Bleu's Reviews: Meet Author Sarwah Osei-Tutu - 'The Highs, The Lo...

Bleu's Reviews: Meet Author Sarwah Osei-Tutu - 'The Highs, The Lo...: Today we will be meeting the lovely author & poet,  Sarwah Osei-Tutu. She will be sharing a bit about herself and her book, 'The Highs, The...

Black Friday Giveaway

A book of poetry written at each stage of my life. Childhood, University Student, Mother, Married, Separation and a Single Mother. Life is tough for everyone. I believe that everyone has struggled through one aspect of their life, others every aspect. I do have faith that one day, it will get better and the journey will end with a stronger, wiser woman at the end of it.

Life can get you down, but it is how you deal with these struggles that make you the person you are today. I find writing helps me deal with every aspect of my life. The pleasant experiences are written so that I can turn back and be grateful for the things I have achieved in life. The unpleasant experiences are written, so I can overcome them and deal with the problems that I am facing at the moment. I am publishing these personal parts of my life, to help others see that they are not alone. I am not an expert in any domain, I have not succeeded in any aspect of my life, but I try to learn from my mistakes and in turn, I have become wiser. Knowledge gained by experience, rather than through a book or education. Therefore, take this journey with me, through every aspect of my life, the highs, lows and the inbetweens.


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Emptiness

I am a shell,
Echoes,
Hearing voices around.

I can not grow,
Or belong,
To anything once more.

I am empty,
Surrounded by beauty,
On this shore.

I can not love,
Alone,
Hollow once more.

I am a shell,
With no owner,
No feelings anymore.

Flying Solo

1. What type of books do you write?
I write historical and women's fiction. Most of my books and screenplays are about strong women characters who have challenged the norm to change their corner of the world. I love writing historical fiction around the time of baby boomers, espcially the 1960s. It was such a time of change for this country. In addition, military based fiction is another passion, especially military aviators.

2. What is the latest book you have written?
My lastest book is called FLYING SOLO. The story is based on a true character! Nora is a 1960s Catholic housewife from New Orleans. Desperate for an outlet from her bad marriage, she takes flying lessons. Once she solos, she feels liberated. For the first time in her life, she finds a passion and purpose. When she confronts her husband for a divorce, all hell breaks loose. In a dramatic attempt to get her children returned, Nora resorts to stealing a plane. FLYING SOLO has it all, drama, sex, intrigue, suspense . . .all set amidst the magical, mysterious French Quarter and Mardi Gras of New Orleans.

3. Is it part of a series, if so which one?
FLYING SOLO is the first book of the series. The sequel takes the characters to Vietnam during the war. It is called SOLO VIETNAM and will be out in April 2013. I am really excited to be completing the second in the series of four. There's lots of aviation in the sequel. Military buffs will love the flights of the A-4 Skyhawk off the USS Coral Sea.

4. When did you start writing?
I was first published at the young age of 21. It was a newspaper article for the Lubbock Avalanche Journal entitled Death with Dignity. I was so proud to see my byline for the first time. I became smitten. Over the years, I have been published in many newspapers and healthcare journals. It took twenty-five years for me to find my passion and give myself permission to write what I love . . .fiction based on true stories. For my Master's degree, I wrote a full length screenplay about men in nursing called ANGEL OF MERCY. I hope to get it and FLYING SOLO optioned.

5. Why did you start writing?
I think like many writers, it is a passion that ignites within. There are stories that circulate in your head and just have to be told. My favorite motivational phrase for wanna-be writers is. . .don't wait! Just do it!! True story telled who are gifted have no trouble finding their voice. You can teach writing, but you cannot teach passion. The talented writer was destined to be just that.

6. Who are your influences? My influences are the true life characters, the protagonists of my stories. I am fascinated by the courageous decisions and unique experiences they took in in their lives. They are what keep me writing. As they often say, truth can be way better than fiction.

7. What can we expect from you in the near future?
Book signing events, other details I will be completing my book and blog tour for FLYING SOLO by the end of the year, then I will be wrapping up final edits on SOLO VIETNAM for its debut in Spring of 2013. I will be featured at the North Texas Book Festival and the Military Writer's Association. In addition, I write a feature on my blog called Belles of Steel, which features strong, independent women who are changing the world. further information can be found on my blog ..Details on book tour appearances and special book signings can be found on the webpage for the small Indie Press that published me, AgeView, , Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and many other online independent book dealers.

