trail-blazing US publisher, Sapphire Star Publishing.  So let’s take a look at my platform as it is today.  Spot the difference?

My slogan.

My glamorous author photo (if I say so myself).
Find out here about the provenance of this photo!

Romance That Rocks Your World! Meet Nicky Wells, Author.

My brand.
Read all about the unveiling of the Rock Star Romance brand here.

My stunning cover.
Find out about the people who helped create this cover here.

My social networking platform.
(still under construction… ever expanding)

So, it does feel like I have come a long way.  Hopefully, I am poised and ready to fly when Sapphire Star Publishing is launching Sophie’s Turn on 6 September 2012.  Thank you to all the many fantastic people who are helping me along the way, not least: Amy and Katie at Sapphire Star Publishing; Jessie Dalrymple; Shirley Mukisa;  Shaz Goodwin; Sue Fortin; Linn Halton; everyone at loveahappyending.com; Deborah Smith; my gorgeous husband; and the many, many wonderful bloggers who support me: know that you make this author’s world go round!

After all this, it still makes me uncomfortable to ‘boast’.  I don’t mean to boast, as such.  I abhor boasting, and would rather hide in a corner.  So why this post?

Well, for one, I simply mean to share my joy and excitement.  And for another, I hope that sharing my experience may perhaps help new and aspiring authors find a shortcut to building their own strategies and platforms.

So here’s the question for the day, Id’ love to hear your thoughts: 

All you amazing established authors out there, what was YOUR biggest ‘aha’ moment along the way?

All you wonderful aspiring authors, what is YOUR biggest challenge on the road to publication?

26 Comments

Posted in Miscellaneous, Sapphire Star Publishing Book Launch

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CentreStage with Owen Carey Jones: Illicit Gems and Dramatic Career Changes

Posted on May 30, 2012 | 14 comments

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular my fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my honour and my pleasure to host a fellow Loveahappyending.com author, namely the one and only Owen Carey Jones!

First of all, let’s have the official low-down on Owen, the author…  Introducing:  Owen Carey Jones

Born in Belize in the Caribbean, Owen Carey Jones is a former banking professional who decided on a change of career at the age of 45 and studied for an MA in Screenwriting (Fiction) at the Northern Film School in Leeds in the UK.

On completion of his Masters degree in 2000, Owen established Carey Films Ltd and went on to become an award winning independent feature film maker whose most recent film was screened in cinemas across the whole of the UK before being taken on by film distributors in both the UK and the USA.

As well as being shown in cinemas, Owen Carey Jones’s films have been seen by more than 40 million people on television in countries on four continents including China and the USA and in 2004, as a result of his work as a film writer, producer and director, he was elected to membership of the British Academy of Film & Television Arts (BAFTA).

Rough Cut is the first novel by Owen Carey Jones but comes after more than ten years of writing the screenplays for his films during which, he says, he has learned a lot about storytelling.

Owen has so far undertaken 21 book signing events for Rough Cut with Waterstones branches around the country and has another nine signings scheduled before the current tour comes to an end. After that, he will be focussing on getting his next feature film through development and into production, hopefully in 2013.

Thank you for introducing yourself!  There’s quite a lot to take in here.  Let’s backtrack a little.  Tell us how you came to be a writer…

Having spent twenty-five years working in financial services, ending up as a publisher of several specialist magazines for the sector, in 1994 I underwent emergency heart surgery (quadruple coronary artery bypass). Three weeks later I was back at work and at my six monthly appointment with the cardiologist was told to stop or I would soon be dead!  I closed down the publishing company the next day and wondered what to do with the rest of my life, quite quickly deciding to do what I had always wanted to do: write. When I had left school with no A-levels (I found school work incredibly boring!), I told my father that I was going to be a poet. Of course he suggested that I get a ‘proper’ job, which I did.  But now, with time on my hands, I decided to write a novel.

That would be Rough Cut, I assume: Wow!  Tell us more about Rough Cut.

Rough Cut starts when a New York dealer in gemstones discovers a number of top quality synthetic diamonds in a batch he has bought, industry watchdog, the Federation of International Diamond Traders calls in Belizean, Carter Jefferson, to trace their origin.

