by Christine | Writer Wednesday, Writing
Writer Wednesday with Robena Grant
Writer Wednesday is that day I get the chance to share writer friends with you. Today I’m thrilled to have Robena Grant with me. She’s the author of the Desert Heat series, which includes Unlock the Truth and The Blue Dolphin.
My friend, author Robena Grant.
CA: What made you decide to write a novel?
RG: I took a class at UCLA Extension with my then 18-year-old daughter. I thought it was to learn how to write. I didn’t know I was supposed to be working on a novel. So I ran home and started to write, and that became my first finished manuscript. : )
CA: Wow, what a jolt to the system! What genre do you write in, and why?
RG: I write contemporary romance, but I’m always mixing genres. I like stories about people in the world as I know it, and enjoy the journey that young lovers take, or the leap of faith with the second chance at love from an older heroine. I’ve written women’s fiction, paranormal, romantic suspense, and am now venturing into contemporary romance with a magical realism thread.
CA: Is this a series or standalone book? If a series, what is the name of this series, and how many books/short stories do you have planned?
RG: Unlock the Truth is Book #1 of the Desert Heat Series, #2 is The Blue Dolphin, and #3: Desert Exposure. I think of them as spin-offs, a series linked by location and secondary characters who clamor to have their story told. The books can be read out of order.
CA: Ooh, very cool. So there’s really no limit on the number of books you could write in that series! Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?
RG: Italy, no France…no, wherever, but I’d want good plumbing, phone, and internet. : )
CA: LOL – I’m totally with you! Italy and France are in my top 5 places, too! Um…Name 3 simple joys in your life.
RG: Hanging out with my adult kids. Drinking a glass of fine red wine. Reading an amazing book.
CA: If you could have dinner with any person, living or dead or fictional, who would it be and where would you go to eat?
RG: Ernest Hemingway. We’d go to Aux Deux Magots, on Boulevard St-Germain…not so much for the food but for the espresso and the people watching. Then we’d gossip about everyone.
CA: Wouldn’t that be totally fascinating? And I’m sure he’d be drinking whiskey! If you could give just one piece of advice to a writer starting out, what would it be?
RG: Always be working on something fresh while you’re submitting something you’ve finished.
CA: Excellent advice! What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have a Day Job?
RG: I’m retired from the workforce. Writing is now my full-time job. I volunteer on several committees in my community, like to exercise, attend book club, hang out with friends, take in a movie, or lunch, and travel whenever and wherever I can.
CA: Sounds like an Awesome life! Now…Name one thing your fans would be surprised to learn about you.
RG: I like karaoke, but I can’t sing.
CA: Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
RG: Just to mention that Unlock the Truth and The Blue Dolphin are available for Kindle readers. It’s an Amazon three month exclusive with KDP Select, then in May they will be released in print and all digital formats through Wild Rose Press Publishers. Desert Exposure is TBA, but it will also be released in 2013.
How exciting, to have three novels come out in one year! Let’s take a look at Unlock the Truth.
BLURB: Dena Roman needs closure. Three months ago, her sister’s murdered body was
found in the California desert. When a second body is found at the same site, Dena jeopardizes her public relations position to go undercover and investigate. But falling for the main suspect isn’t part of her plan.
Zeke Cabrera needs help. He sold a portion of his family’s Three C’s Estates to keep his citrus farm afloat, but when bodies are unearthed on the site, he’s suspected of murder. Help comes in the form of a communications expert who makes all the difference in his life and business–and in his heart.
Amidst an attack on her life and run-ins with a cantankerous foreman, Dena digs for the truth, even as she forms a strong bond with Zeke. But can their newly found love survive all the deep secrets hidden at Three C’s Estates?
And The Blue Dolphin:
BLURB: When Debbie Williams discovers a dismembered body in the dumpster behind 
her health spa, she’s determined to find out what happened. As a single parent, she must be sure the town she loves is safe for her daughter. Debbie won’t be deterred by anyone–not even the ruggedly handsome agent on the case who doesn’t appreciate her amateur sleuthing.
After his partner’s body is uncovered, DEA agent Jack Davis vows revenge. But three words shouted over the phone before his partner died–azul, delfin, Almagro–are Jack’s only clues. Even worse, a sexy blonde spa owner refuses to stay out of his investigation, and the chemistry between them is difficult to ignore.
