I got into fiction writing because I like to tell stories. I used to love to listen to my parents and other adults tell stories when I was a child, and I will still drop everything to listen to a good story. I recently joined a group called Talk/Story at the Bucks County Playhouse, in New Hope PA, and it's all about storytelling. There are eight of us in the group, led by author and theater director Hester Kamin, and we meet each week to develop stories. These are stories from real life, although there are some embellishments (what good story doesn't have embellishments?). It's been a creative adventure for me to work on my stories and trade ideas with a group of very interesting people. We're having a performance of our stories on Monday, April 28, 8 PM at the Bucks County Playhouse. Here's a video about what we do.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Friday, April 11, 2014
Book Four Is Published
Book Four of "Rose Of Skibbereen" is published! This one took me longer to write, and maybe that's why it has more words than the other three books in the series. The extra words are not because the book covers a longer time period -- in fact, it only covers about 15 years in the 1960s and 70s.
Then again, there was a lot crowded into those years, as anyone knows who lived through them. The 1960s were revolutionary in many ways, and there were major changes in the way we lived and loved and thought about things during that time. That's really why I needed more words to tell the story -- the characters had a lot crammed into those years.
The main character of this book is Rosie Morley, the granddaughter of the original Rose of Skibbereen. Rosie is impulsive, tough, a gifted singer, egotistical, and a dreamer. Her passion and enthusiasm get her into trouble sometimes, and she hurts those around her, although it's usually not intentional.
Other characters who pop in and out of the story are: Pete, Rosie's son; Lucy, Rosie's mother; and Mercy Francis, who is actually Rosie's long-lost stepsister, who comes to Philadelphia on a reluctant quest to find old black and white film of her father, the scoundrel James Francis.
I have lived with this story for months now, and if I don't stop myself I'll babble on forever and give the whole plot away. I think it's a great addition to the "Rose Of Skibbereen" series, and it was fun to write, since I lived through the 1960s and this book brought a lot of memories back.
See for yourself, though. I hope you download the book, which is available on Amazon and Smashwords. And by all means, send me feedback about it! I want to know if you liked it or didn't, and which parts you liked or hated the most. Your comments will make my next book better.
One last thing: for people who don't have an e-reader, you can still read my book on your computer. Just go to Smashwords and you can download a version that you'll be able to read on whatever computer you use.
Oh, one final thing: "Rosie 1" was the cover that won in the voting, so that's what I used.
Then again, there was a lot crowded into those years, as anyone knows who lived through them. The 1960s were revolutionary in many ways, and there were major changes in the way we lived and loved and thought about things during that time. That's really why I needed more words to tell the story -- the characters had a lot crammed into those years.
The main character of this book is Rosie Morley, the granddaughter of the original Rose of Skibbereen. Rosie is impulsive, tough, a gifted singer, egotistical, and a dreamer. Her passion and enthusiasm get her into trouble sometimes, and she hurts those around her, although it's usually not intentional.
Other characters who pop in and out of the story are: Pete, Rosie's son; Lucy, Rosie's mother; and Mercy Francis, who is actually Rosie's long-lost stepsister, who comes to Philadelphia on a reluctant quest to find old black and white film of her father, the scoundrel James Francis.
I have lived with this story for months now, and if I don't stop myself I'll babble on forever and give the whole plot away. I think it's a great addition to the "Rose Of Skibbereen" series, and it was fun to write, since I lived through the 1960s and this book brought a lot of memories back.
See for yourself, though. I hope you download the book, which is available on Amazon and Smashwords. And by all means, send me feedback about it! I want to know if you liked it or didn't, and which parts you liked or hated the most. Your comments will make my next book better.
One last thing: for people who don't have an e-reader, you can still read my book on your computer. Just go to Smashwords and you can download a version that you'll be able to read on whatever computer you use.
Oh, one final thing: "Rosie 1" was the cover that won in the voting, so that's what I used.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
You Can Pick My Next Cover!
I'm almost ready to publish Book Four in my "Rose Of Skibbereen" series, but I'm stuck on one last thing: deciding on a cover. I commissioned two covers, and I can't decide which one I like better. So, I figured I'd let my readers weigh in on this issue. I'm going to post both covers and let you tell me which one you like best. I set up a poll (in the column to the right) to collect your votes, and the one that gets the most votes will be the cover of my newest ebook.
Some background information: one of the main characters in Book Four is Rosie Morley, the granddaughter of Rose Sullivan Morley, the woman who came from Skibbereen to Philadelphia back in 1880 and started this whole saga. Book Four begins in the early 1960s and Rosie is making a lot of poor decisions, as she is prone to doing, which cause no end of trouble for her and the people closest to her. Since she plays a major role in this book, I wanted her to be on the cover.
The problem is, I can't decide which of two pictures of the fictional Rosie I prefer. So, I'm asking for your help, readers. I would like to know which one you like the best. Let me know, and I will be happy to use the one that gets the most votes.
Here are the pictures. The first one is "Rosie 1".
Some background information: one of the main characters in Book Four is Rosie Morley, the granddaughter of Rose Sullivan Morley, the woman who came from Skibbereen to Philadelphia back in 1880 and started this whole saga. Book Four begins in the early 1960s and Rosie is making a lot of poor decisions, as she is prone to doing, which cause no end of trouble for her and the people closest to her. Since she plays a major role in this book, I wanted her to be on the cover.
The problem is, I can't decide which of two pictures of the fictional Rosie I prefer. So, I'm asking for your help, readers. I would like to know which one you like the best. Let me know, and I will be happy to use the one that gets the most votes.
Here are the pictures. The first one is "Rosie 1".
The second one is "Rosie 2".
Let me know what you think! Thanks. The voting ends in three days.
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