Carter, a synthetic diamond specialist who recently quit working for the FIDT to concentrate on writing but who still works for them on an ad hoc basis, is reluctant to take the case until he finds a reference in the file which takes him back 25 years to the time when he was a geology student at Oxford University. Old relationships are revived and family secrets emerge as an attractive English girl and a passionate young Frenchman are sucked into the web of deceit and death surrounding the illicit gems.

Owen, what an intriguing story!  And quite an amazing career change from banking to writing: wow!  How did your writing career evolve from there? 

After getting professional feedback on the first draft, I realised that if I was serious about writing, I needed to get some education, so I applied to the Northern Film School in Leeds and two years later graduated with an MA in Screenwriting (Fiction). From there, I got involved in directing films and went on to make three feature films which have now been seen in cinemas and on television by more than 40 million people in countries on five continents including the UK, China and the USA.

A double career change with a sideline (or main line?) into film making.  I take my hat off and stand in awe at such determination!  But take us back to the evolution of your masterpiece… 

At the beginning of 2010, I decided to rewrite my novel, Rough Cut, which I had been developing as a screenplay over the years, taking into account everything I had learned about story telling in the years that had passed since I first wrote it. When writing, one of the things I learned early on is that it is easier to write about places you know well, so I tend to set my books and screenplays in familiar places and, in the case of Rough Cut, places I have a particular fondness for.

Write what you know; I am certainly familiar with that concept!  How do you fit all your projects and ambitions together? 

My current life involves various things, including doing research for international banks (to pay the bills!), developing future film projects, and writing. So writing has to be fitted in around my other activities but I can usually set aside periods of a few weeks when I can concentrate on one specific project, be that a film or a book.

Hee hee, I know what you need… what every writer needs! A spell on a desert island! What would you do, if? 

If I were stranded on a desert island, I would be so thrilled to be living near the sea that I wouldn’t really need anything else, but I would probably like to have a book of Times crosswords (and a pen of course!) and a stock of thriller novels (in the vein of John Grisham rather than Kathy Reichs). And I’d make sure my iPod was fully charged up so that I could listen to my collection of music ranging from Sandie Shaw’s 1960s songs through to Diana Vickers’ more recent songs, with some Human League favourites in between. And it would probably be a good idea to have some pads of paper so that  I could carry on writing about my experiences on the island when my laptop ran out of juice!

Fantastic answer!  Owen, it’s been a pleasure to find out the backstory to Rough Cut.  Thank you for visiting CentreStage today and letting us peek behind the scenes.   

If you want to find out more about Owen, you can visit his websites featuring Carey Films and Rough Cut.  You can buy Rough Cut on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com  or from Waterstones.  Owen is on Twitter and Facebook as well as Facebook fanpages. And, of course, Owen has an author page at Loveahappyending.com.

Now then, my question for YOU, dear reader, is obvious, isn’t it.  What would YOU do if you came into the possession of gems, however illicit or rough cut?

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Nicky Wells, Gracing BBC Airwaves (Again)

Posted on May 17, 2012 | 19 comments

Holy Microphone! as Sophie would say.
It’s official! I’m a radio addict.  I love being “live on air” on the radio.  So: I thought I’d do it all over again….

Nicky and Elise after the interview in December ’11

As many of you probably recall (given the noise I made about it!), on 21 December last year, I had the great fortune of visiting Elise Rayner on the Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Bristol to talk about my romantic comedy debut, Sophie’s Turn.  Elise gave me an amazing amount of airspace during my first “Beeb” interview and I remember ‘threatening’ that I might have to return when the sequel is written.Well, not only is the sequel, Sophie’s Run, written but it has also been signed by Sapphire Star Publishing–alongside, of course, my first novel.  So I thought it was time to make good on my promise (threat?) and return to BBC Radio Bristol for an update.

Today, I had the pleasure of having a 15 minute chat live on air with the wonderful Alex Lewis.  And did I have the best of times again?  Absolutely!

Nicky and Alex after the interview in May ’12
(Thanks for letting me snap-and-share again!)

Alex asked me about me, and my writing, Sophie’s Turn, the sequel, signing a publishing contract and also about loveahappyending.com.  Once again, I forgot all about being in a studio and talking live on air.  It was such fun!  I think I am addicted.

