In the Spotlight – John Dolan

JD_DSC_0475Today’s guest is the very cool and funny John Dolan and he’s chatting with us about his newest book in the “Time, Blood and Karma” series. Hungry Ghosts is Book Two and, of course, I found that title particularly intriguing given my own series with ghosts.

About John Dolan

“Makes a living by travelling, talking a lot and sometimes writing stuff down. Galericulate author, polymath and occasional smarty-pants.”

John Dolan hails from a small town in the North-East of England. Before turning to writing, his career encompassed law and finance. He has run businesses in Europe, South and Central America, Africa and Asia. He and his wife Fiona currently divide their time between Thailand and the UK.

Please read on for more about John and Hungry Ghosts!

 

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Maer’s Bookshelf – The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

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As a child, my mother read fairy tales to me and I loved them. As I got older, I discovered mysteries and thrillers and historical novels. It wasn’t until I was in college and someone gave me The Hobbit that I rediscovered my love of fantasy.

Tolkien totally hooked me in The Hobbit. Hooked me on “The Lord of the Rings.” Hooked me on Gandalf and hobbits and dwarves and Middle Earth. And hooked me on fantasy for adults, with a love affair for the genre that has continued all these decades later, right down to this day. The Hobbit earned its Five-Star place on my bookshelf and can never be replaced. “Firsts” are like that.

I followed up The Hobbit with the rest of “The Lord of the Rings” series, of course. I even have my beat-up, often-read, original books from back then, although my old version of The Hobbit itself is missing. No worries, I have the boxed set from when the Jackson films were released.

So what is it that I loved about this book? Everything! I think it’s probably the easiest read of the series. A simpler tale, with fascinating characters that give us a glimpse into Middle Earth. A glimpse that was not nearly long enough, though. It gave a rich and complex world, with depths, layers, and colors that insinuated themselves into my mind’s eye. I could “see” that world so clearly!

We get introduced to those wonderful hobbits through Bilbo, our reluctant hero. I loved learning about hobbits. Bilbo jumped straight into my heart and quite made himself at home there. So much so that I had to have Tolkien memorabilia, such as calendars. I still have those old calendars from the 1970s.

Gandalf was intriguing. A wizard? Magical? Mysterious? Oh, definitely right up my alley!

And the dwarves with their rich history and songs became believable in Tolkien’s hands.

My first look at Gollum gave me a creature so very different from anything I’d read before. I was fascinated and repulsed by him, while also feeling a little sorry for him.

The plot and story move along majestically, leading us through a world painstakingly detailed. Bilbo set off on an adventure that had me totally rooting for him and his company. His insistence that he’s not a thief, not an adventurer and only wants his comfortable life is endearing. And when he actually went along on the adventure, I was thrilled. There’s more to Bilbo than even he knows and that’s always fun. Tolkien builds his characters with the same detail he builds his world.

Tolkien’s writing is, of course, superb. He’s a master wordsmith and storyteller. His prose lightly echoes the times he writes about. That goes a long way toward making his “history” of Middle Earth so believable. The style is rather formal, adding to that historical feeling. But it has lots of lovely descriptions that I enjoy and that gave me the texture of Tolkien’s world.

This book is a classic for a reason and better reviewers than me have given it much thought and analyses, with lots of logical, academic reasons as to why it’s great. For me it’s much more visceral. Did it touch my heart? Absolutely! Did I care about the characters? You bet! Did I want to go back to that world? Oh yes, please!

This is on my list to do a re-read, but with the illustrated version linked below. I’m adding the audible version because I want to experience that and the sample I played was wonderful.

With the first part of the movie out, this is the perfect time to enjoy this awesome book. Or if you’ve already read it, why not re-visit Middle Earth? I’ll be there, too.

Happy Reading!

 

You can buy The Hobbit at Amazon.

In the Spotlight – Vanessa A. Ryan

Vanessa Ryan author pictureToday’s special Friday the 13th guest is the fabulous Vanessa A. Ryan. A triple threat as an author, actor and artist, I had the pleasure of meeting Vanessa in July. I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time as I would have liked getting to know someone with such a similar background to my own. One thing I do know is that she is talented, supportive and kind, and that’s something to treasure. She even writes in one of my own favorite genres!

About Vanessa A. Ryan

Vanessa A. Ryan is an actress in Southern California. She was born in California and graduated from UCLA. When not writing or acting, she enjoys painting and nature walks. Her paintings and sculptures are collected worldwide. At one point she performed stand up comedy, so her writing often reflects her love of humor, even for serious subjects. She lives with her cat Frannie, and among feral cats she has rescued.

Please read on for more about Vanessa and her first novel, A Blue Moon.

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In the Spotlight – Jinx Schwartz

jinx desk on boat 4Jinx Schwartz is our special guest today and she’s going to chat with us about Book 5 in the Hetta Coffey series, Just the Pits. So sit back and enjoy reading about this awesome author!

About Jinx Schwartz

Raised in the jungles of Haiti and Thailand, with returns to Texas in-between, Jinx followed in her father’s steel-toed footsteps into the construction and engineering industry in hopes of building dams. Finding all the good rivers taken, she “traveled the world defacing other landscapes with mega-projects in Alaska, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Mexico.”

Like the protagonist in her mystery series, Hetta Coffey, Jinx was a single woman with a yacht—and she wasn’t afraid to use it—when she met her husband, “Mad Dog” Schwartz. They opted to become cash-poor cruisers rather than continue chasing the rat, sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, turned left and headed for Mexico. They now divide their time between Arizona and Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.

Join me for more about the fascinating Jinx and her recent novel!

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Book Blast – The Underlighters is Available!

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Michelle Browne’s new novel, The Underlighters (The Nightmare Cycle 1)  is now available. Here’s a little teaser about this thrilling new horror tale.

Nightmares are bleeding into her waking world. Children are going missing. To save them, she must overcome her wreck of a personal life and a closet full of skeletons. She doesn’t know if the horrors in the shadows are real…or if she is going mad.

18-year-old Janelle Cohen is an electrician in an underground city. The world above has been swallowed by mind-destroying Dust. Her small life changes forever when a dragon attacks her on the way home from work.

Her friends worry that she has the Fever, Dust-induced insanity. As more monsters strike down citizens, they change their minds. A terrifying trip to the surface of the world, the ancient and abandoned Up, deepens the nightmare. With no world left above, she and the other Crows cannot afford to fail…

Janelle’s world is about to get very, very dark. Are you ready? On August 30th, nightmares are going to become a little too real for comfort.

In honor of her new release, Michelle is holding a giveaway. Be sure to check it out!

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Praise for The Underlighters

5 stars: “…You will be rewarded with a dive into the depths of imagination that may leave you questioning, breathless and inspired.” –www.TracingTheStars.com

5 stars: “… Engaging, ground breaking prose that is not afraid to test the reader’s boundaries. “—Sara Celi

5 stars: “…A wonderful read that is full of life, nightmares, fear, and dreams.” –Casey Peeler