Short bio:
Jeanette Vaughan is an award winning writer and story teller. Not only is she published in the periodicals and professional journals of nursing, but also in the genre of fiction. Out on her sheep farm, she has written several novels and scripts. Her screenplay "Angel of Mercy" won the outstanding nursing research award from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. In addition, she was named Distinguished Alumni for the school of nursing in 2001 for her written work and volunteerism for the Sydney Olympic Games. Jeanette has practiced nursing in the fields of critical care and trauma. She is the mother of four children, including two Navy pilots. She lives in a Victorian farmhouse out in the pastures of northeast Texas with her sheep, chickens, donkeys and sheep dogs.

What more could you wish for

1. What types of books do you write?
I write contemporary fiction. It is also considered women's fiction and chick-lit. I think the term "chick-lit" gets a bad rap. Many people don't take that genre seriously but I'm not hung up on labels. Call it whatever you want...just read it!

2. What is the latest book you have written?
My debut novel, What More Could You Wish For, was published by St. Martin's Press in August 2012. It'she story of Libby Carson who has a great life—a thriving business, a family she adores, and a steady guy with whom she has “an arrangement.” Life is nice and tidy until her 50th birthday. That’s when Libby reconnects with her high school boyfriend online. That’s also when her significant other proposes. Libby’s been down the marriage road before and it just didn’t work. So while she’s trying to persuade her guy to keep things status quo, she also begins an email correspondence with her old flame. Just for fun, she tells herself. But fun soon turns to flirtation and Libby is startled to feel some stirrings of the passion she felt at seventeen. How is that possible? She thought she had things all figured out. Now, Libby must take stock of her life and everyone in it, to answer for herself the question everyone’s been asking her: What more could you wish for?

3. Is it part of a series, if so which one?
It is not part of a series although I've had requests for a sequel. And never say never, I always say.

4. When did you start writing?
I started writing in third grade when our assignment was to write a short story. I got hooked on writing when Mrs. Allen read my first story aloud to the class.

5. Why did you start writing?
I started writing because I loved to read.

6. Who are your influences?
Elizabeth Berg, Anna Quindlen, Harper Lee, Ann Patchett, Anita Shreve, Pat Conroy...and the list goes on.

7. What can we expect from you in the near future? Book signing events, other details
I am currently working on my second novel, and am doing various events and book signings for What More Could You Wish For. Check the events page of my website for specific dates.

A Fall From Grace A Mystery

1. What types of books do you write?
Currently, mysteries and story collections, but next year will see the release of my first (and hopefully second) horror novel, and I have others books planned, such as mainstream and fantasy. I have a ten-year plan of releases, with just what I've got on schedule now.

2. What is the latest book you have written?
The latest published book is Apocalypse Tango, a five-story collection of tales of the end of the world. The latest mystery novel was A Fall From Grace, the second Zack Taylor mystery. On Sale, at Amazon and different book stalls, further information is on my blog

3. Is it part of a series, if so which one?
A Fall From Grace is the followup Zack Taylor mystery to A Memory of Grief, which details what happens to a man who investigates the death of a friend and winds up changing his life. Book 3, A Shadow On the Wall, is due out this winter.

4. When did you start writing?
When I was a teenager. That was some time ago!

5. Why did you start writing?
All these characters and plots just had to have an outlet. Storytelling is the most powerful teaching tool we have, and I wanted to share these stories.

6. Who are your influences?
I write in different genres, because I've had so many influences. I'm influenced by writers who tell a good story well.
For mysteries: the line from Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Jim Thompson, John D. MacDonald, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke.
In stories: Poe, de Maupassant, Saki, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Stephen King. In general: Hemingway, Victor Hugo, Thomas Wolfe (both of them), Robert Heinlein, Harper Lee, on and on...

7. What can we expect from you in the near future? Book signing events, other details
Next month, in just one weekend, I'm attending the Crime Bake mystery conference, and doing a signing at the New England Author's Expo. Planned for next year is the publication of three novels and another story collection, plus numerous short stories in many different magazines and anthologies, and a number of appearances and signings.

The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

1. What types of books do you write?
I've written one and it's a historical fiction, The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, which takes place in 1895 after the imprisonment of Oscar Wilde for homosexual activity. It's about the fallout his prison sentence has on a small Nevada ranching town, a lesbian couple in particular, but is not just limited to homophobia, but rather embraces racism and anti-Semitism also. It's a story about tolerance, a chronicle in hatred and prejudice with all its unintended and devastating consequences and how love and friendship heal.

2. What is the latest book you have written?
The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap, which I mentioned above. On Sale, at Amazon, as you can see with many reviews. As well as having been featured in the largest Circulating Press in Ventura County, CA, where I live with my husband, Terry, and our two rescue dogs, Max and Bella.