So here’s the audio…

The definite introduction to Me, Nicky Wells, and to Romance that Rocks Your World, with a big mention for loveahappyending.com.

Due to the length of the interview and the size of the resulting sound file… you guessed it, I had to split it into two parts. Actually, the soundcapture software did it for me without telling me but hey ho, I figured it out when two truncated files showed up. Apologoies! Anyhooo….  In Part 1, Alex asks me about my writing history and background right up to the point of signing with Sapphire Star **inelegant interruption of soundfile here**

**resumption of soundfile here** and in Part 2, Alex asks me about connections with Bristol, inspiration and loveahappyending. Rock on!

And here’s the question for the real pros out there:  How do you stop yourself from “uhm-ing” and “err-ing” and mentioning a lot of “stuff” when live on air?

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CentreStage with Sheryl Browne: Of Ships Captains and Swamp Monsters

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 45 comments

Welcome to CentreStage! What an amazing run of authors we’ve had of late… and the series continues to move from strength to strength!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular my fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my honour and my pleasure to host a fellow Loveahappyending.com author, the one and only Sheryl Browne! Welcome Sheryl!  Today, Sheryl writes about ships captains… and unappreciated swamp monsters!

Being a shy, retiring sort of person, I don’t normally like to be centre-stage, but as you’ve asked, I…  Oi, Nicky, shove over a bit!  You’re hogging the spotlight!  Humph.  Thank you.  *Turns good side to audience.*  Now, as I was saying, I don’t generally volunteer to be the main attraction, preferring to stay backstage as suited to my quiet disposition.

Launching into a new venture… in more than one sense!

I certainly would have preferred not to have been the main attraction on one of our recent boating expeditions.  You may, or may not know, because it’s possibly not that riveting, but my partner and I have decided on a major life-change, the idea not only to downsize, but to stop and smell the roses.

We are in the process of swapping this …

…for this!

Our new des res will actually be a luxury (all essentials included, as in plughole for hairdryer) narrow-boat, rather than a tugboat, but still some people might wonder if I haven’t taken leave of my senses. I’m wondering if I haven’t taken leave of my senses, particularly as he who fancies himself as ship’s captain apparently doesn’t notice whether the crew are on board.

My audience didn’t seem particularly moved either, when I plopped silently off the back of the boat into the murky depths of the water.

Captain Unaware doesn’t miss his crew…

Canal banks, you see, don’t have streetlights, a fact I pointed out to ship’s captain, as he deftly wedged our boat in between two correctly moored (as in, they still has the benefit of daylight to moor by) early-birds, shouting instructions to me to jump onto the bank with the mooring rope as he did so.  I did.  I missed.  I wasn’t missed.

I still hadn’t been noticed by my absence as I emerged from the water looking something akin to a swamp monster, nought to be seen for mud but the whites of my eyes.  My audience, three men discussing their day’s sailing, glanced over from their ringside seats on the boat behind us, and then had another sip of their lagers.

The captain, by this time, had managed to negotiate bank from boat, and was admiring the view, clueless, whilst waiting for me to hand him the rope.  I did.  At which point, brow furrowed in obvious concern, he leaned forward to wipe a splodge of mud – from the boat.  Otherwise, he didn’t bat an eye.  Nothing.  Not a flicker of an acknowledgement of my slimy predicament.  I was off his radar.

Taking the sensible way out (just)

Next crew’s job: to fetch mooring pin and mallet, in order for captain to undertake crucial task of securing boat (this job only to be undertaken by person competent enough to accomplish, i.e. someone with scouting experience).  Rather than hit him, possibly with both implements, I chose to bypass the possible murder weapons in favour of the shower.

Captain was still standing on the bank, rope in hand, as I emerged from the shower, cleaner, less pungent, and dressed in my jim-jams.   “Aren’t you going to pass me the mallet?” he asked, peering through the porthole, clearly perturbed.

“*!!*!*!#*!!”  I answered sweetly.

The clunk of the closing porthole shutters was echoed only by the hoot of an owl – and the hasty battening of hatches next door.

Moral of story.  If you are considering sailing off into the sunset by way of relaxing lifestyle-change, you might want to suggest to your man he ditches the captain’s hat, before you end up ditching the captain.  Glug, glug…………………………….

