Monday, July 30, 2012

It's Miscellaneous Monday!!

Each Monday I post a combination of five random things either about myself, responses to questions from followers or general thoughts on current events. If you'd like to participate you can leave a comment or send me an email at Mackpack@insightbb.com.


Over the course of the last five years I've almost stopped watching TV entirely. I'd much rather spend my precious free time curled up with a good book. Here are some of the titles that are next in line on my reading list:
  • Fork in the Road To Apocalypse by Jeff Gonsalves (In process)
  • Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong
  • The 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy by EL James
  • A Discovery of Witches / Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
  • Blood and Mint Chocolates by Adrianne Brennan
  • Carbon Copy by Terri Talley Venters
  • Slave Trader by Carol Marvell
  • Last Chance Upon a Murdor by Desiree Lee
  • Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon  


It's funny how every four years we all gather around to watch a bunch of sports we know absolutely nothing about, and are on the edge of our seats cheering our guts out for our country to win. I mean, when is the last time before Friday that you watched Badminton? or water Polo?




Teresa and I LOVE going to the movies! After nineteen years together we still treat ourselves to a "date night" each week, which more often than not includes a show. So if you're wondering if the latest release is worth seeing drop me a line, and I'd be happy to share my thoughts :)










One of the great questions I have pondered since childhood is "What's at the end of the Universe?" I mean, is there a giant "Stop - turn back now" sign? How could something like Space end? Then again, how can anything be infinite? I've read all the theories about how space is bent and all that but to me that's a cop out. That would be like saying "because you have no sense of direction and keep driving around in circles, it proves the City of Louisville goes on forever."



Me and my Brothers played in several 4-on-4 basketball tournaments growing up... and got slaughtered in all of them :) Believe it or not, the skinny one second from the right is me. God what I'd give to be back within 60 LBS of that weight again! In order from left to right it's Brian, Kevin, me and Craig. We may have sucked (okay, we did suck), but no one grew up in a closer family. Along with my sister, they are my best friends to this day.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Guest Blog with Carol Marvell, Author of Slave Trader - In the Name of Freedom

Carol lives on a small property in Queensland, Australia. She works in a local primary school as a School Officer / Librarian / Community Development Officer. Born in Childers, she grew up on a cane farm. Carol has been married for twenty-six years and has three children, two girls and a boy. She has travelled extensively throughout the world, visiting the US, UK, Europe, China, Japan, New Zealand and of course, Australia. Her other passion is music. She plays bass guitar in a country rock band with her husband and two other guys, and is also a member of a symphony orchestra. With over fifty members, the orchestra is voluntary and visits retirement villages and small towns.
Slave Trader – In the Name of Freedom is Carol’s first novel. The action/adventure story follows Detective Billie McCoy in her fight for freedom after she is caught up in a modern day slavery trade run by a corrupt cop. The sequel, Providence Road – In the Name of Friendship is coming soon from Wild Child Publishing.



Slave Trader – In the Name of Freedom - For the past three years, young prostitutes and destitute women have been vanishing without trace. Their fates unknown, the only common links to their disappearances are their good looks and prison records. Never before has a cop been taken.
Detective Billie McCoy, a member of an elite undercover squad, is on assignment when she stumbles onto a slavery racket that goes deeper than she could ever have imagined. Plunged into a web of corruption and evil, not only does she have to contend with the slave traders, but her fellow prisoners – all who hate cops.
Stretching from the streets of Sydney to the rainforests in far north Queensland, it’s a race against time. Filled with determination, disappointment and twists, the story follows Billie’s fight for freedom and her greatest ever challenge. She will need all her cunning and skill to get out alive and see justice done.
Blood will be spilt, hopes will be destroyed – all to uncover a plot so unpredictable that only fate can decide . . . .



My contact links are:
Twitter me here at:   http://twitter.com/carolmarvell
Click on any of these links to purchase a copy of Slave Trader – In the Name of Freedom
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-name-of-freedom-carol-marvell/1110624504?ean=2940014386432&itm=1&usri=carol+marvell

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Come join in on Write-along Wednesday!!

Each Wednesday I will post the beginning of a scene, then each of you can leave a comment to continue the story from there. Be sure to read all of the comments before posting as they will build on each other. Only rule is to keep the comments PG rated. Let's see where the story takes us!!