As danger strikes ever closer, Jack and Debbie must figure out what blue dolphins and a small California desert town have to do with a dangerous drug cartel…all while protecting their hearts from an attraction neither can resist.
More About Robena:
Robena Grant is Australian by birth but resides in Southern California. She has two adult children, loves travel, and enjoys writing stories about ordinary women faced with extraordinary circumstances. She may be contacted at: www.robenagrant.com where she blogs on a slice of life on Mondays. Also, FB, Twitter, Google+.
Here’s Robena’s Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/author/robenagrant Go “Like” her – and don’t forget to “Like” her books.
I’m sure Robena will be around today, so feel free to ask her questions!
~oOo~
Demon Soul and Demon Hunt are both available for both the Kindle and Kobo! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Reviews, Writing
Jameson Parker. I swiped this photo from his website, which is why there’s a big BIO across the front of it. Sorry, JP!
Jameson Parker
I found Jameson Parker to be intelligent, charismatic, and possessing a wickedly dry sense of humor. He is a forthright man and boy, does he know his way around words!
I read his book An Accidental Cowboy back in December. A memoir told in chunks of chopped up time, his experiences, the way he writes, just dug its hooks into me and after reading it I felt like I knew him. I knew we were friends, and there were all these things I could say to him that he’d get, because I knew him. Which to me is amazing, since I read a lot – and I’ve never had that connection to the writer like that before this book. Plus, I’d never met the man, so it felt kinda really weird, that connection to his words.
Of course, when I did get a chance to meet him not that long ago, I kept my mouth shut because JP is a very private person. And his beautiful wife would have decked me had I been inappropriate. Which I also knew, from reading An Accidental Cowboy. Yes, you should pick up that book!
And for those of you who are thinking, wasn’t Jameson Parker an actor? Yes, he was. For 30 years. He played opposite Gerald McRaney on Simon & Simon for 8 years. (He’s not that other Parker, so put that out of your mind right now.)
But this post isn’t about that.
Jameson Parker has a new book out that I can’t wait to get my hands on, and that I had to share with you. It’s called Return to Laughter, and it’s – well, here’s the blurb for you.
Return to Laughter is an insider’s account of the rise and fall and bittersweet redemption of a wild and wildly ambitious young star. Young Rocky Stone rebels against the stuffy and circumscribed world of his upbringing and climbs up the acting ladder to the top of the most glamorous profession there is, a world of wealth, fame, and privilege, as well as sex, drugs, and self-destruction. The birth of a child stops Rocky Stone’s downward spiral, but Hollywood is also a world where cheating and embezzlement are ways of life, and lives are considered disposable. When real disaster strikes, can a little girl save him?
Perhaps a novel, perhaps a roman à clef, perhaps a biography, Return to Laughter weaves reality and fiction together to paint a portrait of Hollywood that is as true today as it has always been, a transient place of youth and beauty and adoration and the shadow of something evil.
So – it’s a little bit tell-all, a little bit biography – with a heaping helping of fictionalized reality is my guess. Can you see why I’m interested in reading this book? Just as soon as I’m done reading my “homework” novels…
Jameson’s Author Page on Amazon: Go HERE.
Jameson’s Website: http://www.readjamesonparker.com
Do me a favor, please?
Click on the links to his books (above or below) and then click “like” on those books on Amazon. I love this man’s writings, I treasure the time I spent with him in his kitchen drinking coffee, and the only way I know how to repay him for that time is to share him and his novels with you. And, in a way, share you with him. He doesn’t have a writing support fellowship like I do; so I’d really, really appreciate it if you’d help him out.
I believe in the power of social media, and in the generosity of writers. I’d like you, my friends, to help me turn Jameson Parker into a believer, too. If I’m very lucky, I’ll have him on the blog some day with an interview. We shall see! In the meantime, let’s get those “likes” to above 100, shall we? Pass it on to your friends!
One commenter will receive an ecopy of either Return to Laughter or An Accidental Cowboy from me. Just make sure you let me know what number you are in the comments when you “like” either Return to Laughter or An Accidental Cowboy – if you “like” both, you’ll get entered twice in the drawing (I am VERY proud to say that I was the first “like” – Number 1 – for both those books!), and make sure you leave your email in the comments so I can gift you a copy from Amazon. This giveaway will end at midnight on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2013.
So – when was the last time you felt you knew the author, just by reading their words? I’d love to know!