Sheryl, what an amazing story! I’m afraid to say that your humorous rendition of the mud monster experience had me in fits of laughter when you were probably looking for empathy.  But if you will make it sound so funny…..  Thanks for sharing this story, and now let’s find out more about you and your book.  Book first!

Recipes for Disaster
The shortest way to a man’s heart

Mix romantic comedy and step-by-step cooking instructions. Bake at 200 degrees for an entertaining read and handy guide.

She’s a single. He’s a widower. She wants him. He wants her. She wants to impress. So does he. There’s just one catch – she can’t cook. To get him, she needs to get past the big fish – his mother. Lucky her, she’s got an Ace up her sleeve and all she’s got to do is impress this one time. Bad luck, though, her new guy can’t cook either, her dog Rambo is on the loose and now they’ve got to pull off the big lunch at the club. Will it be a match made in heaven? Will they be able to pull off a culinary miracle? Will their combined efforts result in love at first bite? Or is it simply a Recipe for Disaster?

Recipes for Disaster is available in paperback and Kindle format, and you can buy it from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com,  any local bookstore, or direct from Safkhet Publishing

And now let’s find out more about the lovely Sheryl Browne:

Sheryl grew up in Birmingham, UK, where she studied Art & Design. She wears many hats: a partner in her own business, a mother, and a foster parent to disabled dogs.

Creative in spirit, Sheryl has always had a passion for writing. A full member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, she has previously been published in the US and writes Romantic Comedy because, as she puts it, “life is just too short to be miserable.”

Sheryl’s new novel, RECIPES FOR DISASTER, combining delicious and fun recipes with sexilicious romantic comedy, has just been released by Safkhet Publishing. Sheryl has also been offered a further three-book contract under the Safkhet Publishing Soul imprint.  SOMEBODY TO LOVE will be published July 1st 2102.

You can visit Sheryl on her website, on Facebook and on Twitter.  Sheryl is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a featured author with innovative reader/author project, loveahappyending.com. 

Sheryl, this has simply been the most fantastic tale on CentreStage, thank you so much for sharing. I like your style and I adore your sense of humour.

And now it’s over to you, dear reader. Personally, I think Sheryl was remarkably restrained in her management of her misadventure.  What would YOU have done, had you been in her shoes… sorry, mud?

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CentreStage: Janice Horton wows the male of the species with her latest novel!

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 29 comments

Welcome again to CentreStage!

CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular my fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my honour and my pleasure to host a fellow Loveahappyending.com author, namely the amazing Janice Horton! Welcome Janice–and I look forward to hearing about an event that really moved you just lately!

Janice writes: RomCom for Men…!

An amazing thing just happened. My latest eBook, a contemporary romance novel entitled Reaching for the Stars has received its seventeenth review on Amazon.co.uk!

You may understand that I’m pleased – it was a very complementary review – but why was it amazing you ask? Well, you see, it was from a man.  Now, there is no reason why a man should not read and enjoy this novel – as it does have a strong, topical and a humorous storyline, which is told in part from a male point of view.

It’s about a man, after all. A disillusioned and media stalked celebrity chef who has just won his third ‘star’ at the same time as losing his third wife. An irony lost on no one, least of all the infamous chef himself.

But you see, this particular male reader (having at first confessed to downloading ‘Reaching for the Stars’ by accident and reading it anyway) said he really enjoyed it and has since also downloaded my previous novel ‘Bagpipes & Bullshot’. He entitled his review ‘Romcom for Men’.

Well, to say I was delighted is an understatement because here at last was a man who didn’t think that reading a book with a romantic thread in it was not for him, and by posting his review has singlehandedly exploded the myth that my books (about relationships) are written exclusively for only half the population.

And it’s not just books, mine or otherwise, that get those misleading gender genre labels. Take movies for example; even the ones labelled War/Crime/
Action/Adventure usually have a strong thread of romance in the storyline. So why market Romance exclusive as ‘Women’s Fiction’?

Thank you to my lovely male reviewer. You not only moved me with your generosity in taking the time to put up such a wonderful review – you also made my day. RomCom for all!