             Watching Kyra tend to the German shepherd’s injured paw with such love and devotion, as if it was her own child rather than the pet of a loud mouthed elderly lady that constantly criticized her, made me truly hate my job. In three and a half minutes a doped up seventeen year old was going to kick the front door in and shoot her twice in the chest, then stand over her dead body while he rummaged through the cupboards for drugs. 
And what could I do about it? Not a damn thing. My only purpose for being here was to guide her benevolent soul to its final destination. Well, technically I could incinerate the bastard before he ever stepped foot inside the clinic—as an Archangel I had the power of God’s wrath at my fingertips—but  meddling with destiny was a good way to end up on the wrong end of a lightning bolt from the big guy.
It wasn’t until Kyra shrieked and stumbled frantically away from me that I realized I’d assumed corporal form. Crap. 

Monday, July 23, 2012

Miscellaneous Monday

Each Monday I'll share a combination of five things about myself, responses to questions I receive and general thoughts about current events in the world. If you'd like to participate, leave a comment or send me your questions at mackpack@insightbb.com.



One of the reasons Dangerous Waters is set in Boston is that I've been a diehard Patriots fan since I was six years old. I wasn't able to attend a game in person until 2010, but we did visit the old Sullivan stadium on a family trip when I was nine, arriving just after midnight. In a truly "Wally World"esque moment, my parents talked a guard into letting us into the stadium :)






One of the traits I share in common with Emily (the protagonist) is a profound love of nature and wildlife. My wife and I have visited Yellowstone National Park three times and plan to renew our vows there someday. Hiking and animal photography are among my favorite hobbies.





I wrote my first Novella, The Bat Boy, when I was in Ninth grade. It was one of five selected to be read to local grade school children, which was a wonderful and yet scary experience for an introverted fifteen year old. My brother Craig was quite the artist even then, and  drew all the illustrations by hand. The first recognition I received for my writing was a short story I wrote in fifth or sixth grade called The Hill.





Another thing I share in common with Emily is that I competed for a high school state championship, with our team winning the Class AA trophy my senior year. I'm pictured on the right hugging one of my best friends in high school, Andy Squires, shortly after the game ended. I went on to play one year at Saginaw Valley State University before hanging up the cleats to focus on my education.






Teresa and I have been blessed with several amazing dogs in the 19 years we have been together. Sophie (on the left) is just over twelve years old and is a big time daddy's girl. Whenever I move from one room to the next she is never far behind. We spoil her rotten of course, which she enjoys immensely. Our carpet is always littered with toys in various states of destruction.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Guest Blog with Patricia Yager Delagrange, Author of Moon Over Alcatraz

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Patricia attended St. Mary’s College, studied her junior year at the University of Madrid, received a B.A. in Spanish at UC Santa Barbara then went on to get a Master’s degree in Education at Oregon State University.  She lives with her husband and two teenage children in Alameda, across the bay from San Francisco, along with two very large chocolate labs, Annabella and her son Jack.
Her horse Maximus lives in the Oakland hills in a stall with a million dollar view.


Patricia’s first book Moon Over Alcatraz was published in January of this year.  Her second book Passing Through Brandiss will be published by Wild Child Publishing sometime later this year.





Moon Over Alcatraz by Patricia Yager Delagrange:

Brandy Chambers was looking forward to the birth of her first child.  She and Weston move from San Francisco to the small town of Alameda to start a family, she’s writing her second book, and Weston has a fantastic job working on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge project.  Having this baby would make her already-wonderful life perfect.

But when the baby dies after a difficult birth, Brandy’s perfect life blows up in her face.  Stricken with grief, she and Weston pull apart.  This new distance leads them both to disaster.  Not until a chance encounter with her high school friend, Edward Barnes, does Brandy pull herself together.  Brandy and Weston agree to recommit to each other, striving to forgive infidelity and recreate their previous existence.

Everything is once again going according to plan--until Brandy discovers she’s pregnant.  While she struggles to cope with this new obstacle, Edward Barnes returns to town and discovers she’s having a baby, while Weston is torn between his love for his wife and his anger at her betrayal.  Can Brandy manage to keep her marriage to Weston together?  Will Edward be a part of Brandy’s life if she and Weston separate?