~ Until the next time, cheers! ~
~oOo~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Wine Friday
In these days of high unemployment and global financial crisis, it’s nice to relax with a bottle of wine that doesn’t break your pocketbook. I’m here to sort out the memorable from the truly awful, and each bottle is under $10.
Leese-Fitch California Chardonnay 2010 13.9% Alcohol by Volume; $9.99 at Vons
On the Labels: (This one has stuff on the front as well) “Established in 1836, the Leese-Fitch adobe has been home to a girl’s school, a hotel, a military headquarters, along with several saloons and restaruants. In 2004, it became the home of the The Other Guys, part of Don Sebastiani & Sons.”
“This wine celebrates our home, the Leese-Fitch Adobe. Built in 1836, this historical landmark in the Sonoma Plaza was named after Jacob Leese and Henry Fitch, brothers-in-law to General Mariano Vallejo, the founder of the town of Sonoma.”
My Take: Ah. What a refreshing label. None of the nonsense about how this wine will make you beautiful, clean your house, and give you a party in your mouth. Ahem. Also, the way the bottle is “corked” is fabulous – which was actually one (okay, the main) reason why I bought the bottle.
My Rating: ~ Drinkable ~ It’s not a big wine; it has no real pretensions to greatness, but you know what? Usually I want a wine that complements the food – not food that must stand up to the wine. So for me, this is an easy -drinking wine that I’ll keep an eye out for, especially when I’m doing a big dinner salad and other veggies as a main meal. Something I’m doing a lot more these days and boy, don’t I feel healthier?
Steelbird Smoking Loon Unoaked Chardonnay, 2011 
California Alcohol 13.5% by Volume; $5.99 on sale at Vons.
On the Label: “Rarely seen was the Steelbird, who fo’ da most part kept to himself, but would swoop in an’ fly the Smoking Loon outta there if he got in a tight spot,” Jake went on, chomping on his cigar. “Mos’ folks figured Steelbird was just an odd duck, but his inner circle knew he was more dependable than anyone else. A smooth operator, never takin’ any chances. He kept his ride pristine – sleek, gleaming and finely tuned. He’d maneuver these impossible routes, fast as lightnin’, without a scratch.”
My Take: This is another arm of the Don Sebastiani & Sons winemaking business, and one of my favorite labels. So when I saw this one sitting on the shelf, I had to pick it up. Especially because, hello! Screw top! I do love screw tops.
Plus, how can you resist a label that has nothing to do with the wines? I feel like I could pull up a bottle and a glass (or sit beside a cask of wine with a pour spout thingy) and listen to Jake all day long. What stories he has to tell!
Regarding the wine, it is surprisingly similar to the Leese-Fitch (and I didn’t know they were made by the same family, I swear, until just a few minutes ago). Kind of bland and unoffensive – and for being an unoaked chardonnay, there is very little of the steeliness in it, which is a plus to me. Steel is not my favorite flavor in wine. But it went beautifully with the double-veggie-stuffed baked potatoes and salad that we had for dinner last night, and that’s all one hopes for with a wine, you know?
My Rating: ~ Drinkable ~ And Hello! Affordable! Plus both bottles are attractive and won’t look like you went cheap if you take it to a picnic.
Thanks so much for dropping by. What wines have you tried lately that have reached Slut status? Or that you wouldn’t drink again even on pain of severe injury? Spill it in the comments!
As usual, this is just my honest opinion and depend upon my mood, the weather, and what cycle the moon is in. Your taste buds will differ.
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
~oOo~
My Rating System: Undrinkable, Barely Drinkable, Drinkable, Very Drinkable, and the ever popular Stay away! This is MY wine, you slut!
by Christine | Writer Wednesday, Writing
My friend, Author Sally Felt. She’s almost always laughing!
I am hugely excited to introduce Sally Felt to all my pals, here on Writer Wednesday. Sally and I go way back, and she’s an absolutely lovely person. I’m thrilled to say her first novel, GOING NATIVE, is out through Ellora’s Cave, and it’s a doozy! I read it quite a long time ago in manuscript form, and I’m looking forward to digging into it again. So settle down and enjoy Sally, hmm?
CA: What made you decide to write a novel?
SF: Everyone in my fifth grade class had to write one. Mine was a hand-illustrated murder mystery that demonstrated mystery was not my long suit. Nor illustration, for that matter. But if I’d written Going Native back then, Mrs. Sharp would have sent me to the counselor’s office for a serious talk concerning the Club Clandestine scene. And appropriate use of éclairs.