Hear, hear! I couldn’t agree more! What a fabulous occasion, Janice, I am thrilled and I share your excitement about ‘wowing’ the male of the species.

Let’s find out more about Janice Horton

Janice writes romantic and descriptive novels with humour. Look out for her Amazon bestselling Bagpipes & Bullshot and latest novel Reaching for the Stars. Janice is a regular blogger and you can find her on Twitter and Facebook. When not writing novels, Janice writes lifestyle articles and has had work published in national and international magazines and regional newspapers. She has also been involved in BBC Scotland’s ‘Write Here Write Now’ project. She is a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association and an Associate Author and Editor at Loveahappyending.com. Janice will be speaking at the Loveahappyending.com Summer Audience Event in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, on the 16th June 2012.

You can find Janice’s books on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. 

A big Thank You to Janice for visiting CentreStage today and sharing her fabulous anecdote! 🙂

Now then… calling all men! Are you a closet RomCom lover?  I know at least some of you are, because I know you’ve read Janice’s book and a few of you have read my book, too… but will you own up here?

Calling the ladies: what do you think about genres? Why shouldn’t men read romantic comedies?  And you, do you read crime? Horror? Do you read them out in the open, or in secret?  Let’s have the genre/gender discussion, see what shakes out!

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I’m a Spring Author @StephanieKeyes blog today!

Posted on April 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’m travelling all the way across the pond this morning to meet with the lovely Stephanie Keyes for the Spring Author Series that she’s running on her blog.  Pop on over and find out why seafood features so heavily in my writing…

A big Thank You to Stephanie for hosting me today, and I hope you’ll stop by and join the party.  Cheerio,

~Nicky 🙂 xx

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CentreStage with Stephanie Keyes: Finding Magic in Everywhere

Posted on April 18, 2012 | 35 comments

Welcome to CentreStage!  CentreStage showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome loveahappyending.com featured author Stephanie Keyes to this fifth edition of CentreStage!

CentreStage:  Please give it up for…. STEPHANIE KEYES!

Hi, Stephanie!  Thanks for visiting CentreStage today, it is really exciting to have you here.  Tell us about yourself… Who are you, and what makes you tick?

I am a gadget freak, a GLEEK, a Harry Potter addict, a full-time working mom of two, a wife, a lover of banana and Nutella crepes, and thunderstorms. When I’m working, I talk to so many people all the time, every day, that when I’m home I prefer to stay in and order a pizza over going out and celebrating. I travel regularly, about twenty-five per cent of the time for work, and spend a great deal of my time coaching people on how to communicate more effectively. I self-published my first novel, The Star Child, on December 15, 2011.”

Stephanie Keyes is my pen name. So most of the time I feel like I have this alter ego that I’m maintaining. However, our personalities are identical so maybe we’re twins? Who knows!

Stephanie Keyes’ photo courtesy of
Kristina Serafini Photo

Tell us about your debut novel, The Star Child…

The Star Child is a Young Adult fantasy novel about Kellen St. James, who isn’t just your average seventeen-year-old prodigy. This kid has a Yale degree, a photographic memory, and is addicted to everything 80s. Plus there’s the girl who’s been haunting his dreams for the last eleven years. When the sudden death of his grandmother, takes him from the East Coast to the Irish Coast, Kellen suddenly finds himself face to face with his own personal ghost. Plus, she’s come spinning a tale about a prophecy in which Kellen will save the world from darkness. Together they will travel through an underworld of faeries and ghosts, angels and demons, not to mention a pack of really ticked off wild dogs, all to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time? That’s the question.

What inspired you to write The Star Child?

Kids have to grow up so early today, much earlier than I had to. So when I got the idea for The Star Child, I didn’t hesitate, but immediately started writing it with the YA Genre in mind. Why not encourage imagination a little longer? Plus, I just love the idea of magic and reality co-existing. I always look for magic in everywhere, I believe that we all start out with magic inside of us – we just make a personal decision about whether or not to keep it alive. The Star Child is Stephanie Keyes doing just that.

It sounds like Stephanie Keyes, author, is full of surprises.  Would you like to tell us some of the wild and wacky things you have done in your life?