MUSA BUY LINK:

AMAZON BUY LINK:

BARNES & NOBLE BUY LINK:


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Come join in on Write-Along Wednesday!

Each Wednesday I will post the beginning of a scene, then each of you can leave a comment to continue the story from there. Be sure to read all of the comments before posting as they will build on each other. Only rule is to keep the comments PG rated. Let's see where the story takes us!!


Pinching her nose, Tessa carefully added twelve drops of the bile yellow fluid into the cauldron. One drop too many and his intestines would dissolve into a gooey mess. One drop too few and the only effect the possession spell she’d spent the last month working on would have is to ruin the taste of his overpriced espresso.  Soon Jack “The Hit man” Higgins, the ultra-elite of professional assassins, would be just another mindless thug in her army. Or at least that’s what she thought until she felt the tranquilizer dart sink into the soft flesh at the back of her neck.


Okay.... take it from there!!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Guest blog with Terri Talley Venters, Author of Carbon Copy

Terri Talley Venters,
Author of Carbon Copy

Terri received her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master’s degree in Taxation from the University of Florida. She is a licensed CPA and a Second Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo. She lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with her husband, Garrison, and their two sons.
Carbon Copy is the 1st thrilling novel in the Elements of Mystery Series. The title of each novel will contain an element from the Periodic Table of Elements. Terri recently finished writing Tin Roof, the sequel to Carbon Copy, coming soon from Wild Child Publishing. And Terri’s romantic/suspense novel, Body of Gold, is coming soon from Freya’s Bower. For more about Terri’s upcoming releases, please visit her website http://www.elementsofmystery.com/
On the first of each month, Terri also posts free short stories on her blog. Follow her at http://www.territalleyventers.blogspot.com/as she weaves her way through the Periodic Table of Elements.









Available from

Carbon Copy

By: Terri Talley Venters

Lilly Allen has brains, beauty, and a trust fund. She's living in New York City and her career as a reporter is taking off. She's hoping the love of her life, Grier, will propose soon. She has it all, or so she thinks.

Grier Garrison, Create Life executive, is running the company while his father, Dr. Michael Garrison, is in the ICU awaiting a heart transplant. Grier knows the truth about Create Life and its shady side business. He fears Lilly and her twin brother, Luke, are in danger.

While working on two unrelated stories, stolen newborns and cloning, Lilly discovers a shocking connection. Horrific things are happening, but who is behind it all?





MAGNESIUM

By: Terri Talley Venters

“We must be getting close, I see the magnesium veins in the rock walls.” Victoria led her boyfriend/colleague down a labyrinth cave system outside of Paris, France.
“Let’s be careful, we don’t want to ignite this mine.” Tommy’s sandy-blonde hair glowed in the beam of light from Victoria’s headlight. His untamed curls framed his handsome, green-eyed face.
“We’re fine, we’re using battery powered lights, not gasoline lanterns.” Victoria pointed to the light on her headband covering her long dark hair.
They came to a mining tunnel and stared incredulously at the low height.
“Why would they make such short tunnels? We’re going to have to crawl through on our hands and knees,” Tommy said.
“I thought you liked me on my knees,” Victoria smiled, teasing her man.
“You owe me a back rub later for making me hunch over like Quasimodo to get down here.” Tommy smiled suggestively at Victoria, winking at the recollection of prior rub downs and where they often led.
Tommy stared into Victoria’s ice-blue eyes and couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be, than cave exploring with his beautiful girlfriend and fellow archaeologist.
They crawled through the shaft for a hundred yards. Just as Victoria felt claustrophobic, the tunnel opened up to a large cavern. Victoria stood upright again and brushed the debris off of her toned limbs.
The cavern appeared as is if someone currently mined it. The scaffolding and ladders went from the floor to the fifty-foot ceiling.
Tommy shined his flashlight along the cavern walls, its beams bounced off of its treasure like tiny prisms.
“Are those?” Victoria asked.
“Diamonds.” Tommy finished her sentence. He retrieved a small chisel from his excavation kit and tapped at the rock surrounding the precious gem. A diamond as big as his fist dropped into his eager hands.
“Incredible, look at all of them. The diamonds I can see in the room alone must be worth a billion Euros,” Victoria said.
“I never knew such an abundant supply existed, and in France,” Tommy said.
“I wonder who owns all of this? They must be withholding to avoid flooding the market and deflating the price of diamonds,” Victoria said.
“You know, I think I know who owns this, assuming the land owners above also own the mineral rights. Look at what is located directly above us,” Tommy said.  He handed Victoria his hand-held, techie-nerd GPS device.
“We’re right below Euro Disney,” Victoria said. 
“I feel bad for stealing from a mouse. But this will fund our digs for the rest of our lives,” Tommy said as he pocketed the diamond.
“Shhh, I hear something,” Victoria said. She ducked behind a mining cart and hid from the intruder. She grabbed Tommy’s strong bicep and yanked him down beside her.
“Oh, crap! Who are these men? They look like, no, it can’t be,” Tommy said. His chiseled-jaw dropped to the floor, along side Victoria’s.
They stared incredulously as a group of miners entered the gem mine. Their short stature and bearded faces made them look comical, yet familiar. They sang a catchy tune as they started their work shift.
“They’re dwarves,” Tommy said, without taking his eyes off of the unique, yet unmistakable workers before him.
“This explains the short height of the mining tunnels and scaffolding. They look just like…” Victoria said, cut off by Tommy’s words.
“I know, only there’s more than seven working here today,” Tommy said.
Victoria and Tommy watched the dutiful dwarves arrive to start their shift. They grabbed their pickaxes and prepared for their day digging diamonds and precious gems out of the rocks beneath Euro Disney outside of Paris, France.
They continued singing the familiar song in unison “Hi Ho….”

