Found a Funny Children's Book Author!

I happened to choose a kid's book from our free library and discovered a new author for me--Dan Gutman. I Enjoyed MISS DAISY IS CRAZY so much that I ordered all the Dan Gutman books I could get from the library (39)! They are quick reads and funny! They are aimed at 6 to10-year-olds but I think any elementary child would enjoy them. If you want a laugh, go read one of his books! They make me laugh out loud!

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We Both Loved "The Overnight Guest" by Heather Gudenkauf

Wow!  The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf is action packed from beginning to end!  True crime writer, Wylie Lark, finds a farmhouse out in the woods where she can finish her new book in peace and quiet, so she thinks.  When she finds a child buried in the snow near her farmhouse, she has her hands full!  

I Loved this book because it had non-stop action and the characters were true to life.  It was really good!  I highly recommend it!  (Gerard's review 3/29/22, 5++ stars)

Karen's review:

I agree with my husband's review on The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf.  Although I was confused and a bit frustrated with the first half of the book because three story lines were going on at once, I stuck with it and am glad I did.  The three story lines are:  (1) Wylie returning home to write a true-crime novel about her life and finding a child and a woman out in a blizzard who she helps, (2) Josie, a girl who lives with her grandparents after her family is murdered, and (3) a woman and child who are held captive in a basement for years.   I actually felt like reading all the chapters that were dated August 2000 first and then going back to read the ones from the present.  I was relieved when I finally reached the point where everything was connected and it made sense.  This is a murder mystery full of action.  There are even discussion questions in the back for book clubs to use.  (5 stars) 

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"Finders Keepers" by Stephen King is a GREAT READ!

Finders Keepers by Stephen King is listed as one of PEOPLE Magazine's best books of the summer and they are right! 

Morris Bellamy loves the main character in his favorite author's books.  The author has not come out with a new book in years, and Morris is upset and decides to take matters in his own hands.  Morris kills his favorite author, steals some of his money and the notebooks that contain some unpublished work and hides the money and notebooks before he gets jailed and sentenced to life.  When he is paroled 35 years later, he cannot find either the money or the notebooks.  Who took them?  What did they do with them?   Does Morris come after whoever took them?

This is a great read, I LOVED IT from the start and it got better as it went along.  Vintage King! This is the sequel to Mr. Mercedes which I also liked.
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"Low Pressure" by Sandra Brown

Low Pressure by Sandra Brown is a mystery about Bellamy who writes a novel based on the murder of her older sister which becomes a best seller. Although she used a pseudonym and didn’t use the real names, a reporter discovered it was based on fact and the author’s identity is exposed. She receives threats and begins to seek answers as to who is threatening her for writing about the murder. She had only been 12 at the time of the murder and her memory was spotty. Her investigation not only puts her in danger, but also others and secrets are brought to light. The killer was a big surprise to me! Along with the mystery is the romance between Bellamy (the rich girl) and Dent (the poor boy), one of her sister’s boyfriends who Bellamy had a crush on.

This book had an interesting enough story line to make me keep reading, but I can’t say it was an enjoyable read. I didn’t relate to any of the characters, the dysfunctional family with all the secrets, nor did I like the intimate sex scenes or the foul language. It just seemed far-fetched and unbelievable. After enjoying Unspeakable and Lethal by Sandra Brown, I was disappointed with this book.
(Karen's review, rating 2 stars)

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Meet Amish Romance Novelist Shelley Shepard Gray

I first heard about Shelley Shepard Gray from Christian Fiction Blog Alliance promoting The Caregiver.  She sounded like someone I would like to know so was thrilled to see she was coming to our library for a "Meet The Author" night.

 

Shelley shared how her imagination developed as a child because her father was an alcoholic and her mother had problems so often she would be by herself and just daydream about how life could be better.  As a 6^th grade teacher, on breaks she would write little romances and then go back to teaching again.  When she took a year off from teaching, she found house cleaning was not her thing and began writing. 

 

She wanted to write western romance novels but couldn’t find a publisher.  Her first book was a 400 pg. western romance that got rejected.  She was told there were too many western romances around and she should  write Amish romances instead because there were less books in that genre.  Shelley liked visiting the Amish stores but really did not want to write about them at first.   

 

Not wanting to disappoint her wonderful agent, she gave it a try thinking she would submit something off the wall, it wouldn’t be any good and that would be it for that.  It turned out that they liked Hidden even though the main character was not Amish.  When researching her book, three things that impressed her about the Amish were:

 

1.  Their faith is real, it’s who they are.  They live out their faith every day, not just attend services once a week. 

 

2.  Family and community is all-encompassing.  Parents teach their children the same skills they learned from their parents such as canning, sewing, quilting, cooking.  They actually know their neighbors and speak face-to-face with them.  Families spend time doing things together.  She also discovered they are not all farmers.