Wild and wacky…

Well, like my character, Kellen St. James, I too lied to my parents about my college major. I didn’t go as far as to photoshop my grade reports, however, I did keep them from them. When I graduated from high school, I wanted to study Music Education and they wanted me to study Accounting. Now, I have never had a gift for numbers. They don’t interest me. So you can imagine how well that would have gone down as a profession for me. I tried it for one term, before I changed my major to music without telling anyone. It’s a good thing that I did, too, because that was where I met my husband, who was a trumpet performance major.

Anyhow, my parents refused to provide any type of financial support for this little “escapade” of mine. So I subsidized my college expenses by playing in a bar on the weekend in a small jazz band. I played saxophone and sang. In order to make our stage show a little more interesting to the ten or so blatantly intoxicated individuals that showed up, I would walk the bar playing the saxophone while people added tips to the jar. While I am certain that Ella Fitzgerald was cringing at this blatantly disrespectful forum that I’d chosen in which to render covers of her classics, the patrons, while conscious, seemed to enjoy it.

Ooooh, I bet there’s more! What’s the most fantastical experience of your life so far?

For the past fifteen years or so, I’ve been a total workaholic. I’d be glued to my blackberry or whatever smartphone happened to be available. Whenever a work e-mail came, I’d respond, even if it was 2 a.m. My life was structured, organized, and boring. Needless to say that was pre-kids, but that’s another post. Anyway, one day in 2006 a co-worker came and told me that she was planning a vacation to Ireland and I was jealous. I’d always wanted to go to Europe.

My husband and I had planned a trip to London and Paris for our honeymoon in 2001, but tragically, September 11th occurred one month before, and we cancelled our European trip for a honeymoon in New England. So this enticing carrot, dangled directly in front of me by my co-worker, was almost too much to take. When I told my husband about it, he said, “Why, why don’t we just go? What are we waiting for?”

So we planned the trip for the weekend of our fifth wedding anniversary, not knowing that I would be five months pregnant when we actually go to go! What was so fantastic about the trip was certainly the people and the culture, but also the fact that I completely disconnected from everything during that experience and I just lived in the present. There were times when I didn’t remember the last day I worked, breathed air so clean that my lungs burned from taking a shallow breath, and moments when I knew that there must be a better version of me, a better life for me out there.

Though I’m absolutely certain that my fantastical experience might seem boring to some, to me, it was the start of a new life. One that’s been changing every day ever since. Oh and that workaholic? The one who checked her phone in the middle of night? She just turned in her notice.

Whoop whooop and congratulations, that is so exciting for you!  And not at all a boring experience, I think it takes a lot of courage to step out of your life so completely and take a long trip abroad.  Speaking of exciting: I hear you have some very exciting news about The Star Child!

What’s really exciting about The Star Child is that I just signed a contract with Inkspell Publishing for The Star Child.  While I self-published it in December 2011, after signing with Inkspell, the publisher and I agreed that The Star child would benefit from some extra TLC. So it’s gone off of the market for the time being while it gets edited and a new cover. I am thrilled to see how Kellen will turn out! So, although the book isn’t available right now, it will be on September 21st! Look for more information to come on my website or on Inkspell’s website.

Thanks so much for sharing your background, inspiration and fantastic news:  congratulations! That is so exciting, I can’t wait to see how it all develops.  And of course, having read The Star Child, I am anxiously awaiting the sequel!  Rock on, Stephanie Keyes!! X

More about Stephanie Keyes

Stephanie Keyes was born in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania and has worked for the past twelve years as a corporate educator and curriculum designer in the Telecommunications industry. A seasoned, facilitator, Stephanie Keyes is no stranger to presenting. She’s worked in Training and Development for an international telecommunications corporation for the past twelve years; spending the first eight years of her career as a Software Trainer and Technical Writer and the last four working in Human Resources and Employee Development.

Stephanie holds an undergraduate degree in Management Information Systems and a Master’s in Education. She’s also created and delivered several courses on winning and retaining customer business, including Powerful Presentations: Conversations That Drive Results©. In addition, Stephanie has worked extensively as a personal coach and mentor. In her spare time, Keyes also operates a freelance graphic and instructional design business, Sycamore Road Design. She holds a Master’s degree in Education with a specialization in Instructional Technology from Duquesne University and a B.S. in Management Information Systems from Robert Morris University. She is a classically trained clarinetist, but also plays the saxophone and sings. When she’s not writing, she is a wife to a wonderfully supportive husband and mother to two little boys whom she cites as her inspiration for all things writing. The Star Child is Mrs. Keyes’ debut novel.