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Come join write-along Wednesday!!

Each Wednesday I will post the beginning of a scene, then each of you can leave a comment to continue the story from there. Be sure to read all of the comments before posting as they will build on each other. Only rule is to keep the comments PG rated. Let's see where the story takes us!!

"Are you about finished?" Tara huffed, casting Dom a steely glare that only he dared ignore.
Dom placed the business end of the silencer against the back of the old man's skull and fired again—emptying the clip and spraying brain matter across the plush tan carpet. "Son of a bitch killed my dog." The fact that his hundred-and-five pound Rottweiler was in the process of shredding the senior detective's arm at the time was beside the point.

All right.... take it from there :)

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Meet the cast: Dangerous Waters MSU Cover shoot

The cast for the Dangerous Waters cover shoot has now been finalized!

Jocelyn Elyssa will be playing the role of “Brooke”. Jocelyn is a current BFA Actor at Michigan State University. Working on over 25 productions and leading 10 films in her short career, her most notable appearances are as Alexandria in Beauty Queen, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Abigail in the upcoming film Projection. More at http://jocelynelyssa.weebly.com/


“Daniel” will be portrayed by Chris Coy. Chris is a Junior at Michigan State University and is from Holland MI. He is double majoring in Theatre and Psychology, and plans to move to Los Angeles after school to pursue film and television acting. 







Zachera Wollenberg will be playing the role of “Sandy”. Zachera is going into her Senior year as a Bachelor of Fine Arts acting major at Michigan State University. She plans on moving to either New York or Chicago upon graduation to begin her career as a professional actor.




Jennifer Campbell is doing an amazing job serving as the production coordinator. Jenn is currently attending two colleges. She is a junior at Michigan State University studying social work with a minor in theater, and she is a freshman at Lansing Community College studying sign language. She hopes to work in a hospital doing medical social work, interpreting for Deaf people if needed. She would also like to manage a theater camp for troubled teens someday.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Dangerous Waters cover shoot

The Dangerous Waters MSU campus cover shoot is one step closer today, as we found a promising candidate to portray Daniel! The actress playing Sandy has already been confirmed, and we very close to finalizing our choice for Brooke. Once the cast is set (and I get their permission), I will share their pictures and short Bios on this page. More in depth interviews with each of them will be featured on this Blog after Dangerous Waters is published.

Jennifer Campbell is hard at work hunting down a stage for us to use and finding a student-photographer. She is also obtaining some of the props we will need from the local theatre department. Speaking of which, I wanted to take the opportunity to thank my awesome niece. This idea would have went absolutely nowhere without her. She has taken this project on like a seasoned event coordinator, in spite of having about a billion other things on her plate. It's been so much fun working with her! I can't wait for the on-campus shoot!

More details to come soon...