 

3.  The Amish enjoy the moment and live in the present.  Each season has specific things to do and enjoy.  Instead of complaining about the bad weather, they look for things to do inside and enjoy the inside time.  when the weather is nice, they actually take time to sit outside and watch the birds.

 

Shelley never thought she’d be a writer and still can’t believe people actually pay to read the stories she loves to write.  Getting published as a writer was definitely a “God thing.”  Since her first failure, she has had 30 books published--some romance under her maiden name of Galloway with Harlequin and 11 Amish romance novels with Harper Collins.

 

Shelly was very humble and amusing as she shared about some of her characters in her books and her time with her Amish friends, questioning them while hoping she wouldn’t offend them.  She shared that she always begins a book thinking of her characters first and then the plot.  She discusses her characters with her husband as she writes. 

I’ve only read two of her books so far:  Hidden and Wanted but look forward to reading some more, especially finishing the Sisters of the Heart series.  I am currently reading Spring's Renewal, the second book of her Seasons of Sugarcreek series.  The other two in the series are Winter's Awakening and Autumn's Promise.  She wanted to do a summer one since there are four seasons and she wanted to write some more with these characters; however,  her publisher told her that series of just three work best. 

I plan on attending more of these Library “Meet The Author” programs!  Have you read any of her books?  What did you think of them?  Have you met any authors?  Does your library have programs like this too?  What author would you like to meet?

 

Visit her website at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com

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Interview With New Author: Toye Brown, author of "Obsessive Obsession"

1.  Why did you write Obsessive Obsession? 

I wrote this book based on a short story I did back in high school.  I had to update it to meet with current events and technology of course.  My characters were already formulated and just waiting to be put to a story board.

2.  What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about writing their first book? 

I would recommend that they first have a plan.  Write about what you know.  Don't try to venture into areas you aren't familiar with.  If you spend all your time researching the unknown you will become frustrated and the joy of writing will become a hassle and you most likely won't finish your project.  Two, never be rushed; take your time and think it out.  If a story doesn't make sense to you it definitely won't make sense to your readers.  Three, use a good editing service.  When you edit yourself, you become immune to certain aspects.  You have read the story so much that you skip or overlook simple mistakes.  If you employ family or friends to help you edit, you might still want to have a person that is not connected with you or your storyline to read the whole manuscript to highlight or make suggestions before you submit it.  As a first time author, you will make mistakes.  Unless you are an English major or actually did editing in one form or another, there will be mistakes.  Some of the best authors in the business had errors in their books and if you self-publish there is a greater chance of those errors happening.  Editing is very time consuming and expensive so check pricing and find a person that is as dedicated to your work as you are. 

3.  Do you have a favorite character in your book?  If so, who and why? 

I tried to make all my characters equal but if I had to choose I would say Nayla.  Nayla proved to be the heroine because she was strong and not one to be pushed around while sticking to her values. 

4.  I thought it was funny you used the name Bea Taylor for the one cop.  Did you know Bea Taylor is the name of the nice grandmother on "The Andy Griffith" show? 

    

Yes, I knew that was her name but I wasn't thinking of that show when I put my characters together. 

5.  How long did it take you to write your book? 

  

It took about a year.  I did it in sections so I could place certain character scenes where I wanted them.  Working from the back forward helped me to develop my story line also.   I had to do some researching so working in sections was best for me.  I kept all four sisters on different story boards so I wouldn't confuse them or the direction I was going with them.

6.  What are story boards?

I made up boards and I would write what I wanted each character to do and how.  They were sisters but needed their own identity.  By making up a story board I could write for one character at a time and not have them lapse into the next character. Take Belle for example, she was the giving and nurturing sister, so she wouldn't have the same traits as Tina or Nayla. I kept her separate and wrote only for her on her board.

7.  Now that you have written a book, is there anything you would like to change or do differently next time? 

There is a lot I would do differently.  I will not be rushed into making decisions and definitely use an editing service.  I had other people reading for me but they got caught up in the story and missed the same mistakes I did it seems.  I plan to do a reprint of this book maybe next year and release it on Kindle.

8.  Do you plan on writing any more books? 

My next book is in the works titled "Nayla's Dilemma" and it picks up where this book left off.  I hope to finish a trilogy before branching off into other mystery novels.

 Stop by Toye's blog to learn more about her at Welcome to My Fictional World.