Visit Stephanie’s website or blog to find out more about her work in progress.  You can follow Stephanie on Twitter or Facebook as well as Goodreads and LinkedIn.  Stephanie has a presence on YouTube and is a featured author with the innovative and interactive author/reader project, loveahappyending.com.

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CentreStage with Patricia Sands

Posted on April 11, 2012 | 16 comments

Welcome again to CentreStage!  CentreStage is a new(ish) feature on my blog that showcases fantastic authors from around the world, introducing in particular fellow featured authors at loveahappyending.com as well as fellow authors in the Sapphire Star Publishing family.  In this new, exciting feature, these authors might write for you about their lives, or their writing journey, or anything else that matters to them.  Every feature will be different in format and flavour, so watch out for a variety of stories and tales.

Today, it is my tremendous pleasure to welcome loveahappyending.com featured author Patricia Sands to this fourth edition of CentreStage!

CentreStage:  Please give it up for…. Patricia Sands!

TRUE FRIENDSHIP

Today, Patricia Sands writes about friendship, the central idea in her award-winning novel, The Bridge Club

How far would you go to help a close friend? Is there a place where you might draw the line and simply have to say no?

The Bridge Club reminds us of the complexities of women’s friendships through an entertaining and often moving tale of eight women whose lives intersect once a month initially to play the game of bridge. What began as one night turns into four decades that span the segments of a woman’s journey from youthful optimism to embracing the challenges and opportunities presented in life’s later years.

Although The Bridge Club is fiction, it is closely based on my own real-life bridge club, still going strong! The women were happy to share their stories and have been my biggest cheerleaders since publishing. They are true girlfriends!

When I’m asked to speak to women’s groups, one fact I love to stress is that whether you are 25 or 85, true girlfriends are always true girlfriends. Some things never change!

The story weaves the reader through a maze of life’s inevitable scenarios and I love hearing from readers who tell me they relate to many of the characters. You will no doubt see someone you know in this story!

Throughout the novel each of the characters faces challenges and change in her life. The Bridge Club emphasizes how honest and loyal friendship helped to enable these changes and how these women empowered and learned from each other in the process.

Through laughter, tears, and everything in between the story meets life head on and affirms that a strong foundation of friendship is a priceless asset. The only thing, in fact, that allows them to face the final chapter’s unimaginable challenge.

The Bridge Club is available in paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon Kindle.

About Patricia Sands

Patricia Sands has stories to tell. In fact, she believes so do we all. Encouraging others to value and share their stories is part of what she works to accomplish through her writing and speaking.

A writer and published author, she is also a blogger and professional speaker: all this since she turned sixty-five. She feels that life continues to present opportunities no matter what our age and it is our choice whether or not we embrace these new possibilities.  Be a “possibilitarian”!

A strong advocate for the importance of friendship, her talks stress the value of the connections women make in their lives and how we are able to empower each other.

Patricia lives in Toronto and has degrees from the University of Waterloo and York University. With a happily blended family of seven adult children and, at last count, six grandchildren, life is full and time is short. Beginning with her first Kodak Brownie camera at the age of six, she has told stories all of her life through photography.

Her award-winning debut novel, The Bridge Club, was published through iUniverse in September 2010 and was a finalist in the Foreword Reviews 2010 Book Of The Year (general fiction) and the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (First Novel – over 80,000 words).  Also a Flash Fiction Finalist (Winter 2010) with Women on Writing, her work was recently included in the anthology “Canadian Imprints” published by the Writers and Editors Network. She is currently working on her next novel.

“It’s never too late to begin something new,” she enthuses. “As the saying goes, just do it!”

What a rousing finale!  I wholeheartedly agree, Patricia!  Thank you for sharing your thoughts and introducing us to your book here today.  To find out more about Patricia, visit her blog or website.  You can also follow Patricia on Twitter or find her on Facebook.

Finally, what do you think about the importance of friendship? Do you have any stories of amazing friendship support that you would like to share?

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