CA: Why paranormal?
SF: Um, it’s not. Unless you consider dachshunds aliens. Do you?
CA: *headdesk* Okay, I forgot to switch up the questions. Sigh…and yeah, dachsunds are pretty alien, don’t you think? Don’t answer that, lol!
SF: My lips are sealed.
CA: Okay, back to the questions. Where would you live, if you could live anywhere in the world?
SF: Well, Christine, I wish to live winter-free. That means a residence in each hemisphere, yes? Ideal locations are lightly wooded, with lots of song birds. Suggestions? (River otters would be a big selling point.)
CA: I am fresh out of places with river otters and no winter…but I’ll work on that. Name 3 simple joys in your life.
SF: Sunshine. Yum!
Ginseng, my blue-eyed Siamese companion.
Dancing at friends’ weddings.
CA: If you could have dinner with any person, living or dead or fictional, who would it be and where would you go to eat?
SF: Just one? I would dine with my maternal grandmother at the Green Room in Dallas, and we’d give the chef carte blanche to surprise us. The restaurant has been closed for years, but not as long as Grandma. I figure if the Universe can arrange an evening with a woman who died before I went through puberty, the restaurant should be a snap.
CA: Well of course the restaurant would be a snap! What a wonderful answer. If you could give just one piece of advice to a writer starting out, what would it be?
SF: Finish it. Write something else and finish that, too.
CA: What do you do when you’re not writing? Do you have a Day Job?
SF: I’m a professional Tarot reader. My job is to turn cards and reflect someone’s magnificence back to to them. How cool is that? I want to live in a world where everyone knows how special and important they are. Imagine what seven billion empowered, confident individuals could accomplish.
CA: OMG! How did I not know that? I’m so proud! But seriously, sister, we need to TALK to each other more than once every six years or so. Okay. Name one thing your fans would be surprised to learn about you.
SF: As a child, I was excruciatingly shy. Even at age 15, I struggled to make eye contact. A year as a foreign exchange student went a long way toward changing that, not that I’d recommend such extreme measures.
CA: No way. Really? Well hon, you have totally smashed that shyness, and good for you. Is there anything else you’d like to talk about?
SF: We could talk about the summer you came to Texas and helped me drink a full pitcher of sangria. Or the time we went shopping in Vegas and I ended up with an elephant on my head. But perhaps those things are best kept off the interwebs, yes?
CA: Snicker – elephant on your head! And those terribly cute pink kitten heels I wore that killed my feet, while you had on sensible tennis shoes…and I SO need to come back to Texas and spend time with you!!!
SF: Thanks for having me here, Christine, you crazed writer, you. Your command of mischief is equalled only by your work ethic.
CA: It’s totally my pleasure, you tarot-card-wielding goddess. Now on to the good stuff – the novel!
The Blurb!
When a clumsy redhead takes a walk on the wild side, expect one heck of a fall.
Violet longs to break free of her good-girl persona. House sitting a Dallas penthouse loft makes a great start. From her first giddy step in her friend’s sky-high heels, she’s way out of her comfort zone, planting a tipsy kiss on a sexy neighbor.
Eddie is in town to close a business deal—and lick his wounds after a bad breakup. But the clumsy, drawling redhead next door proves a Texas-sized distraction he can’t ignore. Violet’s demure one minute and suggesting clandestine sexcapades the next. Eddie can barely keep up. Or wait to see what Violet does next.
But even when she learns he’s held the key to the future of her family’s business all along, Violet can’t go back to playing it safe. And what began as a champagne-fueled dare becomes a gutsy showdown her heart might not survive.
Sally Felt Bio
One hot July day, Sally played an Irish ditty on her tin whistle while wading in a cool lake. Ducks came from miles around to listen. Now she plays sexy stories on her MacBook Pro keyboard and hopes readers might do the same.
Where to find Sally:
Website: http://sallyfelt.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sally.felt
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/sallytex/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sallytex
Buy link (also available at Amazon, B&N, etc.)
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Life, Observations
It all started with me running a handbag down to the woman who works with us at my day job every now and then. She walks with two canes, and her handbag is heavy – so one of us in the office always comes down and brings it to her before her ride picks her up.
I was on my way back into the office when my dear friend Kelie, whom I’ve known since before I had children, stopped me as she was driving out of the driveway (because she works in the same building).