3. Is it part of a series, if so which one?
It is not part of a series.

4. When did you start writing?
I started writing for fun at the age of ten, it was just something that happened. Writing was my sanctuary, where I felt safe to be myself without worry of retribution or rejection. By the time I was in college, my writing I wrote a couple of award-winning short stories that encouraged me to continue writing. It's something I love to do, and comes natural for me. I don't experience much writers block or frustration with the process of writing and look upon that as a gift.

5. Why did you start writing?
All I can say is it just happened, one day the pen was in my hand and I was keeping a diary, writing short stories, poetry,
expressing myself on paper freely, while unable to in other ways of communicating. It was liberating and safe, a wonderful
combination, that I still to this day experience.

6. Who are your influences?
I had a wonderful father, who taught me through unconditional love, you can be anything you make your mind up to be, and while that isn't necessarily true to writing or any talents or gifts, it helped keep my critic at bay, the voice inside our heads that say we're not good enough, who would ever read your work, don't bother, that voice was diminished so it never stopped me. I also been blessed with an amazing writing teacher, Deb Norton in Ojai CA, who taught me things about writing, to expand on the story, to bring in scenes and character development in ways I hadn't thought of. She helped me
see perspective I had missed on my own. I've been blessed with excellent editing and reader's help with honest feedback
that would ensure the story would win, feedback was given without pretense and that helped me grow. Then there's the tons of books I read, the masters, the indie authors, all the wonderful writing that helped me see a standard, to get the idea of what is good and what distracts, pulls attention off the story. In this also, I was very blessed that I found great books and I somehow was receptive to learning about different ways of expressing, writing, so that when I was ready, the spontaneity of my own voice came through with greater ease.

7. What can we expect from you in the near future? Book signing events, other details.

I'm at the tail end of Lyme Disease so don't travel much, but hey, I'm not closed to a miracle happening and a complete cure. If that happens then the sky is the limit. I want to get out there and meet people, because the message of the book is so important, tolerance. And, I want to get out there because another passion, a love in my life, dogs and animal rescue,
benefits by sales since all my profits are going to the first and only no-kill animal shelter in the county where I live, Further details can be found by clicking this link.

Again thank you so much for having me over to chat with you here. If anyone wants to connect with me or get more info on the book you can find us at:
Facebook
Book Blog
Twitter

Sedition

1. What types of books do you write?

I write political thrillers. Sedition is first of what I expect to be many. As a television reporter (my day job), I love covering politics and so it's a natural extension for me.

2. What is the latest book you have written?

Sedition is my first published book. It takes place in Washington DC in the near (undefined) future. It's a modern adaptation of a real political plot that happened in 1820s England. A group of disaffected patriots didn't like the direction in which their government was headed. They devised a plan to assassinate the prime minister and his cabinet. There are a lot of political parallels to the sentiment then and the climate in the US today. So I played with the history of that plot and mixed it with the reality of today. It's a book that, I think, seamlessly blends reality with fiction. I wouldn't say I write like Dan Brown, but I use the same tools. I make it such that the reader asks, "Wait! Did that really happen?" Then they Google it to find out where the reality ends and my fiction begins. In fact, I created a website that allows the reader to explore some of those real events, real places, real artwork, and real documents discussed in the book. It's a real companion to the book and it enhances the reading experience. At least I hope it does.

Sedition Website

3. Is it part of a series, if so which one?

It's not a part of a series. But I've gotten such a great reception to the primary "villain" in the book that I'm likely to write another book that focuses on him. His name is Sir Spencer and he, without exception, is everyone's favorite character in the book. I think it'd be fun to explore a spin-off with him as the central figure.

4. When did you start writing?

I started writing as a young kid and I've never stopped. But I didn't write my first novel until I was in my late 20s. It wasn't very good. But it was a great learning experience.

5. Why did you start writing?

I love to read. And I love the idea of being transported somewhere else. So the thought of being able to provide the same escape for someone else was really appealing.

6. Who are your influences?

I've read almost all of Michael Crichton's books. I love his detail. I also like Dan Brown's ability to weave research into his narrative. Maybe my favorite book ever, though, is Animal Farm by George Orwell.

7. What can we expect from you in the near future? Book signing events, other details

I'm working on a new book (about 1/3 of the way through) called SECESSION. It's a Texas-centric book that explores Texas' place in the political conversation. It follows one man's unwitting role in a plot that combines politics, energy, and nanotechnology. I'm probably a year out from publishing that one.