My interview on TSPN Television

My interview on TSPN Television is up on YouTube. http://youtu.be/6EdA_tMefXE

My Interview on Books and Tales

My interview is up today on Books and Tales blog...
http://booksandtales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/author-interview-h-l-le-roy.html

5 ★★★★★ Review of Billi Tiner's Dogs Aren't Men

Dr. Rebecca Miller is a gifted veterinarian, leading a happy and fulfilling life at her veterinary clinic. Her Golden Retriever, Captain, is her constant and only companion, and she doesn’t see the need for any men in her life. She believes that having crossed the Rubicon of thirty, her odds aren’t that great anyway. However, her mother has other plans. She wants grandchildren.

Rebecca runs (literally) into Derrick on a basketball court, and she feels a strange attraction to the tanned and handsome ER doctor.

Coincidentally, Rebecca’s mom sets up a blind date for Rebecca originally intended to be with Derrick. It goes haywire and she winds up with Derrick’s best friend, Mitch, on a double date. Unfortunately, Derrick has shown up with a stunning blonde and this does nothing to make Rebecca think she has a chance with Derrick.

Rebecca is an independent, tough, and intelligent heroine. And the rest of the other characters are written with a depth and realism that makes you really care about their lives. The interaction and chemistry was great, and the dialogue terrific.

Being an animal lover, I enjoyed the realistic depiction of veterinary life, especially after I discovered that the author is herself a veterinarian.

I also liked the quick pace of this story. Ms. Tiner keeps it moving and doesn’t get caught up in lengthy filler paragraphs that you’ll find in other books.

A fun read. Highly recommend.


http://www.amazon.com/Dogs-Arent-Men-ebook/dp/B00DBZ1FL4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371568887&sr=8-1&keywords=dogs+aren%27t+men

Saving Your Work

Back up and running but I had a computer problem that could have been a disaster. Fortunately, I am an inveterate saver so I had backups of all my work. I bought a new laptop and was up and running again in minutes.

If you’re not backing up your work, here are a few tips that will help you get started.

·         The old fashioned way - Print. It can’t hurt for you to keep a hard copy of your work. The downside is if your story is “in process.” That means your hard copy is stale after a day or two and you have to make another copy to keep it current.

·         Second computer - if you have a second computer, you can easily email yourself a copy of your work.

·         “The Cloud” - Google and others offer data storage housed at a secure location. It costs.

·         USB flash drives - by far my favorite. I carry a flash drive with me everywhere I go. It has the complete writing files from my computer. They are cheap and some can hold gigabytes of data. A friend needed a copy of my book for a review and I wasn’t close to home. I headed to Kinko’s and emailed it to him. Complete in less than ten minutes.

·         Spare hard drive - external or internal, a mirrored drive is a good idea. Copy to your internal drive then to your external.

·         Online backup - There are dozens of companies that specialize in online backup. Most run in the background. Mozy, Carbonite, Livedrive, Idrive, the list is endless.

·         Some of the old ways include: ZIP drives, DVD, and DVR.

Oh, don’t just save your writing. Save your contact list from email, the favorites list from whatever program you use to explore the internet and any other file that might be hard to recreate.

Whatever method you choose, use it or eventually you will lose it.

What are your goals?

My goals for 2013

1. One way or another, publish my YA novel The Fountain of the Earth. Right now it’s sort of in limbo with a publisher. But if they wind up passing on it, I’ll pub it myself.

2. Finish the two novels I have in progress. One is the sequel to TFOTE the other is a PI mystery.

3. Keep at it and don’t give up. If I keep trying, then I’ll succeed.

4. Keep finding new ways to market. No one is going to sell for you not even the Big Five publishers.

5. Listen to and accept criticism.

6. Network, network, network. It will help with the rest of my goals. Except, that is, number 2. I’m the only one who can keep me glued to the work desk.

5 ★★★★★ review of Sunshine in Darkness by Beth Winokur

Rose Sunshine Pilgrim is a seventeen-year-old who’s never spoken to a human whose body has been infested from birth by an Intruder, a wraithlike being who has progressively ruined her life. Struggling to reclaim her body, she is committed to a mental institution where the Intruders reign.

I can’t say much more without revealing spoilers.

Sunshine and Darkness is an amazing, fun read. Unlike some others I’ve read, every line in Ms. Winokur’s book has a purpose, pushing the characters and plot forward at a breakneck pace. No filler or useless backstory here.

Winokur’s cast of characters is outstanding. Each believable and sympathetic. Ultimately I was really surprised how much I enjoyed this. Horror isn’t ordinarily my thing, but I hope Ms. Winokur has a sequel in mind. I’ll buy it.

Sunshine in Darkness is a great value, and I highly recommend it. 5 ★★★★★

http://www.amazon.com/Sunshine-in-Darkness-ebook/dp/B00B97XNXE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1363802866&sr=1-1&keywords=sunshine+in+darkness

Sunshine in Darkness

by Beth Winokur

Amazon Kindle - Writer's Edge Publishing, WEP Paranormal and WEP Fiction

Review of LOVE COMES LATER by Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Love Comes Lat56

Author: Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Genre: Multicultural; Family Saga; Romance
Page Count 256
Book Summary
Hind is granted a temporary reprieve from her impending marriage to Abdulla, her cousin. Little does anyone suspect that the presence of Sangita, her Indian roommate, may shake a carefully constructed future. Torn between loyalties to Hind and a growing attraction to Abdulla, Sangita must choose between friendship and a burgeoning love.
A modern quest for the right to pursue love and happiness, even when it comes in an unconventional package, LOVE COMES LATER explores similarities between the South Asian and Arab cultures while exposing how cultural expectations affect both men and women. Identities are tested and boundaries questioned against the shifting backdrops of Doha, Qatar and London, England.
Review:

Although romance is not typically my genre, I enjoyed Love Comes Later. Set in Qatar and London, the 256 page book provides a look into the never easy path of love through eyes of a family living in the Arabian Gulf/Middle East. This book is enlightening and would be a good introduction for those unfamiliar with the area (most people?).

The summary above, provided by the author, is slightly misleading in that the book begins with a focus on Abdulla, a young widower and his little sister-in-law Luluwa (a terrific character in her own right and worthy of further development). Only later does the viewpoint shift to Hind.

A graduate of London School of Economics, and less bound by tradition than the rest of his family, Abdulla is an incurable workaholic. He is not interested in marrying again despite the pressure to fulfill familial obligations. However, he finally submits and becomes engaged to his cousin, Hind. She isn’t all that thrilled with the arrangement either and heads to London for a year of school. I can’t tell you more without spoilers.

The book is very cleanly written, and provides an entertaining peek into the lives and loves of this family.

The only downside that I found was the dizzying array of introductions in the prolog. By my count, fourteen people in the prolog and nine more in chapter one. In fact, I kept a written scorecard to remind me of who everyone was.

Despite that minor nit, and some cultural differences that a few people may find jarring, you will recognize many of these people in your own family.

Highly recommend.