“I owe you,” she said. “Let’s do something fun. I’m going to the ballet in February, you game?”
Okay, maybe she didn’t exactly say those words. But I heard “The Rite of Spring” and I was hooked. Plus, a symposium earlier in the day. We’d have a total Girl’s Day Out!
Now, you need to understand one thing to make this post make sense. Kelie is one of those people who is lovely, never says a bad word about anyone else, knows how to keep laughing, is never seen tipsy much less drunk, and has worked The Razzies for the last couple of decades (at least) and has no enemies, I swear. In other words, she’s a total enigma! So while I was getting ready on Saturday morning, the hubs was envious. “You’re spending a whole day with Kelie. That’s like going to Europe.”
And it was. I drove to her house – her directions mainly consisted of “head toward the Hollywood sign” (well, they were better than that actually) and as I drove up and up, passing tourists who were taking pictures of the sign, I felt more and more like I was going to Europe for real. I found her place, parked, and made my way down the steps to her guest cottage.
The steps down to Kelie’s guest house. Kind of scary, but also beautiful!
And from there the day just got better and better. It was wonderful to see her, even though I swear she looks the same as she did in 1985/86, though her hair is shorter today than it was. She drove us to the Music Center, which is a damned good thing as the freeway was jammed and she took us through side streets that I’d never been on before, and certainly never driven.
The Music Center concourse, downtown Los Angeles
The music center itself was magnificent. From its chandeliers to its fountains, it felt like wallowing in luxury. The Symposium was packed with information delivered by very erudite professors; they had slides, which helped. The Symposium was free, as was a lovely snackie section of fruit and cheese and crackers, soda, tea, coffee. But the most important thing is all the knowledge that was crammed into my head about the ballet we were going to see that night – The Rite of Spring, that caused such a riot in Paris in 1913, and that basically started the modern dance movement.
(This year, 2013, is the 100th anniversary of The Rite of Spring’s first performance, and the 25th anniversary of The Joffrey Ballet’s reconstruction of Nijinski’s original choreography. So seeing it on Saturday night made it doubly special.)
After the Symposium, we went to dinner at the Brasserie (because I lost the pamphlet that had given us further options) and we ate very well. Plus we got to know the ladies next to us, a mother-daughter combo who were also going to the ballet that night.
A painting of one of the costumes/dancers of The Rite of Spring
Finally, it was time for curtain. Two ballets happened prior to the Rite of Spring; these ballets brought out my inner Diva. No one really landed their double pirouettes, and footwork tended to be sloppy, but I forgave them. However, the number of double-jointed dancers astounded me. In my day, only two dancers could whack themselves in the ear with their knee as they were standing. On Saturday, it seemed like every third dancer had that ability. Annoying. It really did become annoying. Or maybe that’s just jealousy speaking.
(Which reminds me. Charlize Theron was sitting in the row in front of me, about ten seats to the left of where I was. She looked GORGEOUS – all cheekbones and sleek, very short red hair. Loved the shoes she wore, and the slim black pants and jacket. Just saying.)
By the time we got to The Rite of Spring, I was ready for something to keep me awake. And it did. Point and counterpoint, rhythm and anti-rhythm – the movements, so antithetical to “classical” ballet, were refreshing and were made so much more accessible to me by the symposium I had gone to earlier in the day. I wondered how many people were confused by what they were seeing, and I was grateful for the knowledge gained earlier.
The ballet was vibrantly colored, musically fascinating, and the dancing was mesmerizing. If I hadn’t had that previous introduction to Nijinski’s choreography and Stravinsky’s score, I would have been pretty grumpy about it. As it was, I floated on air.
Afterwards, Kelie and I headed upstairs to the retrospective…here’s a shot from there.
And of course, a shot of Kelie and I.
Christine and Kelie at the Music Center, Feb 2, 2013
I was gone all day on Saturday – missing my hubby and emails and notices from my classmates in the blogging class I’m taking with Kristen Lamb and all the tomfoolery that goes on with my Facebook friends. But I came away from that time spent with an old friend, feeling as though, indeed, I had spent the day in Europe.
I am a lucky, lucky woman.
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
her health spa, she’s determined to find out what happened. As a single parent, she must be sure the town she loves is safe for her daughter. Debbie won’t be deterred by anyone–not even the ruggedly handsome agent on the case who doesn’t appreciate her amateur sleuthing.
